Known for His Proud Paddock Walks, Lewis Hamilton Hides His Face From Photographers at Brazilian GP

Lewis Hamilton hid his face and refused to be photographed as he came into the Brazilian GP paddock ahead of qualifying on Saturday. The Briton is usually popular for showcasing different outfits while arriving at races, but chose to go incognito in Interlagos today.

F1 photojournalist and content creator Kym Illman shared a photo on Instagram of Hamilton with his hand in front of his face, reporting that the Ferrari driver wasn’t interested in the cameras on Saturday. Illman added that he did not object to this decision from Hamilton.

While known for his fashion choices and extravagant outfits in the paddock, Hamilton has toned down on wearing fashion outfits since joining Ferrari. The last time he was spotted in a fashion outfit was the Italian GP, where he arrived wearing a suit and overcoat to mark the occasion of Ferrari’s home race.

Hamilton has lately been putting up an upset demeanor as he comes into this weekend’s Brazilian GP on the back of a disappointing weekend in Mexico, even though he finished second. A chance at a race win was taken away from the 41-year-old when he had an incident with teammate Charles Leclerc on the first lap, which saw him lose position to both Leclerc and eventual race winner Max Verstappen.

This was followed by a tense media session from Hamilton as he openly criticized his teammate, while also advocating that the Monegasque should have received a larger penalty than the five seconds he got for the incident at Turn 4. He added that Ferrari needed to have a strong internal discussion to clear the air following the moment.

Lewis Hamilton-Charles Leclerc Discussion ‘Went Well’, Claims Ferrari Boss Fred Vasseur

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has revealed that Hamilton, Leclerc and he had a conversation ahead of the Brazilian GP, and shared that it ‘went well’. He added that the team is now looking to ‘turn the page’ following the discussion where all positions were made clear.

“We did it, we did it yesterday evening because I had to fly back to Europe between the two races,” Vasseur said in Friday’s team principal’s press conference.

“It went well. It was good to discuss, good to clarify my position and their position. It was good to do, and now we turn the page, and we are focused on the next one,” he added.

Vasseur also explained that following the discussion, the guidelines for both his drivers remain the same. He reiterated that Hamilton and Leclerc need to respect each other on track, but more importantly, respect the Ferrari brand and team personnel.

Lewis Hamilton Reportedly Set to Take Engine Penalty at the Brazilian GP

The Race has reported on Saturday that Hamilton will take a grid penalty for Sunday’s Brazilian GP as Ferrari has decided to fit new power unit components in his SF-26. It remains unclear how many places the seven-time world champion will drop, as it is not yet known if Ferrari has decided to change one or more elements of the power unit in the back of his car.

The FIA regulations mandate that exceeding the permitted number of power unit components leads to a 10-place grid drop the first time, followed by a five-place drop for any additional use. Since Hamilton had already exceeded his quotas in 2026 before, a penalty of anywhere from five to 22 places is possible for him in Sao Paulo.

The 41-year-old famously started in P10 at the 2021 Brazilian GP after taking a five-place grid drop, but managed to come through the field and take one of his most iconic career wins in his title fight against Verstappen that year. He will now be looking at that performance to take inspiration from this weekend as well.

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