The seven-time world champion ended up 0.501s down on polesitter Carlos Sainz on the Marina Bay monitor, whereas team-mate George Russell break up the Ferraris to qualify on the entrance row.
The qualifying battle between the Mercedes drivers has been carefully fought in 2023, with Russell inching forward 8-7 in Singapore.
Hamilton scored the group’s solely pole place of the yr in Hungary, his first since 2021, however it stays his solely front-row begin of the season thus far, and he remarked in Monza final trip that he was “counting down the times till February” when the brand new Mercedes is launchedÂ
Explaining {that a} set-up change in a single day “did not work for me” in qualifying, Hamilton stated: “Actually pleased for George, I feel he did a mega job. He is simply been related with the automobile all weekend.
“It began good for us yesterday and it is not so good at present.”
Requested how tough the automobile was to get within the candy spot, Hamilton replied: “It’s the hardest automobile that I’ve ever pushed to get proper.”
Hamilton believes Russell has “a extremely good shot at probably successful” the grand prix on Sunday, with the youthful Briton speaking up the potential benefit that will end result from having an additional set of medium tyres.
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W14
Photograph by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
However Hamilton performed down his personal prospects of a robust end result as he’s not sure how the automobile will reply to the set-up modifications over an extended stint.
“For me, it is simply – yeah. See what I can do,” he stated. “If I can get additional up then nice.
“The automobile was good yesterday on a future however I modified the automobile in a single day and it is now – I do not know what is going on to occur tomorrow with the automobile.”
Earlier within the weekend, Hamilton was crucial of the choice by 4 groups to dam the introduction of a further DRS zone on the strategy to the Turns 16 and 17 chicane as “groups needs to be for extra racing, not in opposition to it”.
Requested by Autosport if he felt the race can be any higher even with out the DRS Zone, he replied: “I feel so, simply due to the monitor format, the floor is healthier.
“I do not know if it may be an enormous distinction however hopefully it is in a Positive path.”