Hamilton admits wrong run-plan call as Ferrari slips to sixth in Singapore sprint shootout

Lewis Hamilton admitted he made the “wrong choice” over Ferrari’s run plan in the SQ3 sprint qualifying shootout at the Singapore Grand Prix on Friday, ending up sixth — 0.546 seconds behind pace-setter Max Verstappen at Marina Bay.

Ferrari had looked strong through the earlier phases, with Leclerc topping SQ2 and Hamilton three tenths behind in second. But when the top-10 shootout began, the Scuderia opted to send both drivers out in the middle of the eight-minute session rather than copying McLaren and Mercedes, who went out immediately, or Red Bull, who waited until the very end.

“It was looking good in Q1 and Q2, and then… I don’t really know where it went away,” Hamilton said. “We did a slightly different run plan to the others. It was my choice, and I think we got that wrong.”

The timing issue was compounded by a handling problem on the mandatory soft tyres. Hamilton described the car as “very, very snappy, oversteery” on his sole SQ3 lap, with the rear offering little traction. “On the mediums, it was good. Just much different on the soft. Lots of grip, but only on the front and none at the rear,” he explained. “I didn’t have the grip on the rear for some reason on that last lap, so, it is what it is.”

Leclerc fared better, crossing the line third in SQ3, but the Monegasque was candid about Ferrari’s wider performance picture. “I think the raw pace, since three or four races, we’ve lost a little bit of our raw performance. We’re just not fast enough to fight with them just yet,” he said, while declining to use the run-plan as an excuse.

Leclerc did express cautious optimism ahead of Sunday’s grand prix qualifying session. “There’s potential in the car. For tomorrow, maybe with some fine-tuning, we can be there or thereabouts for fighting for pole. It’s not too bad, but we are missing a little bit.”

Starting third on the sprint grid is far from ideal at Marina Bay, a street circuit where overtaking is notoriously difficult. “On a track like this, you really want to be starting on P1,” Leclerc acknowledged. “But at the end of the day, it’s only the sprint race. We’ll have to do the job tomorrow in qualifying.”