“Surprise” expressed at Lewis Hamilton strategy unhappiness in Singapore
"I am surprised that it was a discussion"
David Coulthard was “surprised” with Lewis Hamilton’s unhappiness with his strategy at last weekend’s F1 Singapore Grand Prix.
Mercedes confessed they were “wrong” to offset Hamilton with soft tyres, resulting in an early pitstop.
Hamilton complained that Mercedes were “killing me with this offset” via team radio, as a P3 start slumped to a P6 finish.
“No, he wasn’t happy,” former F1 driver Coulthard analysed on Channel 4.
“He wasn’t happy with the strategy. I am surprised that it was a discussion.
“If you go off the grid on soft tyres, you know that you’ll pit earlier.
“A medium could have worked brilliantly if there had been a Safety Car.
“All those good ifs, buts and maybes.
“In the end, after a strong qualifying, it was a lacklustre grand prix.”
Toto Wolff admitted afterwards: “We thought that the Soft tyre would give Lewis an advantage at the start but that turned out to be the wrong decision.”
Teammate George Russell started behind Hamilton but finished in front.
Hamilton had out-qualified Russell for only the fifth time this season in Singapore to line up third on the starting grid.
“Great to see him find his mojo again in qualifying,” ex-teammate Nico Rosberg told Sky Sports.
“He used to be extremely strong in qualifying. He’s one of the greatest of all time, even in qualifying.”
Hope offered for misfiring Ferrari
Hamilton’s future team, Ferrari, also endured a frustrating Singapore Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc qualified ninth and finish the grand prix in fifth. Carlos Sainz qualified tenth and finished seventh.
“No question, a missed opportunity,” Coulthard assessed.
“They were having real difficulty getting the tyres switched on.
“In Baku the tyre pressures were higher, as stipulated by Pirelli. Here, they could bring them down.
“With the lower blankets that they now run, Carlos got caught out. That’s how he ended up in the wall.
“Charles? A little mistake. It was recovery from there.
“But the pace is there, in race pace.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
