Hamilton: 'I hope George puts pressure on Ferrari tomorrow'

Not Lewis Hamilton, but his teammate George Russell was the best Mercedes driver. The seven-time world champion had to settle for fifth, while Russell starts the Singapore Grand Prix from the front row of the grid alongside polesitter Carlos Sainz. Hamilton hopes his teammate finds success during the race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

Russell's second place was a great result but Hamilton himself could not compete for pole. He told Sky Sports afterwards: "I think we had a really great package. The car was feeling incredible yesterday, and we were hoping with some tweaks we could challenge the Ferrari cars. At least one could. We made changes overnight and it went away from me."

As always, Hamilton was very honest about his own performance. Not looking for excuses, the Brit simply could not be satisfied with what he had achieved. "Absolutely disappointing, but tomorrow is a new day. I hope George gets a good start tomorrow and goes out and puts some pressure on the Ferraris tomorrow," said Hamilton.

Hamilton will not give up: "I will be pushing to the maximum to go forward and see how the race unfolds in front."