SINGAPORE — Martin Brundle has questioned Lewis Hamilton's "bizarre" strategy call at the Singapore Grand Prix after the seven-time world champion overrode Ferrari and ignored an order to follow teammate Charles Leclerc into the pits under a Virtual Safety Car. The decision backfired, dropping Hamilton from certain podium contention to sixth after a mammoth 44-lap stint on soft tires, as he was overtaken by Leclerc, Mercedes' Andrea Kimi Antonelli and the McLaren pair of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Brundle wrote that Hamilton started on a fresh set of medium tires but began to struggle as the race progressed. "Appearing to be on a clear two-stop strategy, he pitted as early as Lap 18 for soft tyres. Bizarrely, he would not stop again, despite the opportunity to make a relatively cheap pit stop under a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) when Lance Stroll's stricken Aston Martin had to be cleared from the circuit," Brundle wrote. He added that Hamilton "then endured a relentless slide down the order, eventually losing fifth place to Oscar Piastri's McLaren in the closing stages, despite the Australian having made an unscheduled stop for a slow puncture."
Hamilton, who was excused from post-race media duties due to feeling unwell, took responsibility in a social media statement Monday and apologized to Ferrari for letting the team down. "Yesterday wasn't the result we were looking for, and that's on me. At a track that's difficult to overtake, you need to try something different and I chose a strategy that ultimately didn't deliver," he said. "It's a painful lesson to learn, but I take full responsibility for the decisions I made. In this sport, not every call will work out. It's about accepting when you get it wrong and how you move forward."
Brundle noted it is difficult to run a modern F1 car and manage strategy from behind the wheel, calling the incident telling. Ferrari had seemingly expected Hamilton to pit under the VSC, but after the race it emerged the switch to a one-stop strategy was Hamilton's own decision. Hamilton added: "P6 doesn't reflect the pace we had in the car over the weekend, and despite the result there are positives to take away."