Ferrari F1 boss reveals Lewis Hamilton refused to pit in Singapore Grand Prix shambles

Ferrari F1 boss Fred Vasseur has lifted the lid on Ferrari's Singapore Grand Prix strategy that saw Lewis Hamilton tumble from P3 down to P6 by the end of the race.

Ferrari lined up with Hamilton in third and his team-mate Charles Leclerc in second looking to attack pole sitter and eventual race winner Max Verstappen.

In an attempt to unsettle Red Bull and Verstappen, Ferrari split their strategy, with Hamilton starting on the harder medium tyre as opposed to Leclerc starting on the softs as they looked towards a one-stop race.

Hamilton though pitted early for soft tyres from third, before putting in blisteringly quick laps, indicating that he was perhaps looking to try a two-stop strategy.

A few laps later Leclerc followed in the pits to put the medium tyre on, emerging just in front of Hamilton, then holding him up due to the soft tyre's performance advantage.

Hamilton urged the team to let him past Leclerc to make use of this strategy, but he was instead told to preserve his tyres.

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Hamilton ignores Ferrari pit-stop call

Then on lap 39 with Leclerc in second and Hamilton in third, Lance Stroll's Aston Martin broke down. Leclerc dived into the pits under the virtual safety car to ditch his medium tyre to return to softs, but despite Ferrari wanting Hamilton to come in too, he stayed out.

Leclerc rapidly caught Hamilton and passed him with ease, with Ferrari still urging the 41-year-old to come into the pits.

However, Hamilton decided to stay out and it resulted in his tyres losing performance and him being passed by Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli and the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

Speaking after the race, Fred Vasseur confirmed Ferrari wanted to double stack the cars under the virtual safety car to Sky Sports, saying: “We kept the door open for the two options, depending on VSC, and that was the case.

“We called him, we called them both to pit. It would have been P2-P3 because we were P2-P3 on track, and he missed the pit entry, and honestly it’s a bit of a shame because he’s losing a podium also.

“It was crystal clear on the radio. But now let’s be focused on Austin. The performance this weekend was ok. We have to be focused on the future."

Vasseur then clarified in another interview that Hamilton ignored calls to pit, saying: "Lewis wanted to stay on track, and it cost him the podium. He apologised during the cool-down lap and admitted it was a mistake".

Hamilton's apology went out on the official F1 feed, as he said on Ferrari radio: "Sorry, boys I let you down today with that strategy. My call, and I lost us valuable points. I'll try and make up for it in the next one. Great job with the pit stop though."

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