Lewis Hamilton: “I wanted to take the risk of the undercut”

“We made some mistakes tonight, but on this team we win and we lose together. » Le discours de Lewis Hamilton is polite but undoubtedly the supervision of Mercedes must closely study the strategic choices made during the Singapore Grand Prix.

Second at the start of the race behind Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), the world champion seemed in the right tempo to try to thwart the ambitions of a third consecutive victory of an SF90 after Spa and Monza, but saw the Italian team play an excellent strategic score.

“We had discussed the possibility of an undercut in the morning meeting and I wanted to take the risk, but then Ferrari decided to stop, relates the Briton. So we did the opposite and I stayed on track.

I pushed hard and the tires behaved well, but after a few laps they started to lose performance quickly. »

Mercedes acknowledges having misjudged the possibilities offered by staggered stops, and recognizes that it should have stopped Hamilton first instead of Bottas, as admits Andrew Shovlin, head of engineering at Mercedes-AMG F1.

To Toto wolff, it is the possibilities offered by the undercut which were poorly judged by the management of the German brand. « Once we missed the opportunity, we hoped to create an opportunity later in the race by saving our tires, but that plan didn't work out, comments the boss of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport.

I think we had a car capable of getting pole yesterday and we had a chance to win today, but we made too many mistakes.

We are aware that we did not meet the standards we set for ourselves this weekend, so we will look at that and see where we can improve for Russia.

These difficult days are the ones that make us stronger. Sochi, with its long straights, will be a difficult race for us. So we need to make sure we get the most out of our package.

Hamilton also recognizes the clear upturn of the Ferraris over the past three races, having not won since Hungary. “We are fighting a hungry Ferrari team that is pushing very hard, continues the former pilot McLaren.

It’s up to each of us to do a better job. I think we are the better team, but we have to persevere. »

Discover the full report and analysis of the Singapore Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondents, in issue 2235 of AUTOhebdo, available this evening in digital version, and this Wednesday on newsstands.