Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari/6th) after the Singapore poker: “That’s on me”

Four-time Singapore Grand Prix winner Lewis Hamilton is currently trailing his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc. Leclerc finished second in the only free practice session, with Hamilton fourth. In the first part of the sprint qualifying, Leclerc was second again, whilst Hamilton was fourth once more. In SQ2, Leclerc was fastest, with Hamilton in P2. And in SQ3, Leclerc ultimately set the third-fastest time, whilst Lewis Hamilton could only manage sixth on the grid.

One thing that stood out time and again during the fast laps: in the first two sectors of the circuit, Hamilton is often at least on a par with Leclerc, but then loses ground in the final sector. This could be down to the set-up, or perhaps tyre management. In any case, the record-breaking champion was clearly struggling with traction.

Be that as it may, Hamilton, the driver with 106 Grand Prix wins to his name, said after the Singapore Sprint qualifying session: “It looked quite good in SQ1 and SQ2, and then I really don’t know where we lost our way. We opted for a slightly different strategy to the others. However, that was my choice, and I think I got it wrong. Sixth place – that’s down to me.”

“On the soft tyres, the rear kept sliding out; I don’t know if the rear tyres weren’t up to temperature yet or if they were already overheating. The car felt very unsettled, with a lot of oversteer – simply not a good lap overall.”

“On the medium tyres in SQ1 and SQ2, my car felt decent. On the soft tyres, it was a completely different story. First the front tyres didn’t grip, then the rears didn’t. The good balance we’d had before was gone.”

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“Obviously we had the pace we needed in the first two qualifying sessions, and then suddenly I just couldn’t push any more. For some reason, I had no grip left on the rear axle on the final lap.”