Hamilton regrets big changes to Mercedes car after “it got away from me again”

The seven-time world champion qualified fifth in Singapore but was nearly half a second slower than Mercedes teammate George Russell, who claimed a spot on the front-row of the grid after missing out on pole to Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz by just 0.072s. 

Hamilton conceded that he went the wrong way with big changes to his W14 overnight that left him “so slow” compared to Russell. 

"Clearly we had a really great package here,” Hamilton said. 

“The car was feeling incredible yesterday and there was so much hope that with some tweaks, we could challenge the Ferraris.

"One of the cars was able to do that and I wasn't today. We made big changes overnight and it got away from me again. I was just so slow today.”

After being unable to challenge the front in qualifying, Hamilton said he hopes Russell can put pressure on the Ferraris and get the win on Sunday.

“So it’s definitely disappointing but tomorrow is a new day,” Hamilton added. 

“I really hope George gets a great start tomorrow and puts some pressure on those Ferraris. 

“It would be great for him to get a win."