Vasseur: Ferrari made no second pit call to Hamilton in Singapore

Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur said the team did not give Lewis Hamilton a second instruction to pit during the lap-40 virtual safety car (VSC) at the Singapore Grand Prix. Vasseur said Ferrari had initially called both cars in, but Hamilton told the team he preferred to stay on track and missed the pit entry. Asked whether another instruction followed, Vasseur said Ferrari was monitoring the situation and was unsure Hamilton could reach the finish.

Hamilton started on medium tyres. By lap 18, Ferrari had abandoned that plan as the soft emerged as the better race tyre; Hamilton stopped for used softs with 44 laps still to run. After other cars had made their stops, he had cycled back to third. When the VSC was called for Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin on lap 40, Charles Leclerc and Kimi Antonelli pitted, but Hamilton stayed out.

Leclerc passed him at the restart as tyre wear took its toll, and Hamilton went on to finish sixth. After the race, Hamilton apologised to Ferrari and took responsibility for the one-stop attempt. Vasseur urged reporters not to blame the team, pointing to Hamilton’s radio message that it was his call.