Lewis Hamilton makes Mercedes demand after suffering latest F1 setback at Brazil GP.

Lewis Hamilton struggled in both qualifying sessions for the Sprint and main race at the Brazilian Grand Prix and pointed the finger at his Mercedes car for his struggles

Lewis Hamilton, following two disappointing qualifying results in Brazil, called for a car that is “easier to drive.”

The seven-time world champion was only able to position his Mercedes to fifth on the starting grid for the race on Sunday. And he repeated the outcome in the Sprint Shootout on Saturday morning, which established the starting grid for 2023’s last short-form race.

P5 is never going to feel that great,” he said rather glumly after the main qualifying result, adding: “I did the best I could though and hopefully we will have a better race on Sunday. The car was showing signs of decent performance, but we did seem to be a couple of tenths off the guys right at the very front.

And he had a similar air about him as he reacted to achieving the same result in the Shootout. However, this time, Hamilton lay down a challenge for his Mercedes team as he asked for help to get more out of his machine.

“[This] is generally the pace our car has been for quite some time,” he said. “It’s our normal average scoring position – always pushing for more. My last lap wasn’t really that spectacular, I think I probably could’ve been one or two places further forward, but I gave it my best.

“Maximising the time on each of the tyres is always a challenge– getting the right temperatures etc… I think I did, just had a bit of snap at the last corner and lost a tenth and a half. The car needs to be easier to drive, which it’s not.”

George Russell, a teammate, finished one spot higher in the Shootout and is aiming for those who are ahead of him. However, he acknowledged that there were a few lucky breaks that allowed him to record the lap time he did.

We’d like to stand here and say we made some gains, but the truth is that conditions play a huge role,” Russell said. “Sometimes it comes into your window, sometimes it goes away, and it just worked in Q3.

“The lap was clean and of good quality. P4: I believe that’s where we anticipated to be. Anticipating a great afternoon. I’m hoping that our race pace will surpass our qualifying pace. Max [Verstappen] will undoubtedly be the fastest. Good news: the Ferraris are now behind us. Now let’s focus on Lando [Norris].”

Russell and Hamilton would share the third row after Russell qualified sixth for Sunday’s race. However, the stewards docked him two positions for obstructing competitors at the pit lane exit, which is now prohibited due to a regulation that was altered prior to this weekend’s competition.