Mercedes Admits Strategic Blunder: Soft Tyres Decision ‘Ruined’ Hamilton’s Singapore GP

Mercedes admit to making a "blatant error" that "spoiled" Lewis Hamilton’s Singapore Grand Prix. The team explains their choice to begin the race with Hamilton on soft tires in Singapore.

Mercedes' technical director, James Allison, conceded that opting to begin the Singapore Grand Prix with Lewis Hamilton on soft tires was an obvious error.

Hamilton was the sole competitor among the top ten who chose to start Sunday’s race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit with softer tires.

The racer who has won the world championship seven times couldn't overtake anyone at the beginning, even though he put pressure on Max Verstappen at the first turn.

After that moment, Hamilton's speed significantly dropped, leading him to enter the pit lane on Lap 17.

This turned out to be premature since his teammate George Russell managed to surpass him, and he was eventually overtaken by Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc as well.

Hamilton has already expressed his disapproval of the strategy during a Petronas sponsor event after the Singapore Grand Prix.

In a video posted on Mercedes' YouTube channel, Allison discussed the reasons behind their decision to opt for the soft tires.

He began by acknowledging, "I want to clarify upfront: starting on the soft tires was a misstep. In hindsight, we would have chosen the medium tires like our competitors."

The logic behind choosing the soft tires was that they often enable a quick getaway at the start, increasing the likelihood of gaining a position or two in the initial laps. Prior to the race, we did not anticipate encountering the kind of problems we ultimately faced with the soft tires.

"We anticipated that the benefits of the softer rubber would help us gain a position or two, but that didn’t happen due to the way the start unfolded."

"We anticipated that the slightly more delicate nature of the soft tires wouldn't be a significant issue. Historically, drivers in Singapore begin the race at a very gentle pace and gradually increase their speed over numerous laps, allowing soft tires to last well into the optimal pit stop period."

"We didn't secure the position initially. The speed started to increase around Lap 5, which put Lewis in a difficult situation with a car that already had significant wear and tear. This forced him to pit earlier than planned, ultimately compromising his race. It was a definite error."

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