Lewis Hamilton calls on Ferrari to focus more on optimizing the qualifying session after ending up in P6 for F1 Singapore GP

Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton qualified P6 at the 2025 Singapore GP qualifying ahead of his teammate Charles Leclerc. However, the Briton came out after the session and called out the Scuderia to further optimise the qualifying as he detailed the reason behind the poor Q3 form.

Lewis Hamilton topped Q1 at the Singapore GP and seemed to be in the fight for the pole position. However, the seven-time F1 champion used up two sets of soft tires when he was arguably safe after his first lap. But Ferrari didn't want to take any chance with the track evolution and sent Hamilton out on another set of soft tires.

This left Lewis Hamilton with just one set of fresh soft tires for Q3. Furthermore, the Briton came out and pointed out how the Scuderia drivers were just sitting in the pit lane as they came out of the pits later than their rivals, which caused the tires to lose temperature.

That, in combination with the track temperature and the ambient temperatures dropping, meant that Hamilton was not able to compete for the pole position. After the first run in Q3, Hamilton complained about the tires being out of the window and was startled by his gap to George Russell on the provisional pole position.

F1 Grand Prix Of Singapore - Qualifying - Source: Getty

During the post-race interviews with Sky Sports, Lewis Hamilton pointed out how he felt good after Q1, thought of competing for the top position, and demanded that Ferrari optimize the qualifying session after the subpar Q3 performance. He said,

“I’ve enjoyed it, I felt on it all weekend, I felt good in the car. Maybe silly me but I thought we were fighting for top positions. Just the way the plan goes, where we end up waiting in the pit lane, losing tyre temperatures, using the tyre in the outlap then coming in… All these different things add up to not optimising the session.”

“We have to do some work to try and figure out how to optimise these sessions better,” he added

Lewis Hamilton will start the race in P6 with both McLarens, both Mercedes and Max Verstappen starting in the Top 5.

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Lewis Hamilton gives Mercedes' example amid Ferrari's poor optimization of Q3 at the Singapore GP

George Russell took the pole position at the Singapore GP after putting in a couple of stellar laps in Q3. Max Verstappen seemed to be the favorite going into qualifying, but Mercedes' run plan gave Russell a little bit of an advantage.

The Silver Arrows were the first cars out on track in both Q3 runs, which gave them a clear track, an opportunity to get the tires in the working window without slowing down for anyone else, and not lose any temperature in tires while sitting in the pitlane.

Lewis Hamilton came out and detailed the same after the qualifying session, as he said,

“We also have to look at what the others are doing because if you look at Mercedes, they were out first and they didn’t lose any tyre temperate and they’re in front [as opposed to us], we’re waiting and turning the car off at the end of the pit lane, just ends up losing 5 or 6 degrees and it’s really hard to get that back in the outlap.”

Singapore is a difficult track to overtake on, and with only a one-stop strategy expected for tomorrow's race, it'll be a difficult task for the Ferraris to finish on the podium.