Lewis Hamilton complained that his Mercedes team were ‘killing him’ with a bold Singapore Grand Prix tyre strategy.
The seven-time world champion improved his qualifying form to set up a P3 start for the race around the Marina Bay Street Circuit, and Mercedes went extra aggressive with their tyre selection.
Starting on the soft compound tyres with almost all of their rivals beginning on mediums, Hamilton was handed an excellent opportunity to overtake second-placed Max Verstappen at the race start.
Unfortunately for the seven-time world champion, he got a lot of wheelspin off the line and when he arrived at Turn One, he could only launch a half-hearted move on Verstappen, who held position.
Hamilton then dropped back into the clutches of team-mate George Russell on mediums and with the 39-year-old struggling with tyre temperatures, Mercedes opted to bring him in for hard on lap 18.
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