Hamilton qualifies third after Ferrari setup change

Lewis Hamilton qualified third for the Singapore Grand Prix after a small setup adjustment left his Ferrari difficult to control in the final qualifying segment, according to the driver. He finished behind pole-sitter Max Verstappen and Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc, 0.123 seconds off Verstappen’s time. Hamilton had been quick in the first two qualifying sessions, but said the car became snappy in Q3 after Ferrari added wing in an effort to find more speed. He described the change as small, but said it pushed the car beyond its preferred balance. The resulting instability compromised his attempts to improve, leaving Leclerc ahead of him on the grid. Hamilton credited Ferrari’s engineers and mechanics for the car’s earlier performance. He said the team had made the car feel better before qualifying and that he believed it had more potential. In hindsight, he said, he might not have made the adjustment. The available accounts relay his explanation but do not provide an independent technical assessment of the car’s handling. The third-place qualifying result followed a strong showing in the wet Singapore Sprint.