Mercedes conceded after Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix that the strategic gamble assigned in the race to Lewis Hamilton had backfired, leaving the seven-time world champion a disappointing sixth at the end of the day.
Despite a promising qualifying performance that saw him line up third on the grid at Marina Bay, Hamilton’s evening was compromised by Mercedes’ decision to start his race on the soft tyre, an approach that the team believed would allow the Briton to tackle those ahead – meaning poleman Lando Norris and Max Verstappen – from the outset.
As events panned out, Hamilton held his own in third place but eventually succumbed to his teammate George Russell and to McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, which led to the frustrated Briton calling out his team over the radio for “killing me with this offset”.
Consequently, Hamilton was forced to pit much earlier than his rivals, which pushed him down the order from where he was unable to regain a spot among the top-three, ultimately concluding his day sixth in the running order.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff subsequently acknowledged that the Brackley squad had screwed up its strategic planning for Hamilton.
“I think we’ve read the race wrong,” Wolff admitted.
“We took a decision based on historic Singapore races where it’s basically a procession like Monaco, and that the soft tyre would give him an opportunity at the start as pretty much the only overtaking opportunity.
©Mercedes
“That was the wrong decision that we all took together jointly. It felt like a good offset, but with the rear tyre deg that we had, there was just one way, and that was backwards.
“So I think there was a logic behind it, but obviously was contrary of what we should have decided.
“But it doesn’t hide away from the fact that when a car is too slow, you’re too slow. Maybe your positioned ahead or behind, that doesn’t change anything.”
In the closing stages of the race, Hamilton lost fifth place to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc while up ahead Russell lost out to Piastri, the McLaren driver claiming the final spot on the podium.
“It was a really painful, painful evening,” Wolff exclaimed.
“It’s not about when you look at the positions. You know, fourth and sixth. That’s not good, especially when you’re starting second and third.
“The car is just….we struggle at the moment with tracks that are hot and tough on traction. It was here, it was Baku, but this is no excuse.
“I think it’s just at the moment not what we expect from ourselves. Because if your quickest car is a minute behind the leader it’s just difficult to accept.
“We now look ahead to Austin where we will have an update coming and we hope that will move us forward.”
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