“I take full responsibility”: Lewis Hamilton issues statement after missing post-race media scrum
Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton skipped the media duties after the Singapore GP as he was checked by the FIA medical team. The Briton has now come out and released a statement, taking responsibility for the poor strategic call at Marina Bay Street Circuit.
Hamilton started the race on medium tyres, and after struggling with pace, was asked to pit within 20 laps. This moved Ferrari’s initial one-stop strategy plan to two stops.
On Lap 39, Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin brought out the VSC. Lewis Hamilton was asked to pit by Ferrari under VSC for his second stop, but the Briton didn’t pit. A few laps later, when Ferrari again reminded him of the pit window, Hamilton decided not to stay out on old tires.
This resulted in Kimi Antonelli, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri overtaking the Ferrari driver. Since Hamilton didn’t attend the post-race media pen, he released a statement, taking responsibility for the decision.
“Today wasn’t the result we were looking for and it was on me. 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,” read the statement
“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,” added Lewis Hamilton.
Fred Vasseur reacts to Lewis Hamilton’s decision not to pit under VSC at Singapore GP
Many believed that it was Ferrari’s decision to keep Lewis Hamilton out on the one-stop. However, Fred Vasseur confirmed that it was the Briton’s decision, and that the team asked him to box under VSC.
“I’m not angry. Overall, it was a good weekend (…) But today, we had the chance to finish second and third, and it’s a shame to lose points in this way. We need to discuss it with Hamilton to try to avoid such situations happening again in the future,” said Vasseur
“Overall, both drivers did an excellent job. When we asked them to swap positions on track, they did it; they adopted a clear attitude toward each other, and a perfectly correct one. They really did an excellent job, aside from Hamilton’s pit stop, because in the end, we lost about ten points this weekend,” he added
Charles Leclerc finished P2 behind Max Verstappen. Had Hamilton pitted under the VSC, Ferrari would’ve secured a double podium.
Read More: Lewis Hamilton overruled Ferrari’s call to pit during the VSC period reveals Fred Vasseur
