Source: Official Team Post via X
Hamilton Accepts Responsibility for Strategy Mishap at Singapore GP
Lewis Hamilton admitted his chosen strategy for the Singapore GP Sprint qualifying didn't pay off as hoped. Meanwhile, teammate Charles Leclerc secured P3, reflecting Ferrari's ongoing pace challenges.
Lewis Hamilton, now driving for Ferrari, candidly acknowledged that his strategic call during SQ3 at the Singapore Grand Prix didn't yield the results he aimed for. The seven-time world champion ended up in P6 for Saturday's Sprint, a performance that left him visibly disappointed. Meanwhile, his teammate Charles Leclerc managed to secure P3, though he also noted Ferrari's struggle with raw pace.
Hamilton's Strategy Misstep
Hamilton was among six drivers, including Leclerc, who delayed their charge for Sprint pole, opting for a different approach with the soft tyres. Both Ferrari drivers completed just one cooldown lap, a decision that didn't pan out for Hamilton. His lap time of 1:31.702 placed him sixth on the grid.
Reflecting on his SQ3 performance, Hamilton admitted, "It was looking good in Q1 and Q2, and then I donât really know where it went away. We did a slightly different run plan to the others. It was my choice, and I think we got that wrong." He described the car as "very oversteery" on the Pirelli softs, unsure if it was due to the rears not being ready or overheating. "It just wasnât a good lap overall," he summed up.
Hamilton felt more comfortable on the medium tyres earlier in qualifying, saying, "Yeah, on the mediums was good," but faced a "loss of grip" on the softs, which he attributed to potential balance issues. "Obviously, I had the pace in the first two sessions, and then all of a sudden, I just didnât have the grip on the rear for some reason on that last lap," he explained.
Leclerc's Perspective
In contrast, Leclerc came within a quarter of a second of Max Verstappen's pole lap and will begin the Sprint from third. He felt he extracted the maximum from SQ3 but acknowledged Ferrari's limitations, saying, "I think the raw pace since three, four races, weâve lost a little bit of our raw performance and weâre just not fast enough to fight with them just yet."
Leclerc remains cautiously optimistic, hoping that "with some fine tunings, we can be there or thereabout for fighting for pole." Although P3 isn't ideal, he conceded itâs "not a bad position to start on" for the Sprint, while warning, "You really want to be starting on P1. Overtaking is going to be very difficult."
As the weekend progresses, all eyes will be on whether Ferrari can tweak their strategy and car setup to close the gap to the front runners.