Lewis Hamilton says he went through a “mix of emotions” during the Singapore Grand Prix after Mercedes’ alternative strategy failed.

After 62 laps, the Briton stressed that his team had shown “the right intentions” but “didn’t work out” on this occasion.

The 39-year-old was left stranded on the Marina Bay Street circuit as the Brackley team opted for an aggressive tyre strategy and gave the seven-time F1 champion a chance.

Starting the race on used softs, Mercedes hoped Hamilton could move up from third on the grid at the start and gain track position behind Max Verstappen, or even first-place Lando Norris.

The compensation approach could have worked had the safety car intervened early, which could have given the 105-time grand prix winner an advantage.

Neither happened and Hamilton was forced to stop for new tyres significantly earlier than the cars he was racing, leaving him on old tyres at the end of the race.

This strategy saw him fall behind in the closing stages, eventually finishing sixth, behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who had started ninth.

Hamilton, like team-mate George Russell, missed his post-race media commitments. However, a statement on his grand prix was later released by Mercedes.

“It’s hard to put into words the range of emotions we have when we’ve had such a difficult race,” he said.

“This year continues to be a challenging one for everyone, but we are all doing the best we can. We don’t always get things right, and that’s the case with today’s strategy.

“We’re all looking forward to the weekend, and every decision we make has good intentions and sometimes doesn’t work. It can be frustrating, but we’re all in this together.”

‘Energy, motivation and determination’
After Mercedes showed renewed strength before the enforced summer break, winning three of the four races before the break, the team has struggled to regain that form in the second part of the season.

While both Hamilton and Russell have finished the last four races, the pair have only finished in the top five three times and have only one podium, which Russell inherited after Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez’s penultimate lap crash in Baku.

“We’ve lost some form from the leaders in the last few races and we’re working hard to understand why,” Hamilton added.

“However, we’ll do what we do best, which is come together as a team, analyse and refocus ahead of the battle with Austin.

“We will go there with energy, motivation and determination. It is another opportunity to show what we are capable of when things go right and hopefully take another step forward with the car.