A possible radio fault may explain why viewers did not hear Ferrari’s call for Lewis Hamilton to pit during the Virtual Safety Car at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur told the media, including GPblog, that both Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were called in to pit during the virtual safety car period following Lance Stroll's retirement. He said that Hamilton decided to "stay out" and urged that the team must not be blamed.
However, fans following Hamilton's onboard channel questioned Vasseur's comments, saying the message never came through to the seven-time world champion.
What happened with Lewis Hamilton's radio?
The VSC came out on Lap 39 after Lance Stroll pulled over in his Aston Martin, with Leclerc and Hamilton running around four seconds apart in second and third place.
Leclerc's call to pit went out on the television broadcast. Hamilton's radio message was not broadcast, although, as per The Race, Ferrari says Hamilton was given the same instruction around Turn 16, but his onboard camera and audio became distorted shortly after the VSC began.
Hamilton was unable to attend his post-race media obligations after feeling unwell, but he did release a statement via Ferrari's media team in which he confirmed: "Under VSC, the team called me in but I missed the pit (entry)." He also later took responsibility for trying to stay out and try to hold his position to the end, after missing the pit entry under the VSC.
Meanwhile, his onboard footage shows him pressing the radio button several times during the VSC, suggesting he was communicating with the team even though viewers could not hear it. Despite this, there was a gap of time before and after the VSC where his radio messages were not being displayed, pointing to a technical issue. That included the lack of warning that the VSC was about to end.
It has not been confirmed whether the problem affected the broadcast feed or Ferrari’s radio link with Hamilton. Onboard radio can be muted for viewers, and while the radio issue may explain why viewers did not hear Ferrari's call, it does not confirm what Hamilton heard in the car.
FOM has previously indicated that messages can be muted to “protect” drivers if they appear to be very angry and use especially strong language. That is unlikely to have been the case here given the time in which Hamilton's messages were not displayed, with a technical fault likely given that Hamilton's video feed also briefly cut out around the same time.
Hamilton takes blame for strategy woes
Speaking after the race,Hamilton admitted that he tried to stay out after missing the pit entry during the virtual safety car. That decision led to him dropping from a podium spot to sixth by the end of the race.
He said: "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," Hamilton concluded.