‘A painful lesson’: Hamilton accepts fault for costly strategy error
The two sides of the Ferrari garage had two very different emotions at the end of the Singapore Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton’s own mistake cost the team a double podium finish.
Charles Leclerc narrowly missed out on victory to a resurgent Max Verstappen and finished second.
Lewis Hamilton rued his mistake. Clive Rose
Hamilton’s day ended in horribly, as the veteran accepted “full responsibility” for a costly decision to stay out on old tyres to try to make a strategy gamble work.
After starting in third, Hamilton’s rash decision didn’t pay off and the 41-year-old ended the race in sixth place, behind the two McLaren drivers.
“Sorry boys. I let you down today with that strategy,” he apologised to his team over the radio.
“My call, and I lost us valuable points. I’ll try and make up for it in the next one.”
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll triggered a virtual safety car on lap 39 and while Ferrari teammate Leclerc pitted under the slowed period, Hamilton missed the pit entry and decided to stay out on 21-lap old soft tyres.
He had already pitted once and decided to revert to a one-stop strategy for the rest of the race, a risk that didn’t pay off.
“Today wasn’t the result we were looking for, and it was on me,” Hamilton stated after the race.
Due to feeling unwell, Hamilton sent a statement through his team instead of attending the mandatory media pen.
“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.”
Team principal Fred Vasseur was asked about the strategy. He called on the media not to blame the team.
He reiterated that it was Hamilton’s decision to stay out on old tyres until the end of the race, saying Ferrari could have had a 2-3 finish if Hamilton’s tyres didn’t fall off.
“We asked him to pit,” Vasseur admitted.
“Don’t blame the team, guys.”
In the Mercedes garage, Kimi Antonelli will now be allowing himself to dream about a historic Formula 1 world title, which is now firmly within reach after sealing his 14th podium finish of the season.
Antonelli can mathematically win the championship in Texas later this month, which would make Antonelli the youngest ever F1 champion and Italy’s first since 1953.
Kimi Antonelli. Getty Images
The 20-year-old’s third place in Singapore came in a race that was controlled from start to finish by Verstappen, but it was enough to extend his overall lead over teammate George Russell to 102 points.
Asked if he dared to dream of clinching the title in Austin later this month on the long journey home, Antonelli couldn’t hide his excitement.
“For sure ... but at the same time, I know it’s very close, I know it’s there, but I just need to make sure that I keep doing the best I can,” he said.
“The mindset is always the same, to go out there and win. I think this weekend I haven’t particularly driven that well ... but I feel confident that, (with) a week to reset and I’m really looking forward to being back in Austin.
“If I don’t do my job well, then the result won’t come. So in order to achieve what I want, I need to perform at 100 per cent.”
Antonelli can mathematically win the championship in Austin on the assumption there are still five races to come after, with the fate of the Qatar and Abu Dhabi grands prix remaining up in the air due to the conflict in the Middle East.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is refusing to tempt fate.
“I remind myself this is motor racing and crazy things have happened,” Wolff said.
“It probably needs the other two (contenders), George and Lewis (Hamilton), to retire and him winning. So this is not a likely scenario. It’s going to come towards him, whether that’s in Mexico or Brazil, or far down the line.”
Oscar Piastri finished fifth, nine seconds behind McLaren teammate Lando Norris.
Russell, who worked his way up from the back of the starting grid due to engine penalties, finished a respectable ninth at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, where overtaking is notoriously tricky.
Wolff said both drivers would probably be running in Austin on an upgraded car as some, but not all, of its teething problems had been ironed out in Singapore.
"I think that this new car needs a very different setup philosophy than the previous car," he said.
"Does it have the performance that we were hoping the upgrade would bring? I don't think so yet, but it was a step in the right direction."
Antonelli narrowly avoided a five-second penalty, hitting the maximum limit of breaches of the track boundaries.
Wolff praised his driving and joked about how he could boost the diminutive driver higher for a better view of the track edges.
"I have a good strategy. I'm going to put a pillow from the hotel under his arse, so he can actually see the road."
