Lewis Hamilton has admitted Mercedes are “lost” after he and George Russell struggled for pace in the two practice sessions on Friday ahead of Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix. Hamilton was nearly a second slower than Lando Norris in FP2, with the McLaren ace clocking the quickest lap of the day.

Mercedes have enjoyed an upturn in fortunes this year after two dismal seasons on the track, with Hamilton winning two Grands Prix in July after Russell had crossed the chequered flag in first place in Austria at the end of June.

But Mercedes are still only fourth in the Constructors’ Championship standings, with McLaren leading the way ahead of Red Bull and Ferrari.

Hamilton ended FP2 in Singapore with the 11th fastest lap, while Russell clocked the seventh quickest time before crashing into a wall at Turn 8 late on.

And after the second session, the seven-time world champion told Sky Sports: “The car feels… It feels pretty… It’s very difficult. A very challenging day. We tried everything set-up wise and nothing seems to work with the set-up.

“Definitely very challenging, we really have given it everything and then you find out you are a second off. I think ultimately just a little bit lost and we’re not really sure where to put the car. We tried a lot and achieved the same thing.”

Hamilton was then asked where Mercedes could finish in qualifying on Saturday and replied: “At the moment I won’t be going into Q3.”

Russell, meanwhile, was quizzed about his day in the Mercedes car and explained: “It was a really challenging Friday for us - we were really off the pace today.

“We need to understand why that is. I’m sure we’ll find some answers tonight.

“We made some big changes from FP1 into FP2 but the car is just not feeling that well connected as it was this time 12 months ago and as it was in recent races. So we need to try and get to the bottom of it.

“We’re definitely hoping to [make a big jump in qualifying]. There are a lot of surprises out there.

“The Red Bull was seeming to be off the pace and there seems to be a big gap to the McLarens and the Ferraris so as a minimum we hope to be between that midfield gap and that front four, but right now we’ve got a lot of work on our hands.”