Lewis Hamilton has admitted his failed strategy gamble at Formula 1's Singapore Grand Prix was “a painful lesson”.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton has taken full responsibility after a decision not to pit for fresh tyres under a mid-race virtual safety car cost him dear.
Hamilton looked on course to finish at least third in Singapore but slipped off the podium and fell to sixth in the closing stages after completing a mammoth 44-lap stint on soft tyres.
The 41-year-old was excused from his post-race media duties after visiting the FIA medical team due to feeling unwell, but Ferrari shared a quote with media including Crash.net on Hamilton’s behalf.
Hamilton dropped from third to sixth in Singapore
“Today wasn’t the result we were looking for and it was on me,” Hamilton said. “At a track that’s difficult to overtake, you need to try something different and I chose to start on a new Medium tyre, to go long and try to make a one-stop work. Unfortunately the Medium didn’t perform as well as the soft.
"I had a good second stint and the pace was back, but I couldn’t make the progress I needed. Under the VSC, the team called me in but I missed the entry. After that, I decided to stay out and try to hold track position to the end but in the closing laps, I was struggling massively with tyre degradation and lost three places, finishing P6, which doesn't reflect the pace we had in the car today.
"A painful lesson today, but I take full responsibility for the decisions I made. Not every call will work out, and I can accept getting it wrong but I’m sorry for the team for the points we lost today. They put so much into every weekend, and I wanted to deliver more for them.
"I’ll continue to put the work in and come back fighting at the next race”.
After crossing the line, Hamilton apologised for “letting down” Ferrari and costing the Italian team points in what should have been an easy 2-3 finish.
Lewis Hamilton had a race to forget in Singapore
“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.”
Hamilton’s race engineer Carlo Santi replied: “Understood, thank you Lewis.”
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur told Sky Sports F1: “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.”
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