Lewis Hamilton takes the blame for F1 qualifying blunder in Singapore

During the Singapore Grand Prix sprint shootout, Scuderia Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton encountered significant issues during the final qualifying session. While Charles Leclerc secured a strong third-place starting position for Ferrari, Hamilton was forced to start sixth for the Sprint race. The primary reason for this drastic change in qualifying pace was an experimental tyre preparation plan that Hamilton proposed.

He requested a unique sequence, consisting of only a single cooldown lap, before attempting to secure pole position. This decision proved to be a mistake, as the car experienced a severe loss of rear grip on the mandatory soft tyres during the decisive final lap. Hamilton acknowledged that the experimental run plan was not the right call, as the car initially felt balanced on Mediums but struggled with rear grip on the Softs.

He admitted that the team needs to investigate whether the issue stemmed from tyre preparation, car balance, or overheating. Despite not securing the front two rows of the grid, Hamilton remains confident in the car's overall pace and emphasized that the team will focus on learning from this experience to improve performance in future races.