Ferrari boss hits back after Lewis Hamilton Singapore GP blunder
Lewis Hamilton finished sixth in the Singapore GP.
SINGAPORE – Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur has fiercely defended his team’s strategy after Lewis Hamilton took responsibility for a costly decision during the Singapore Grand Prix.
Hamilton endured a disappointing night at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, dropping from third on the grid to sixth at the chequered flag.
Ferrari explains Lewis Hamilton strategy in Singapore GP
The Briton hung onto third off the line despite starting on the Medium compound compared to those on Softs around him, but he was unable to maintain pace with pole-sitter Max Verstappen and team-mate Charles Leclerc across the opening exchanges.
Having reported that he had no pace as he slipped six seconds behind Leclerc, Ferrari elected to bring Hamilton into the pits on Lap 18, switching him over to the Soft tyre.
“First the tyre choice was difficult,” Vasseur began to PlanetF1.com and other accredited media.
“We did FP1 with [the] Hard as everybody, and we were all blind between Medium and the Soft. It’s why on the grid you had [a] 50-50 [choice]. We took the decision to split the cars. It was the good approach to try to fight with Max.
“The Medium was poor compared to the Soft today. That was true on both cars, but I think it was true for everybody.
“But we decided to pit quite early to change the direction to get rid of the Medium.”
However, Hamilton’s progress stalled when Leclerc emerged ahead when he exited the pits on Lap 24, causing him to complain that he was losing time behind his team-mate.
“Within two laps, he was two seconds behind,” Vasseur countered. “The tyre advantage was for Lewis; for Charles, he pitted six laps later. So it was the right call.”
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Hamilton inherited second when Leclerc pitted again under the Virtual Safety Car on Lap 40, but his team-mate caught and re-passed him six laps later, while Hamilton, on ageing rubber, also lost out to Kimi Antonelli and the McLaren duo in the latter stages.
The seven-time World Champion, who was permitted to forego his standard post-race media duties after feeling unwell post-race, apologised to the team on the radio on the cooldown lap as he admitted that the decision not to double-stack behind Leclerc during the VSC was his decision.
“Sorry boys. I let you down today with that strategy,” a disconsolate Hamilton said. “My call, and I lost us valuable points. I’ll try and make up for it in the next one.”
Vasseur, who vowed that the pit wall “reacted well during the race”, corroborated Hamilton’s admission, citing that the team had wanted both cars to pit under the VSC.
“We asked him (Hamilton) to [pit],” Vasseur validated. “Don’t blame the team, guys. Clearly in the radio he said, ‘I apologise. I let you down, that it was my call.’”
He added: “We were not sure to be able to go to the end, and that it was why we called the car behind the VSC.”
When challenged on whether Hamilton had been given a radio instruction to come into the pits, a heated Vasseur reiterated that no blame should be assigned to the team.
“Sorry for you, but there is a clear message, and the driver apologised that he let the team down,” the Frenchman repeated.
“Did you ask so many questions to McLaren yesterday?” referencing the clash between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in Saturday’s Sprint Race.
“We did well. We were P2, P3 on track. We called two cars, ‘Guys you pit behind the VSC’. One of my guys said, ‘No, I prefer to stay on track’. Don’t blame the team.”
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