"You need to listen to me"- Lewis Hamilton rants on radio over Mercedes' poor tire selection at 2022 F1 Singapore GP

Lewis Hamilton started third in the 2022 F1 Singapore GP but was passed by Carlos Sainz in the opening few laps. The seven-time world champion dropped to fourth place and expressed his anger over the team radio at the tire choice. The Briton complained that he had no grip on his tires and was struggling in the race.

Hamilton blasted his team for not listening to him and putting on intermediate tires for the race. It seems he wanted complete wet tires but the team decided otherwise at the last moment and decided to switch to intermediates. Hamilton said:

"I told you about these tyres, in future you need to listen to me. No grip"

Many have speculated that Mercedes' losing streak will finally be broken and the Brackley-based outfit will finally win a race this season. The condition of Hamilton's tires, however, means it will be difficult for the Briton to keep up with the Ferraris and Red Bull ahead of him.

George Russell started at the back of the grid and is running 16th at the time of writing. It will be a mammoth task for the young driver to place his Mercedes into the top five, let alone win the race.

The Safety Car coming out will be the only chance for the Mercedes pair to gain some kind of advantage over their opponents. Singapore is notorious for its crashes and is the only track with a 100 percent Safety Car deployment record. Since the first race in 2008, a Safety Car has come out due to one reason or another.

Lewis Hamilton will also be banking on the fact that he has previously won at the track and Mercedes has historically performed well in Singapore. Barring any pitstop or strategic errors, Mercedes can push for a podium finish. Ferrari are infamous for their mistakes this season and another mistake here could cost them heavily. Mercedes are just 35 points behind Ferrari in the constructors' championship and with five races to go, every point is valuable.

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Lewis Hamilton keeping up with the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz

Even after falling to fourth place, Lewis Hamilton is keeping up with Carlos Sainz's Ferrari. The Briton is only a second behind the Spaniard. Hamilton will look to undercut Sainz and take back the place he lost. He had earlier complained at the start of the race that Sainz had pushed him wide and not given him enough space.

The FIA investigated the matter between the two drivers and decided that no action was required. With the race approaching the half-distance mark, it will be interesting to see which tires are fitted into the cars next and where Lewis Hamilton will finish up.