Lewis Hamilton says he was left “perplexed” by Mercedes’ tyre strategy at the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix where he started the race on the soft tyres, Afrosport reports.
The seven-time world champion started Sunday’s race at the Marina Bay circuit third on the grid and alongside teammate George Russell who qualified fourth.
Hamilton was however the only driver in the top 10 to start on the softs, with other drivers starting on the mediums.
The strategy call ruined his race as he was frustrated and ultimately dropped down the order to finish in sixth place.
“It wasn’t fun,” Hamilton at an event in Kuala Lampur as per Crash.net. “We sat in our meeting in the morning ahead of the race and the night before they had already mentioned that they would like to split the cars.
“I was a bit perplexed by it, because in the past when we’ve ever been in that position, if George has qualified well, like he normally does and I’m out of the top 10 or something, then we would split the strategies.
“But when we were so close it didn’t make sense to me and so I battled as hard as I could to fight to go onto the medium tyre but the team continued to suggest that I start on the soft.
“When they took the tyre blankets off and everyone was on mediums…”
Another milestone in the bag for Lewis 👊
LH has now overtaken the Iceman to second in all-time Grand Prix starts, reaching 350 in Singapore 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/QO7e6DKFFR
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) September 24, 2024
The Singapore Grand Prix was Hamilton’s 350th Grand Prix start, taking him above Kimi Raikkonen who held the record for most starts.
He sits sixth in the drivers’ championship with 174 points, a distant 157 points away from former title rival, reigning world champion and current leader Max Verstappen.
