Lewis Hamilton has reacted to the decision to postpone Saturday’s qualifying session for the Brazilian Grand Prix by giving his opinions straight to Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.
Hamilton interrupted a live F1TV interview with Domenicali, in which the F1 boss was explaining the decision not to allow qualifying to go ahead at the rain-lashed Interlagos circuit.
The FIA had delayed the start time for qualifying on a number of occasions waiting for the rain to cease before eventually postponing the session at 16:45 local time, with Sao Paulo’s sunset time of 18:21 fast approaching.
But Hamilton made it clear that he wanted to get out on track and walked up and explained his thoughts to Domenicali, who said the heavy rain had made it impossible to run the F1 cars.
Hamilton, who interjected the interview, said: “I want to go out! [If] you give us better wet tyres and blankets, we’d be able to run in this. I put you on the spot!"
The two shared a hug as Hamilton made it clear there was no unfriendliness but he was obviously disappointed by the lack of running in front of a sell-out crowd.
His calls for better Pirelli tyres and the use of tyre blankets will open up a further debate within F1.
Meanwhile, Domenicali says it is F1’s intention to run qualifying on Sunday morning before the grand prix later in the afternoon.
He said: “We cannot control the weather, as you know, and it's a pity, but the conditions are not safe to drive, as simple as that.
“And there is a problem also [with the lack of] light that very soon will hit the track. So, unfortunately, that's the situation we have to manage.”
When asked if it would be held in the morning, he added: “That's the plan. Now the FIA is doing the final check on what could be the right timings to organise the quality and to follow out the plan and complete the day because it is a great event.
“We need to make sure that we can maximise everything in all the conditions that can be acceptable of course.
“We just need to thank the fans but they will understand that racing in these conditions is impossible.”
However, more rain is forecast for Sunday, meaning there could be further delays while waiting for a break in the weather.
