Toto Wolff reveals race-destroying Mercedes mistakes at Singapore GP
Toto Wolff revealed Mercedes made a series of mistakes that destroyed Lewis Hamilton’s chances at the 2024 Singapore GP as the seven-time world champion dropped from third to sixth at the Marina Bay Circuit.
For just the fifth time in the 2024 F1 season, Hamilton managed to beat his teammate over one lap in qualifying but he saw no fruits from his efforts a day later on Sunday, September 22 following a bizarre strategy from the Silver Arrows.
The Brit started on the softs in a bid to claim track position and get up to second, as Charles Leclerc did in 2023, but he failed to get enough purchase to beat the Red Bull of Max Verstappen into Turn 1.
From there, he went into tyre management mode but quickly became cut adrift from the lead pair until he pitted for hard tyres on Lap 18, some 10 laps before Russell did and 20 laps before Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren.
It left the 105-time Grand Prix winner fed to the wolves as he lacked any tyre to defend his positions, with Russell successfully overcutting his colleague whilst Piastri blasted past on Lap 40 and Leclerc on Lap 52.
“That was a really painful evening for us,” Wolff told Mercedes in a press release of their mistakes in Singapore. “P4 and P6 is not a good result after starting P3 and P4.
“Our strategy decisions in the race were determined by our experiences in the past here where track position is crucial. We thought that the Soft tyre would give Lewis an advantage at the start but that turned out to be the wrong decision.
“With our challenges managing the rear surfaces, we went backwards. Overtaking proved possible, contrary to previous races here where it has been more processional, and in hindsight
Wolff critical of Mercedes 2024 Singapore GP pace
Hamilton was the only driver on the grid to use the soft tyre at the race start, which in theory offers better grip and speed and is preferable to get off the line, but comes at the cost of a shorter shelf life.
Yet degradation turned out to be far better than expected with the mediums taking far longer than usual to begin the process of graining and wearing out, meaning it quickly became the best race tyre at the Marina Bay Circuit.
The 39-year-old was the first of the lead cars to pit and elected not to extend his stint, although it’s unknown if he was struggling with tyres as he looked to manage his race or if Mercedes simply thought they had spotted something their rivals hadn’t.
But Wolff, team principal and CEO of the team, felt it wouldn’t have made a difference if he had started on the right tyre as evidenced by Russell finishing closer to Leclerc than Piastri, despite starting six places higher up.
“It doesn’t hide the fact though that we were too slow today,” Wolff added to media. “We are struggling at the moment with tracks that are hot and demanding on traction, like here and Baku.
“But that is no excuse. It is difficult for us to accept but we must do and find a way to improve. We now look ahead to Austin, where we will have an update coming and we hope that will move us forward.”
Mercedes now trail Ferrari by 112 points in the constructors’ championship with six Grand Prix and three Sprint Races to go ahead of the United States GP from October 18-20, whilst Hamilton is 16 points behind Carlos Sainz in the drivers’ championship as they contest sixth place in the dying embers of the season.