Hamilton limped his way to 10th place in Sunday’s wet race in Interlagos, finishing behind RB’s Liam Lawson.

It was an underwhelming performance, the foundation of which was laid in qualifying earlier in the day when he could do no better than 16th.

Across the garage, George Russell was second fastest, and come the race, led the opening stint.

Following the race, the 39-year-old told media that he was looking to Christmas.

“If they give me a car that doesn’t bounce off the track in the next few races, then hopefully we can get a better result,” he said.

“But yeah, looking forward to Christmas.”

Those remarks followed cryptic comments on the radio as he toured back to the pits at the end of the race.

“That was a disaster of a weekend, guys,” he said.

“That’s the worst the car’s ever been.

“Thank you for continuing to try.

“Great job from the guys at the pitstop.

“If this is the last time that I get to perform, it’s a shame it wasn’t great, but grateful for you.”

It’s understood Mercedes was caught off guard by the remarks.

Three races remain in 2024, in Las Vegas, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi, the end of the season coinciding with Hamilton’s departure for Ferrari.

His place alongside Russell will be filled by Kimi Antonelli.

With seat time in Formula 1 so valuable, some took Hamilton’s comments to suggest that he would not see out the season, with Antonelli using the final three events of the year to prepare himself for 2025.

That scenario seems wildly unlikely, however, and instead Hamilton’s comments were likely in reference to a change of pit crew for the final triple-header.

The 2024 Formula 1 season is the longest on record, with 24 races, leaving teams to rotate crews through the garage to avoid burnout.

It could also have been that Hamilton was simply referencing his last race with Mercedes in Brazil, a country for which he has great affinity such that he’s an honorary citizen.

There is no hiding from the fact, however, that Hamilton was underwhelming in Brazil with some suggesting it was the worst performance of his career.

That it coincided with the 16th anniversary of his maiden title win with McLaren in 2007, and in conditions he has displayed sublime talent in previously.

“It’s devastating to have these bad races in the second half of the season,” Hamilton said in Brazil.

“But all I can say is we’re trying, we’re coming into the weekend. But it’s definitely not acceptable, it’s definitely not good enough.

“We have to take accountability, I have to take accountability.

“I am doing the best with what I’ve got. The car has been the worst this weekend.

“I don’t know what it is, we’re going to have to find out what it is.”

As Hamilton slumped to 10th, Russell finished fourth, though had the pace for more.

Twice a winner this season, Hamilton can clearly still deliver, but it has become less frequent than it once was.

He has been comprehensively outperformed in qualifying by Russell this year; the record stands at 16-5 after Sao Paulo.

Next year, he goes toe-to-toe with arguably the best single-lap driver in F1 in Charles Leclerc.