Hamilton slams Ferrari for pitlane queue mismanagement in Q3

Lewis Hamilton’s frustration boiled over following Saturday evening’s Singapore Grand Prix qualifying, when the seven-time world champion expressed his dissatisfaction with his Ferrari team’s approach to Q3.

Despite a car he felt confident in all weekend, Hamilton will start Sunday’s race from sixth, a position he insisted that could have been much higher had the team deployed a more decisive strategy.

Hamilton had entered qualifying optimistic, buoyed by a strong showing in practice sessions at Marina Bay. But a decision by Ferrari to keep him at the back of the pit-lane queue for his final flying lap in Q3 led to a costly drop-off of his tyre temperatures.

"The car’s been feeling good, generally, most of the weekend," Hamilton said after the intense session.

“Ultimately, I’m disappointed with that result. Q1, the car was feeling good. The tyres were feeling good and then when we get into the next sessions, Q2 and Q3, it was fairly decent.

“But we are the last in the queue often and then waiting in the queue and losing a lot of temperature in the tyres. And every time we do that, we’re falling further and further back. And it happens every weekend."

The six-time Singapore GP starter acknowledged the added difficulty of beginning from the dirty side of the grid on Sunday.

"I definitely think the inside is dirty. So we would hope they would try and clean the track, but I don’t know whether or not they will tonight. But yeah, the inside is definitely not great."

Strategic missteps under the spotlight

As he elaborated on his session, Hamilton’s criticism extended to Ferrari’s apparent inability to manage the end-of-queue dilemma that has plagued him in 2025.

"It has, but I don’t know whether or not they see it so much. We’re losing so much temperature. Maybe 5, 6 degrees, whatever it is, it’s still a lot of temperature,” he explained.

“And it’s really hard to gain that back in the out lap without using the tyres so much, which we ultimately do.

“We’re just starting the lap. I think the guys that are on pole, they went out quicker, without less waiting in the pit lane. So I think there’s an area we can improve on for sure."

Hamilton also noted that rivals are making strides that Ferrari has yet to match.

"Naturally, you’ve seen Red Bull had an upgrade, you’ve seen, I think Mercedes have found something, and we haven’t. So we’re just fighting with what we have.

“Everyone’s trying so hard, but it’s definitely disappointing to finish where we are today, when there was potential to potentially be harder."

Eyes on the race

Despite the setback, Hamilton remains pragmatic about his race prospects.

"It’s generally been solid. As I said, I just wish I was higher up. I really felt like we could have been higher up today,” he added.

“It’s just, it happens every weekend. Tomorrow, I mean, it’s a race where things happen, you can take the opportunities. I’ll be on my toes, ready to capitalise on any options."

Read also:

• Leclerc facing grim reality after Singapore Q3: ‘I can’t feel the car’

For Hamilton, Singapore has once again highlighted an area of weakness at Ferrari, even with a driver capable of extracting peak performance.

As the lights go out on Sunday, Hamilton will hope to turn strategy and opportunity into a chance to salvage a podium, but Saturday’s qualifying serves as a stark reminder: confidence in the car alone is not enough.

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