Lewis Hamilton's decision not to pit for a second time at the Singapore Grand Prix shows that the seven-time world champion is 'not trusting' Ferrari's strategy decisions, according to former Aston Martin strategist Bernie Collins.
The Ferrari driver was called in to pit during a virtual safety car period in Singapore, but unlike his teammate Charles Leclerc who pitted and finished second, Hamilton said he missed the pit entry and then decided against coming into the pits.
Hamilton ultimately struggled on old soft tyres and was passed not only by his teammate Charles Leclerc, but Kimi Antonelli and the two McLaren drivers, finishing down in sixth place.
Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 Show, Collins said that Hamilton's decision demonstrated his lack of trust with the team, as she questioned whether Hamilton missed the pit entry after all. She said: "Someone of Lewis's stature doesn't forget to do a pitstop. So let's say it's a decision to not take the pit entry or the call didn't come in time or whatever. But that was crucial, I think, to the race at that point.
"Now, if we go back a week to Malaysia, we had the same sort of lack of trust for want of another word. They started on a dry tyre. Then the call came to switch to an intermediate tyre. Lewis said, 'That's the wrong thing. We need to stick this out now.'
"He had a discussion with the pitwall, stayed on the tyre that he was on and ultimately that ended up very similar to Leclerc towards the end of the race. However, I do think that shows more globally that Lewis isn't trusting that Ferrari team. He's questioning their decisions."
Button disputes claims Hamilton has lost trust in Ferrari
The comments by Collins backs that of her Sky Sports F1 colleague Naomi Schiff, who after the Singapore Grand Prix, suggested Ferrari and Hamilton have 'sort of lost trust with each other on making the right decisions in certain circumstances'.
Button though disputed the claim and said Hamilton simply did not want to spend the rest of the race behind his teammate Charles Leclerc.
He said: "I think he just wanted to make his call on the race, and he thought it was the right one. He didn't want to be sat behind his teammate for the rest of the race, basically. He wanted to give it a go, and he knew his pace was there when he was on the soft tyre."