Lewis Hamilton had a spectacular qualifying session in Singapore and qualified P3. The Briton mentioned that for the first time this year, he felt one with the car. He planned on keeping up with Max Verstappen and Lando Norris during the race. Unfortunately, that didn’t go to plan. After the race during a PR event, Hamilton revealed how Mercedes ignored his tire strategy suggestion.
Hamilton started the race on the soft tires whereas everyone else in the top 10 opted for medium tires. Despite the seven-time champion’s request, Mercedes decided against going on the medium tires for the start. As a result, Hamilton had to pit earlier compared to those around him.
Lewis Hamilton on Mercedes’ tyre strategy at Singapore: “I was perplexed by it…it didn’t make sense to me and so i battled as hard as i could to fight to go on the medium tyre but the team continued to suggest that i start on the soft and when they took the blankets off, everyone was on mediums”
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Hamilton said, “I battled as hard as I could to fight to go on the medium tire but the team continued to suggest that I start on the soft and when they took the blankets off, everyone was on mediums.” Russell pitched in and added, “When I saw that, I knew Lewis wouldn’t be happy.”
The #44 driver revealed how the split strategy with Russell on mediums would’ve made sense if one of the drivers started outside the top 10. However, splitting the strategy with both cars in a strong position didn’t make sense for him.
Hamilton tried to make the soft tires last but pitted on lap 17 and from there on, he knew it was going to be a struggle on the hard tires for the remainder of the race.
The Mercedes driver was concerned about his race pace as the team made a lot of changes to the car’s setup before the qualifying. Nonetheless, the car showcased good race pace. It was the strategy that caused Hamilton to tumble down the order.
Hamilton finished the Singapore GP in P6 with Oscar Piastri, Russell, and Charles Leclerc overtaking him. Had the 39-year-old been on the same strategy as Russell, he would’ve at least finished P4. He would’ve also had the opportunity to battle for the podium with Piastri.
