Hamilton stunned by the choice Mercedes made: 'I was so angry'

The majority of Formula 1 drivers started on mediums at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. Hamilton was the only driver at the front of the field with a different strategy. "We sat in our meeting in the morning of the race, actually the night before they already mentioned that they would like to split the cars," Hamilton said at an event hosted by Mercedes' main sponsor Petronas.

Why Hamilton was angry with Mercedes' decision

The 39-year-old Briton cannot understand why the strategies were split, given that both Mercedes drivers had qualified on the second row of the grid. "I was a bit perplexed by it. Because in the past, when we’ve ever been in that position - normally if George has qualified well, like he normally does, and I’m out of the top 10 or something, then we’ll split the strategies, but we were so close. It didn’t make sense to me," he continued.

"I battled as hard as I could to fight to go on the medium tyre, but the team continued to suggest that I started on the soft. And then when they took the tyre blankets off, everyone was on mediums," said Hamilton. Teammate George Russell added: "When I saw that, I was thinking, ‘Lewis won’t be happy'"

"I was so angry," continued Hamilton. "So already from that moment I’m frustrated. And then I tried my best to keep up with the guys ahead," he said about Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, who were quickly outpacing the Mercedes driver. "And then I trust tried to make that tyre last as long as could and I had to stop on Lap 17 and I knew from that moment, then the race was done for me, because the hard tyre was going to be a struggle in that heat."

This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton