Lewis Hamilton has conceded he made the ‘wrong choice’ when deciding on the SQ3 run plan at Formula 1’s Singapore Grand Prix.
Ferrari took a 1-2 in the second phase of qualifying with Charles Leclerc on top and Hamilton three tenths adrift, and the Scuderia went for a different strategy to its rivals in the top-10 shootout, as all cars switched from medium to soft tyres as per the regulations.
While McLaren and Mercedes went out straight away and Red Bull left it until the very end, Leclerc and Hamilton took to the track in the middle of the eight-minute session – first the Monegasque, who had time for a second attempt after a cool-down lap, then the Briton, whose sole attempt was only good enough for sixth. He was 0.546s adrift of Max Verstappen’s benchmark.
“It was looking good in Q1 and Q2, and then… I don’t really know where it went away,” Hamilton commented. “We did a slightly different run plan to the others. It was my choice, and I think we got that wrong.
“But ultimately, the car was very oversteering on that lap. I don’t know if the rears were not ready or if they were overheating, it was difficult to say, but it was very, very snappy, oversteery, and it just wasn’t a good lap overall.”
When it was suggested that he looked ‘really comfortable’ on the mediums, Hamilton agreed: “Yeah, on the mediums, it was good. Just much different on the soft. Lots of grip, but only on the front and none at the rear.
“It could be balance, but ultimately, just… Obviously, I had the pace in the first two sessions, and then all of a sudden, I just couldn’t pull. I didn’t have the grip on the rear for some reason on that last lap, so, it is what it is.”
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Photo by: Clive Mason / Getty Images
Leclerc again went three tenths quicker than the seven-time world champion on his way to third place in SQ3 and acknowledged the different run plan. “Honestly, it shouldn’t be an excuse,” the Monegasque clarified.
“I think the raw pace, since three or four races, we’ve lost a little bit of our raw performance. We’re just not fast enough to fight with them just yet.
“But still, I feel like there’s potential in the car. For tomorrow, maybe with some fine-tuning, we can be there or thereabouts for fighting for pole. It’s not too bad, but we are missing a little bit.”
When told he was “still right in the mix” with third position on the sprint grid, Leclerc added: “I mean, it’s not a bad position to start on, but on a track like this, you really want to be starting on P1. Overtaking is going to be very difficult. So we’ll see.
“But at the end of the day, it’s only the sprint race. We’ll have to do the job tomorrow in qualifying.”
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