Lewis Hamilton worried he can't "fix" Mercedes' tyre woes after "horrible" sprint

Hamilton only finished seventh at Interlagos, losing out to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda in the closing laps.

The 38-year-old ran as high as fourth in the early stages but struggled with rear-end tyre degradation as he dropped back through the field.

"It was horrible,” Hamilton said after the sprint. “It was not enjoyable whatsoever. I had a good start and then after that just struggled with the balance. 

“A lot of understeer, then snap oversteer, and I was just fighting the car from very early on. 

“Then I had no tyres in the end. I don't really know how I'm going to fix that for tomorrow.”

Hamilton predicts Sunday’s race - where he will start from fifth - will be a difficult one.

“It's going to be a long afternoon, that's for sure,” he added. “I can only assume I've got the setup wrong. It is what it is. 

“I'll fight as hard as I can tomorrow, but we won't be winning that's for sure.

“I'll just be trying to see if I can manage the tyres better tomorrow."