Lewis Hamilton ‘Lost’ with Mercedes Setup After Struggles in Singapore GP Practice

Lewis Hamilton "confused" after attempting all options with Mercedes F1 vehicle

Lewis Hamilton confesses he feels "confused" with his Mercedes F1 vehicle following a challenging initial day at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton expressed that he is feeling "lost" with his Mercedes Formula 1 car following the practice sessions on Friday at the Singapore Grand Prix.

The seven-time world champion finished with the 11th best time in the second practice session, trailing McLaren's Lando Norris, who clocked the fastest lap, and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc by nearly a full second.

Hamilton expressed dissatisfaction with his car's balance and handling during the second practice session, frequently mentioning that he was experiencing a lack of grip.

Hamilton confessed that despite making numerous adjustments to the set-up, none of the changes had any impact on his W15 vehicle.

"The vehicle's handling… It's quite challenging… It's really tough," Hamilton commented post-FP2.

"It was an extremely tough day. We experimented with all possible set-ups, but none of them seemed to be effective. It was definitely a significant challenge; we put in our utmost effort, only to discover we were still a second behind."

"In the end, I believe we were somewhat confused and uncertain about where to position the car. Despite numerous attempts, we kept getting the same results."

When questioned about Mercedes' prospects in qualifying, Hamilton responded, "Right now, I don't see myself making it to Q3."

Mercedes driver George Russell faced difficulties as he finished in seventh place. His session concluded in the barriers at Turn 8 due to a front right wheel lock-up.

Russell described Friday as particularly difficult, stating that they were significantly behind in performance.

"We have to figure out the reasons behind this. I'm confident we'll discover some explanations this evening. We implemented significant adjustments between FP1 and FP2, but the car isn't performing as smoothly as it did a year ago or in recent races."

"We need to investigate and find the root cause."

The two Mercedes cars were outpaced by the Red Bulls driven by Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda. Additionally, Lewis Hamilton finished behind Alex Albon in the Williams and Nico Hulkenberg in the Haas.

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