A stinging setback for Mercedes in qualifying

Rare are the qualifying sessions where the Mercedes team has been so overwhelmed by the competition as in Singapore. The Silver Arrows could not do anything to contain the Ferraris and the Red Bulls, which were the only ones truly competing for the pole position this Saturday on the Marina Bay street circuit.

Lewis Hamilton 5th (1:40.126)

If Lewis Hamilton expected to have a complicated Saturday night for him and his team, the nature of the session, on the other hand, turned out to be a surprise: “We knew it would be difficult today but we really didn’t anticipate that Ferrari would be as strong as they have been, unlike Red Bull,” confided the British triple world champion at the end of the session. And to add: “I did everything I could to get the most out of the car, I gave it my all again and again.”

The driver number 44 prefers to focus on tomorrow’s race, theoretically the longest of the world championship, and seize any opportunity: « It’s a difficult race for overtaking, it’s usually a long, very long train. I think it will be very difficult ».

« *I think that the start is an opportunity, that the strategy is an opportunity, just like the safety car, who knows? I think I’m getting ready to play a long game. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. It’s going to be physical. I just hope to be able to overtake competitors, at least to pass a Ferrari at the start, that would be really helpful for what’s to come* ».

Valtteri Bottas 6th (1:40.810)

Make no mistake: while Bottas and Hamilton will indeed share the same row on the starting grid on Sunday, the Finnish driver, who was freshly renewed by the German manufacturer this week, did not always seem to be driving the same single-seater as his English teammate, as evidenced by the almost 7 tenths of a second difference at the end of the final part of qualifying.

Despite everything, driver no. 77 prefers to discuss in the press conference the overall performance of the Brackley team: “The gaps are really too big for us. Two weeks ago in Monza, it was excellent, but here we are in great difficulty. We have issues with downforce, grip on this kind of circuit.”

The former Williams driver also appears fatalistic and doesn’t expect much from the race: « The car is too slow for a podium ».

An opinion that does not reassure Hamilton in the perspective of the fight for the world crown, who therefore possibly has a lot to lose tomorrow against Sebastian Vettel.

Toto Wolff: “Days like this are the tough ones. We know that our car is not at its best on these tight circuits.” #SingaporeGP pic.twitter.com/KUhqcPWY6z

— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) 16 septembre 2017