Vasseur draws a line. Hamilton made the call. Ferrari rejects the blame.
Fred Vasseur has pushed back against repeated media questions over Lewis Hamilton’s costly Singapore Grand Prix, insisting Ferrari gave its driver the chance to pit under the virtual safety car. Hamilton stayed out after missing the pit entry, then finished sixth as his tyres faded.
The team principal said Hamilton had taken responsibility over the radio, while also defending Ferrari’s original split strategy. With Charles Leclerc finishing second behind Max Verstappen, the missed opportunity left Ferrari with one podium and a public debate about who owned the decision.
Fred Vasseur defends Ferrari after Hamilton’s Singapore strategy call
Hamilton started third on medium tyres, while Verstappen and Leclerc began on softs. Ferrari split its drivers’ approaches because wet weather and the Sprint weekend had left teams with limited long-run data on the medium and soft compounds. The gamble offered different routes to challenge Verstappen, but the medium tyre proved slower than expected across the field.
Ferrari changed Hamilton’s plan on lap 18, fitting used softs and shifting attention to tyre life and the next pit window. When Lance Stroll’s retirement brought a virtual safety car, the team asked both cars to pit. Hamilton missed the entry and stayed on track, surrendering the cheaper stop that could have reshaped his race.
Ferrari strategy and the radio exchange behind Vasseur’s response
Vasseur told reporters Ferrari had been running second and third when the neutralisation arrived, and said the instruction to box had gone to both drivers. Hamilton’s response, according to the team principal, was that he preferred to remain out and had missed the entrance. His radio apology after the finish supported Vasseur’s account: Hamilton said the choice had been his.
Asked whether Ferrari later ordered another stop, Vasseur denied giving a second instruction, saying the team was monitoring the tyres. Ferrari could not be sure Hamilton would reach the flag on that set; he tried, but Kimi Antonelli, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri passed him. A closer account of Hamilton’s own view of the call appears in this report on the strategy dispute.
Hamilton’s sixth place leaves Ferrari weighing driver performance and team dynamics
The result sharpened scrutiny of driver performance and F1 team dynamics, but Vasseur’s account was specific: Ferrari made the call to pit, Hamilton did not take it, and the team then tracked the uncertain tyre life. That distinction matters when an apparent strategic failure begins with a split-second choice at pit entry.
Ferrari still secured a strong second place with Leclerc, though a double podium had looked possible before the VSC. The episode adds another pressure point for a team already under close attention, as this update on Vasseur and Ferrari shows. In the latest motorsport news, Singapore’s lasting question is less about the tyre gamble than the moment Hamilton chose not to pit.
