Lewis Hamilton has explained why he overruled Ferrari’s call to pit at the Singapore Grand Prix, a mistake he says he “owned” and will work to avoid repeating – but which would not stop him from continuing to “defy the norm”.
Hamilton dropped out of the podium positions in sixth on worn tires in the closing stages of the final race at Marina Bay after what proved to be a costly decision not to pit under the virtual safety car as requested by Ferrari’s pit wall.
Feeling bad after a grueling night’s race and excused from his post-race media obligations by the FIA, Hamilton’s only comments on his race came via a statement released by the team and then a post on his Instagram in which he said he took responsibility for the strategy going awry.
He spoke personally about what had happened for the first time at Thursday’s press conference in Austin ahead of this weekend’s United States Grand Prix.
In a detailed response, Hamilton first explained why he initially chose to start the race on different tyres, the mediums, with team-mate Charles Leclerc, who was one place ahead of him on the grid behind eventual race winner Red Bull pole-sitter Max Verstappen.
“Well, first of all, you learn from these experiences,” Hamilton said.
“It’s rare that I find myself in that position. Sure, the next couple of days didn’t feel so good, but you live and you learn.
“I think when I lined up on the grid, when I knew I was going to be third, I’m always looking for ways to win. I’m always looking to do something potentially different.
“And I wanted to be on a different strategy, not just the same strategy as Charles, where we just follow each other. We assumed that Max would potentially be faster and the strategy showed us that it was only us finishing second and third and that’s not enough for me.
“I wanted to have options and see what could be possible. If the medium tire could last longer, maybe you could go deeper in the race, but that wasn’t the case when I started and I didn’t feel good at the first stop.
“Then obviously I get behind Charles and lose a lot of time, in the end, with him on the slower tyre, which I was on at the start, I had the pace on the soft, it was a similar scenario maybe to Zandvoort.”
Regarding the decision to ignore Ferrari’s call to pit under the Virtual Safety Car and continue to take second place, Hamilton said: “I was going towards the entrance to the pit lane and I didn’t know that Charles was coming in because I think he had only recently stopped and in a second decision I decided to stay out.
“And once I was near the pit lane, I realized it was probably the wrong decision, but I kept it, I took responsibility for it and you go on.”
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On the F1 Show podcast, Bernie Collins considers whether Lewis Hamilton has lost faith in Ferrari after skipping a team strategy call in Singapore.
‘I’m not going to shy away from it’ – Hamilton to continue ‘defying the norm’
Hamilton said there had been productive discussions in the team since Singapore and that he believed it was important for him to continue to “constantly challenge the team and myself” in the pursuit of better results.
“We’ve had good conversations in the background about how we can do better together, how we can collaborate better, but I don’t think anything has changed in terms of how well we work together in the background,” he added.
“I really believe that my job is more than always leading by example, it’s about constantly challenging the team, including myself, and just constantly challenging the norms. And ultimately that’s how I got to where I am and I’m not going to shy away from that.
“Sometimes it doesn’t go well and this was one of those, but you live to fight another day, you win or lose as a team. So we carry the weight and the costs together.
“It definitely hurts when I lose points for the team, it’s not something I do very often, but I will work, I will redouble my efforts to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Sky Sports F1 United States GP live schedule
Thursday, October 22
18:25: F1 Academy Practice
20:00: Drivers’ press conference
22:30: F1 Academy Qualifying
11.10pm: Paddock uncut
Friday, October 23
18:00: First practice of the United States Grand Prix (session starts at 18:30)*
20:00: F1 show
21:45: Second Practice of the United States Grand Prix (session starts at 22:00)*
23.50: F1 Academy race 1*
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Check out some of the most dramatic moments that have happened at the United States Grand Prix.
Saturday, October 24
18:15: Third Practice of the United States Grand Prix (session starts at 18:30)
20:30: United States Grand Prix Qualifying*
22:00: UNITED STATES GRAND PRIZE QUALIFICATION*
12:00: F1 Academy race 2*
12.45: Ted’s qualifying notebook*
Sunday, October 25
17:00: Race 3 of the F1 Academy
18:30: Grand Prix Sunday: US GP Preparation*
20:00: United States Grand Prix*
10:00 p.m.: Checkered flag: US GP reaction
11:00 p.m.: Teddy’s Notebook
*also on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 heads to the Americas for another treble with the United States Grand Prix in Austin, the first this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
