3rd place obtained by Lewis Hamilton in the qualifications of the Singapore GP had given the British driver a good chance of getting his fifth podium of the season, at least if it hadn’t been for a strategy error. Among the drivers present in the noble areas of the starting grid, only one decided to start with the Soft tires instead of the Medium ones used by almost everyone, and the one who chose to adopt the soft one was Hamilton himself.
A decision that turned out to be completely wrong not only to maintain the hopes of a podium, but also to defend the top-5, lost in favor of Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc, his future teammate at Ferrari who finished right in front of the seven-time world champion. The #44 commented on the wrong option for him and for the team, not without some disappointment, as did the Team Principal of Mercedes Toto Wolff.
The Austrian manager also focused on this aspect at the end of the race, indicating what went wrong and the reasons that pushed Mercedes to this choice: “We misread the race – he explained – We made a decision based on the historic races in Singapore, where it was essentially a procession like the one in Monaco. We thought the soft tyre would give a good opportunity at the start. It was pretty much the only overtaking opportunity, and it was a wrong decision we all made together“.
“It seemed like a good offset – continued Wolff – but with the degradation of the rear tyre there was only one way to go, which was backwards. There was a logic, but obviously it was against what we should have decided. But that doesn’t hide the fact that when a car is too slow, you are simply slow. Maybe a position of advantage or disadvantage doesn’t change anything.”
#Hamilton #Softs #start #mistake #explained #Wolff
