Hamilton flustered by Ferrari pace around Singapore

  • Published on 16 Sep 2017 17:03
  • comments 2
  • By: Fergal Walsh

Lewis Hamilton was left surprised after qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix. The Brit admitted that he was caught out by how much pace rivals Ferrari had, as Sebastian Vettel stormed to his third pole position of the season.

Coming into the weekend, it was widely expected that Mercedes would struggle around the tight circuit that contains many traction zones. Indeed, Hamilton's lap time in Q3 was over half a second down on Vettel, and only good enough for fifth place.

"We knew coming here it would be difficult," he said. "Every year it’s been difficult for us generally. We knew today would be tough but I didn’t anticipate Ferrari would be as strong as they were. I thought Red Bull would be as quick as they were. We remain hopeful. I got everything I could out of the car. I gave it everything and more. I threw the sink at it and squeezed every bit of it."

After the Italian Grand Prix two weeks ago, Hamilton took the lead of the championship for the first time. With pole position being statistically important at Singapore and overtaking presenting an almighty challenge, Hamilton knows Mercedes will have to get lucky for a strong result and to keep his lead in the standings.

"This is a c*** track for overtaking. It’s usually a long, long train. The start is an opportunity, strategy is an opportunity, Safety Cars. We’ll have to play the long game – it’s a marathon, not a sprint. I don’t know where Ferrari have picked up that pace. We have some races coming up where I think we’ll be strong."

 

Fergal Walsh

Replies (2)

Login to reply
  • Ferrari even got the better of Red Bull, they sort of anticlimaxed...

    • + 0
    • Sep 16 2017 - 17:09
  • boudy

    Posts: 1,168

    Finally a 3 way battle for a win and they are moaning like hell. Mercedes has had it all their way by since 2014. Now the comments about that extra power in quali makes sense. Lets now see if they can overtake and hope that bottas doesn't take another ferrari out at the start. Looking forward to this race.

    • + 0
    • Sep 17 2017 - 08:30

BE Grand Prix of Belgium

Local time 15:15

BEGrand Prix of Belgium

Local time 15:15

World Championship standings 2025

Show full world champion standings

Test calendar

See full test schedule

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2025

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
14 - Mar 16
Australia
21 - Mar 23
China
4 - Apr 6
Japan
11 - Apr 13
Bahrain
18 - Apr 20
Saudi Arabia
2 - May 4
United States of America
16 - May 18
Italy
23 - May 25
Monaco
30 - Jun 1
Spain
13 - Jun 15
Canada
27 - Jun 29
Austria
4 - Jul 6
United Kingdom
25 - Jul 27
Belgium
1 - Aug 3
Hungary
29 - Aug 31
Netherlands
5 - Sep 7
Italy
19 - Sep 21
Azerbaijan
3 - Oct 5
Singapore
17 - Oct 19
United States of America
24 - Oct 26
Mexico
7 - Nov 9
Brazil
21 - Nov 23
United States of America
28 - Nov 30
Qatar
5 - Dec 7
United Arab Emirates
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2025

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
14 - Mar 16
Australia Albert Park
21 - Mar 23
4 - Apr 6
11 - Apr 13
18 - Apr 20
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
2 - May 4
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
16 - May 18
23 - May 25
Monaco Monte Carlo
30 - Jun 1
13 - Jun 15
27 - Jun 29
Austria Red Bull Ring
4 - Jul 6
United Kingdom Silverstone
25 - Jul 27
1 - Aug 3
Hungary Hungaroring
29 - Aug 31
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
5 - Sep 7
Italy Monza
19 - Sep 21
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
3 - Oct 5
17 - Oct 19
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
24 - Oct 26
7 - Nov 9
Brazil Interlagos
21 - Nov 23
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
28 - Nov 30
5 - Dec 7
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule

Driver profile

  • Team Ferrari
  • Points 3,440
  • Podiums 132
  • Grand Prix 216
  • Country United Kingdom
  • Date of b. Jan 7 1985 (40)
  • Place of b. Tewin, United Kingdom
  • Weight 68 kg
  • Length 1.74 m
Show full profile

Team profile

Show full profile
show sidebar