Lewis Hamilton has taken responsibility for his strategy in Formula 1’s Singapore Grand Prix, after a decision not to pit under a virtual safety car cost him dear.
The VSC was called into action by race control on lap 39 when Lance Stroll pulled aside due to a suspected clutch issue in his Aston Martin.
At that stage of the race, Hamilton had already done 21 laps on softs, while Leclerc was on a 15-lap medium stint – but it was the Monegasque only who made the most of the VSC for a cheap second pitstop.
The Ferraris, which were running second and third, could easily have been double-stacked given they were 4.4 seconds apart and going through Turns 10-11 when the VSC was enforced.
As it happens, it was Hamilton himself who decided to stay out for a mammoth 44-lap stint on softs. This was a failure, as he collapsed to sixth, even behind Oscar Piastri, who had to stop after the VSC due to a slow puncture.
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: Joe Portlock / Getty Images
The seven-time world champion was nearly 46 seconds down on team-mate Leclerc on the chequered flag, with his tactical call therefore costing him about 41.5 seconds.
“Sorry, boys,” Hamilton said on the radio after the race. “I let you down today with that strategy. My call, and I lost us valuable points. I’ll try and make up for it in the next one. Great job with the pitstop though.”
Racing engineer Carlo Santi replied: “Understood, thank you Lewis.”
Team principal Fred Vasseur explained to F1 TV that Ferrari split the cars at the start, with front-row Leclerc on softs instead of mediums, in order to have a shot at snatching the lead away from polesitter Max Verstappen – which the Monegasque very nearly did.
Answering for the decision under VSC, Vasseur added: “The call was to pit two [cars] and Lewis decided to stay on track.
“I think it was a mistake overall; we would have gone for P2-P3 today, but he apologised in the in-lap for the strategy that we asked him to call and he didn't.”
Hamilton’s poor result means his advantage over fourth-placed Max Verstappen in the drivers’ standings has dwindled to eight points, following the Dutchman’s maiden Singapore Grand Prix victory.
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