As Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur faced the media after the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix, the hot topic was Lewis Hamilton.
Most questions revolved around the unsuccessful strategy that saw Hamilton fall from third to sixth in the Marina Bay race, as he stayed under VSC to complete a mammoth 44-lap stint on soft tires.
In the last 22 of them, following the neutralization, Hamilton suffered an average hemorrhage of 2.5 laps compared to his Ferrari teammate, Charles Leclerc. This is how he finished sixth behind Kimi Antonelli and the McLarens.
With the ailing Briton exempt from his post-race media commitments to attend the medical centre, Vasseur has come under scrutiny from journalists keen to establish how this decision was made in the highest level of detail. And the Frenchman did not appreciate this prospect; he even interrupted the first question, implying that it wasn’t necessarily “the big event of the weekend.”
Regardless, Hamilton’s post-race radio apology made it clear that he had called for staying away during the VSC – so how exactly did that discussion go?
“(It was) very clear,” insisted Vasseur. “We were P2-P3 on the track. We called two cars, ‘Guys, you stop behind the VSC.’ One of my guys said, ‘No, I’d rather stay on the track.’ Or he didn’t say – he said, ‘I missed the pit entrance.’
“Don’t blame the team.”
Frédéric Vasseur, Ferrari
Photo by: Anni Graf – Formula 1 via Getty Images
Vasseur, who had yet to speak to his driver, said Hamilton’s decision was “clearly a mistake”, doubling down on what he had previously told broadcasters.
But is it acceptable for a driver to override the team’s strategy, given that he does not have the same exhaustive data and the same overall vision as the engineers?
“When we see the result, it was not a good decision,” admitted Vasseur. “But on the other hand, you often tell us that we have to listen to the drivers, because they are in the car, they have the feeling with their tires, etc.
“But I think on this one it was clear to me. But I also have to respect their feelings when they are in the car.”
Hamilton: “A painful lesson today”
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Mark Thompson / Getty Images
Ferrari then provided a statement from Hamilton – making up for his absence in the post-race media pen – in which the seven-time world champion described the setback as a “painful lesson”.
“Today was not the result we were looking for and it was my fault,” Hamilton was quoted as saying. “On a track that is difficult to overtake you have to try something different and I chose to start with new medium tires, go long and try to make a single stop work. Unfortunately the mediums did not perform as well as the softs.”
“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 but I missed the entry. After that I decided to stay on track and try to maintain my position until the end but, in the last laps, I struggled immensely due to tire degradation and lost three places, finishing P6, which does not reflect the pace that we had in the car today.
“It’s a painful lesson today, but I take full responsibility for the decisions I made. Not every decision will work, and I can accept being wrong, but I feel sorry for the team for the points we lost today. They invested so much in each weekend and I wanted to give them more.
“I will continue to work and come back to fight in the next race.”
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