Lewis Hamilton defended as Ferrari struggles intensify: 'It's not why he joined'

British racing driver Jamie Chadwick has defended Lewis Hamilton following his disastrous São Paulo Grand Prix, insisting that fighting in the midfield is "not why he joined" Ferrari. 

In Brazil, where the Briton is an honorary citizen, Hamilton failed to qualify in the top 10 for the Sprint but did recover to score two points.

However, his weekend worsened in qualifying after again failing to make the final part, with the seven-time world champion salvaging only 13th on the grid. 

It only went further downhill from there for the 40-year-old, who had a poor start which ended with Hamilton driving into the back of Franco Colapinto at the end of the opening lap. 

His SF-25 sustained front wing and floor damage as a result, leading to Ferrari opting to retire him from the race after initially attempting to continue.

Following the race, a downbeat Hamilton insisted his current struggles with Ferrari has been a "nightmare", comments Chadwick addressed.

"Yeah, that race couldn't have gone much worse," Chadwick told Sky F1. "Yeah, the first lap, but then obviously the incident with his front wing. 

"But he's out of position, obviously qualifying 13th already. That's not what he's grown to expect. It's not why he joined Ferrari. 

"It's not what you would have wanted coming to a track like this that he's gone so well at, knows so well. So, yeah, I think we've heard it all there. It's not good times."

Hamilton form not bad

As pointed out by former F1 driver Karun Chandhok during the same TV broadcast, things had been steadily improving for Hamilton at Ferrari. 

Since the summer break, Hamilton's pace has been closer to Charles Leclerc's, with a podium having looked possible in Mexico City until he received a 10-second time penalty. 

However, in Brazil, even on pace, Hamilton was adrift of his team-mate, who also failed to finish after being taken out in an incident involving Oscar Piastri and Kimi Antonelli.

Adding his thoughts on Hamilton's struggles, Chandhok said: "It's a bit annoying for him, actually, because until Brazil, his run of form since the summer break has been great. 

"He's been a match for Leclerc all the way through until Mexico. He got the penalty in Mexico, which annoyed him, and in Brazil, it's just didn't quite work out for him in qualifying. 

"They both were struggling on Friday in the Sprint quali. So I think hopefully this is just a one-off, that's what I'm trying to say, because his form before Brazil has been a match for Charles."