Lewis Hamilton Skips Post-Race Media After Singapore GP Amid Health Concern, Vasseur Addresses Strategy

Lewis Hamilton finished sixth at the Singapore Grand Prix after declining to follow Ferrari's instruction to pit during a virtual safety car period, a decision team principal Fred Vasseur said cost Hamilton a podium. Post-race, Hamilton accepted responsibility over team radio. The FIA subsequently excused Hamilton from mandatory media duties after he reported feeling unwell and was assessed by the FIA medical team.

Soft tyres delivered the lap times that the medium compound could not, proving the more reliable route to pace across that stint. On Lap 19, Hamilton's tyres gave out before his stint was due to end, pulling him into the pit lane ahead of even Leclerc, who was still out on the softer compound at that point. Barring any external help, Hamilton had a gap to close that would not shrink on its own. Under a safety car period, medium tyres went onto Leclerc's car without any meaningful loss of track position or race time. Speaking over the radio in the moments after the race, Hamilton told his team that the strategy had fallen short of what was needed, and that responsibility for that lay with him. Ownership of a tactical decision that he believed had cut into the team's points tally rested with Hamilton, who voiced plans to close that gap when the next race arrived. Vasseur told reporters that pit instructions went out to both drivers at a point when their track positions, by his reckoning, placed second and third within reach — yet Hamilton bypassed the pit entry, and the team principal framed the outcome as a forfeited podium, noting that the strategy had been built with room to flex around the virtual safety car and any associated variables.

Lewis Hamilton Skips Post-Race Media After Singapore GP Amid Health Concern, Vasseur Addresses Strategy

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Lewis Hamilton Skips Post-Race Media After Singapore GP Amid Health Concern, Vasseur Addresses Strategy

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