"It was a mistake" - Mercedes director says Lewis Hamilton's strategy to start on the soft tire in Singapore was incorrect

Mercedes F1 technical director James Allison accepted that starting Lewis Hamilton on the soft tire at the beginning of the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix last Sunday was a mistake by the team. It was a curious sight to see the seven-time world champion start on the softer C5 rubber, while his competitors started on the optimal medium tyres under the lights at the Marina Bay circuit.

By starting on the soft tire, both Lewis Hamilton and the team would have been hoping for a better start than their rivals and gain some positions off the line. It did not transpire the way that way and they had to make an early stop to change to the hard tires, which put him out of contention for the podium positions despite starting the race in P3.

Speaking on Mercedes' official YouTube channel after the race, Allison answered questions from fans, put to him by the host. One fan asked what the reasoning for starting Lewis Hamilton on the soft tires was. To this, Allison said,

"Before I give the explanation, I just want to start off by saying we shouldn't have started on the softs, it was a mistake. If we could turn back time, we would do what those around us did and select the mediums. The reasoning was that the soft tire very often allows you to get away from the start abruptly and allows you a good chance of jumping a place or two in the opening laps of the race. (1:40)

"We had no real expectation before the race that we were going to suffer the sort of difficulties that we then experienced on the soft rubber, and imagined that we would get the upside of the soft rubber...of getting a place or two...We didn't [...]and then hoped that the downside of the soft being fragile wouldn't really play out particularly badly."

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Lewis Hamilton "perplexed" by Mercedes starting on soft tires

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton shared he was perplexed by the team's decision to employ a split strategy with him and teammate George Russell, who started just one place behind him on the grid.

In a Petronas sponsor event after the race, the 29-year-old reflected on the call saying (via Motorsportweek),

"When we were so close, it didn’t make sense to me. So I battled as hard as I could to fight to go on the medium tire, but the team continued to suggest that I start on the soft. And then they took the tire blankets off and everyone was on mediums.”

Hamilton ultimately finished sixth and was unable to defend his position against Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc in the later stages of the race, as both drivers were on a fresh set of hard tires and made light work of the F1 legend on the Marina Bay circuit.