Hamilton singles out crucial moment that ruined Singapore GP pole bid
Photo: Race Pictures
Tobia is a Formula 1 journalist at GPblog with experience at international circuits. Since 2022, he has covered Grands Prix across Europe, delivering reliable coverage and insights from the paddock.
Lewis Hamilton looked like a genuine contender for pole position throughout qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix, showing impressive pace in the opening two sessions before eventually settling for third place. The Ferrari driver appeared to have the speed to challenge for the top spot, but mistakes on both of his Q3 attempts left him behind Max Verstappen and teammate Charles Leclerc.
Hamilton was particularly competitive in Q1 and Q2, with his Ferrari looking well-balanced and capable of fighting at the front. His performance suggested that pole position was within reach, but the seven-time world champion struggled to put together a clean lap when it mattered most. Small errors on both his first and final runs in Q3 ultimately prevented him from extracting the full potential of his car.
Speaking after qualifying, Hamilton explained that a minor set-up adjustment between sessions made the Ferrari more difficult to handle, despite the strong feeling he enjoyed earlier in the session.
"I think it's just balance. The car felt good. We did a really good job. I think my team, the engineers, did a fantastic job, as well as the mechanics, between the sessions. I think the car felt amazing in Q1 and Q2. And when I finished the laps, I was like, she's got more in her. The only way in order to try and extract that is to try and add wing.
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"And I think in doing so, I think it just tipped it over the edge. It was only like one hole or something like that, but it's like it was just on the knife point. And after that, then the car was just snappy. And none of the laps in Q3 are any good. So I'm grateful to be third, to be honest, given that those laps weren't very good."
Photo: Race Pictures
Hamilton hopes Ferrari can put Verstappen under pressure
Despite missing out on pole position, Hamilton remains optimistic about Ferrari's chances in Sunday's race. The Briton starts third, directly behind teammate Leclerc, with Verstappen leading the field away again from pole position.
Having already demonstrated his ability to make a strong getaway during the wet Sprint earlier in the day, Hamilton acknowledged that repeating such a start in dry conditions would be a different challenge. Nevertheless, he believes Ferrari's two cars could give the team an opportunity to put pressure on the Red Bull driver.
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"The right side is hopefully a little bit better to start on. It's obviously a short start, so the start that I had was obviously in the wet, so it's much different when it's the dry. And I think tomorrow is dry.
"It'll be very hard for us to beat Max tomorrow, but there's two Ferraris there might be opportunities for us to work together to try and apply the pressure. They're very, very quick, but I think we have the car in a good place that hopefully we can at least hold on."
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