Jolyon Palmer Maps a Tire Strategy That Could’ve Seen Lewis Hamilton Finishing Above Charles Leclerc and George Russell

Lewis Hamilton was not a happy man following the Singapore GP after his team put him on the soft tires for the race start. He was “angry” and “frustrated” after the race, one in which he had a shot at a higher finish. Assessing the Mercedes strategy, F1 expert Jolyon Palmer believes had the Silver Arrows put Hamilton on a medium-hard strategy, he would’ve finished ahead of Charles Leclerc and George Russell.

Starting the race from P3, the 39-year-old finished P6, and an early pitstop was a major cause behind the same. Ever since the British driver was frustrated during the race as he tried to do his best to keep up with the others. Speaking of the same, Palmer explained,

“It would’ve worked better for Lewis [Hamilton], the optimal strategy was medium-hard, the soft strategy was a bit of a gamble. Hamilton, in the end, would’ve finished probably ahead of Russell and Leclerc.”

The #44 driver was the only one inside the top ten starters to be driving on the C-5 tire compound. It wasn’t the ideal choice, compared to the medium and hard tires, and Hamilton ended up paying the price. He ended up being one of the earliest drivers to do a pitstop, ruining his net position in the grand scheme of things.

“here’s a WHAT IF for lewis hamilton…”

“..it would’ve worked better for lewis, the OPTIMAL strategy was medium-hard, the soft strategy was a bit of a gamble…”

“hamilton in the end would’ve finished probably ahead of russell and leclerc…”#F1

pic.twitter.com/lqhhzC1FjD

— sim (@sim3744) September 25, 2024

Speaking to the media after the race, Hamilton also revealed his team’s decision to do a split strategy “perplexed” him. Despite doing his best, the Mercedes driver could only fetch a P6 finish, ending the race over 20 seconds behind Leclerc.

Acknowledging the issue, Toto Wolff came forth to admit that it was the wrong decision to start Hamilton on softs. However, he clarified the decision came from their past experience at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

The Brackley-based team felt a soft tire would boost Hamilton’s race start, which was perhaps their only overtaking opportunity. It seemed to be a good offset strategy, but the rear tire degradation made their strategy backfire. Thus, the team knows they made a mistake, but the learning comes as a result of hindsight.