His slowdown in qualifying speed was due to a decision he himself would consider wrong. While the other drivers chose to take several cooling laps to adequately prepare the soft tires from Pirelli, Hamilton requested a different preparation, completing only one cooling lap before his last quick lap.
The experimental plan did not work, and after the session, Hamilton did not hesitate to take responsibility for this decision. “In SQ3 we tried a different race plan, which over time I have to acknowledge was not the correct one,” he stated. Furthermore, he recognized having had grip issues at the rear of the car when fitting the soft tires, which affected his last lap.
During the first two sessions, the Scuderia Ferrari SF-26 had shown a good balance with the medium tires, but switching to soft tires posed a significant challenge for Hamilton. “We need to understand whether it was a tire preparation issue, balance, or overheating,” he added, seeking an explanation for this loss of traction.
Despite his position on the grid, Hamilton remains confident in the speed of his car. “At other times during the day, the pace was there. Even though it hasn’t gone well today, we’ll focus on what we’ve learned and how to improve for tomorrow,” he concluded. With the difficulty of overtaking on Singapore’s narrow and winding roads, the British driver will need a great start to fight for the podium against Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen, who has secured pole for the race.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
