Hamilton frustrated as he gets stuck behind Leclerc at the Singapore Grand Prix
Photo: Race Pictures
Kieran is a freelance Formula 1 journalist for GPblog, covering breaking news, live race blogs and feature content across the F1 calendar. An NQJ-qualified journalist with more than a decade of experience, he has previously written for publications including MailOnline, the Manchester Evening News and the Eastern Daily Press.
Lewis Hamilton was left frustrated at the Singapore Grand Prix after he got stuck behind his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc.
The British driver had slipped seven seconds behind Leclerc during the opening stint as he struggled on the medium tyres. However, a decision to change for softs early in the race, allowed Hamilton to close right up to the back of Leclerc after his teammate also came into the pits.
On Lap 27, Hamilton first expressed his frustration about being stuck behind Leclerc, saying he lost "two seconds" behind the Monegasque.
Leclerc did respond with the fastest lap of the race on Lap 28, but a lap later, Hamilton again called on his team to use team orders. However, he did not get the response he wanted.
Hamilton told his race engineer, "I need to use this speed, mate," to which he was told: "We need tyre management in Turns 10 and 18, for tyres and performance."
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Martin Brundle: Ferrari response "not what Hamilton wanted"
Martin Brundle on commentary insisted that "was absolutely not the response that Hamilton wanted there." He added: "Lewis is saying he can go a lot faster if Leclerc wasn't in his way. But they are both in the 1:36s now, which is a tough call for Ferrari to get Leclerc out of the way."
Hamilton then offered the chance to let Leclerc back past if he can't pull away from the Monegasque driver, however the two cars remained stationary. By Lap 36, Leclerc appeared to have an advantage over Hamilton, building his lead over his teammate to over two seconds.
Hamilton previously raged over the team radio at the Dutch Grand Prix after Leclerc on that occasion failed to obey team orders.
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