Hamilton spoke on Thursday about the difficulty of getting the right set-up in the Mercedes W12 and the expected challenge from title rivals Max Verstappen and Red Bull at Interlagos.
After the defeat in Mexico on Sunday, Hamilton slipped to 19 points behind Verstappen at the top of the drivers’ standings and will receive a starting penalty of five places on race day in Brazil.
But in qualifying on Friday, Mercedes struck back when Hamilton led all three qualifying stages and enjoyed a lead of four tenths of a second over Verstappen in Q3.
Hamilton’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas qualified third, while Sergio Perez starts fourth in the Red Bull sister car.
“I definitely loved today,” said Hamilton.
“We’re working so hard to get this car right. It was tough. To finally feel the car the way it was today, it feels great.
“It’s just a testament to all the great work everyone does in the garage and at home too, all the work that goes on at home just getting everything we can out of the car.”
Hamilton noted that it was the second straight year that he had led qualifying only to be hit with a penalty after falling 10 places at the Turkish Grand Prix.
Hamilton called the penalty “unhappy” but said he would “try to fight back”. Should he win the sprint race tomorrow, he would start from sixth place in the Grand Prix on Sunday.
Pole man Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, in Parc Ferme
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Verstappen and Red Bull claimed after qualifying that they were not surprised by Hamilton’s pace lead in over a single lap as Mercedes had taken a new engine.
Hamilton wasn’t sure whether Mercedes’ lead would be carried over to the race, but he took courage because he had the right setup for qualifying.
“I left FP3 and sat there for a full hour making the right mindset change and the fear you get is insane,” said Hamilton.
“We often do it wrong, I do it wrong and today I did it right and the car was really nice to drive. It was all I wanted
“That made it possible for me to just keep pushing. You saw purple, purple, purple so I just put on it every time.
“I don’t know how we can go from a trail where [Red Bull] are half a second ahead and then lag behind, but they will still be very strong in tomorrow’s race.
“I hope Valtteri has a good start.”
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