Lewis Hamilton believes Ferrari can approach the Singapore Grand Prix on the attack, with the characteristics of Marina Bay potentially allowing the SF-26 to exploit its cornering performance while reducing the impact of the team’s power deficit. After a bittersweet weekend in Malaysia, the seven-time World Champion heads into Singapore convinced that the street circuit could provide a favourable opportunity for the Scuderia.
Ferrari left Sepang with mixed feelings after an unfortunate tyre choice compromised Lewis Hamilton’s opportunity to fight for victory. Singapore now offers an immediate chance to respond, although the Sprint format means teams will have only one free practice session before competitive running begins. The complete timetable is available in the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix schedule.
Lewis Hamilton expects Ferrari to attack in Singapore
Speaking ahead of Friday’s running at Marina Bay, Lewis Hamilton made Ferrari’s intentions clear.
“We are here to attack,” the Ferrari driver declared as he looked ahead to a weekend he believes could suit the team better than several other circuits.
Lewis Hamilton sees the Sprint format as an additional challenge, but also as one of the elements that makes Singapore particularly stimulating.
“I think the Sprint format makes this the most exciting weekend of the year, it will be a real challenge,” Lewis Hamilton explained. “On paper, street circuits suit our car and on this high-downforce track the straights are not so long, so we should suffer less from the power deficit that separates us from the other power units and, at the same time, we should be able to exploit the SF-26’s cornering speed.”
That combination could become particularly important at Marina Bay. The circuit places a strong emphasis on braking, traction and performance through a dense sequence of corners, while its straights are less dominant than at venues where outright power and acceleration carry greater weight. The specific demands Ferrari must balance can be explored in our analysis of the Marina Bay circuit.
Singapore could reduce Ferrari’s power-unit disadvantage
Lewis Hamilton’s assessment centres on two characteristics of the SF-26. Ferrari has shown strong cornering performance, while its power deficit relative to rival engines has been a disadvantage on circuits where straight-line performance has a larger influence on lap time.
Marina Bay offers a different balance. Its high-downforce nature and relatively short straights could limit the amount of time Ferrari loses through the power unit while giving the car more opportunities to exploit its speed through the corners.
Those characteristics are among the reasons for optimism surrounding Lewis Hamilton before the weekend, alongside his previous success in Singapore. A broader look at the factors potentially working in his favour is available in our analysis of Lewis Hamilton’s Singapore GP prospects with Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton still chasing his remarkable 2018 Singapore pole lap
Marina Bay also carries a particularly memorable reference point for Lewis Hamilton. His pole position lap in 2018 remains one of the standout qualifying performances of his Formula 1 career, and recreating that level continues to be a personal target whenever he returns to Singapore: “Every time I come here, the goal is to recreate the 2018 pole lap, which was truly exceptional,” the Briton added.
Achieving anything similar this weekend will require Ferrari to reach the correct setup quickly. With the Sprint format reducing practice to a single session, there will be little time to refine the car before the competitive part of the weekend begins.
Lewis Hamilton stressed that Ferrari therefore needs to arrive with a dependable baseline capable of handling one of Marina Bay’s defining physical characteristics.
“We only have one Free Practice session and we will have to make sure we have a solid setup capable of absorbing or following all the bumps that characterise this track,” the British driver explained.
Ferrari therefore enters Singapore with both an opportunity and a demanding technical task. Lewis Hamilton believes the layout can reduce one of the SF-26’s weaknesses while allowing its cornering speed to become more influential, but the limited preparation time means the Maranello team must find a strong setup almost immediately if it wants to turn that theoretical potential into performance.
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