Lewis Hamilton admitted that he “missed the pit entry” when Ferrari called both cars in under the Virtual Safety Car during the Singapore Grand Prix, an error that ultimately contributed to a potential podium slipping away. The seven-time world champion later felt unwell after the physically demanding Marina Bay race, raising the question of whether fatigue and dehydration may already have affected his concentration at a decisive moment.
“I missed the entry.” Lewis Hamilton’s radio message was as blunt as the instruction Ferrari had given its two drivers: “Guys, box during the VSC.” The exchange came on lap 39 of the Singapore Grand Prix, when Ferrari intended to make a double pit stop to protect the second and third positions Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton had secured on track.
Lewis Hamilton missed Ferrari’s double pit-stop call
The episode triggered considerable debate over whether Lewis Hamilton had deliberately ignored Ferrari’s instructions. After questioning some of the team’s earlier strategic choices, the British driver had already given the impression that he wanted greater control over his own race. His decision to start on the Medium compound had been his own, going against the strategists’ preference to have both SF-26 cars starting aggressively behind polesitter Max Verstappen.
That initial tyre choice immediately proved costly because Lewis Hamilton never found particularly strong pace. He therefore opened the pit-stop sequence on lap 18, far earlier than anticipated. Pirelli’s projections had suggested a stop for cars on the yellow-marked Medium tyres between laps 25 and 31. Ferrari’s wider Singapore GP analysis of the SF-26 and its strategic difficulties provides further context to the decisions that shaped the race.
Despite that setback, Lewis Hamilton managed to retain a podium position and remained on course for a result that could have repeated Ferrari’s strong outcome from Saturday’s Sprint.
Virtual Safety Car gave Ferrari a crucial opportunity
The situation changed when Lance Stroll stopped his Aston Martin with a clutch problem, triggering a Virtual Safety Car. The neutralisation offered Ferrari the opportunity to stop both cars while limiting the time lost in the pits, and the Scuderia instructed both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton to come in.
Fred Vasseur explained after the race: “The decision to stay out was Lewis’s. We called both cars into the pits under the VSC. Lewis missed the entry and it was a shame, because he would have been third and would have finished there.”
The Ferrari team principal added: “I’m not angry. Overall, this was a good weekend. Yesterday we finished second and third in the Sprint and today second and sixth in the main race. But today there was an opportunity to finish second and third, and it’s a shame to lose points in this way. We need to discuss it with Hamilton to try to avoid other situations like this in the future.”
The consequences of the missed stop can also be considered alongside Ferrari’s broader pit-stop and strategy data, particularly given how strongly the timing of the VSC influenced the final positions.
Was Lewis Hamilton already struggling physically?
Although Fred Vasseur often stresses that Ferrari wins and loses together, on this occasion the French manager appeared more intent on defending the Scuderia’s decision than criticising the driver. However, according to information gathered by Motorsport.com, there was another important element that had not initially emerged: Lewis Hamilton may already have arrived at the most physically demanding Grand Prix of the season without being in perfect physical condition.
Singapore presented exceptionally demanding conditions, with an air temperature of around 30 degrees Celsius, track temperatures reaching 43 degrees and very high humidity. Those conditions placed enormous physical strain on the drivers throughout the race.
There had already been another Virtual Safety Car on lap seven after Gabriel Bortoleto’s Audi suffered a gearbox failure. At the reduced VSC speed, the lower airflow allowed hot air to stagnate around the cars, with cockpit temperatures exceeding 50 degrees Celsius.
The conditions caused difficulties even for younger drivers such as Kimi Antonelli and may have made the situation particularly demanding for the 41-year-old Lewis Hamilton, who was reportedly not feeling at his best before the race. With sweat unable to evaporate effectively in the extreme humidity, dehydration can increase and contribute to feelings of physical discomfort.
Further context surrounding the seven-time world champion’s condition emerged after the finish, when a Ferrari radio message provided another clue about Lewis Hamilton’s physical state during the demanding Marina Bay race.
Lewis Hamilton said he missed the pit entry
At the decisive moment of the Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton specifically admitted that he had missed the pit entrance. That wording did not suggest that he had rejected Ferrari’s stop as a deliberate strategic decision. Instead, it raises the possibility that there was a brief lapse in concentration at a crucial point of the race.
Lewis Hamilton later explained: “…and then I decided to stay out and try to maintain the position in the standings until the end, but in the final laps I struggled with tyre degradation and lost three positions, which doesn’t reflect the pace we had in the car today.”
Once the opportunity to change tyres had been lost, performance dropped sharply. Lewis Hamilton was eventually attacked and passed by Kimi Antonelli as well as the two McLaren drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. The sequence turned a potential third-place finish into sixth, with the full story behind Ferrari’s lost Singapore podium opportunity centred on that decisive VSC period.
Lewis Hamilton required medical attention after the race
What happened after the chequered flag added further context. Once Lewis Hamilton reached parc fermé, he felt unwell and required assistance from doctors at the Medical Centre. He subsequently requested permission to miss his scheduled media duties, an exemption that the FIA granted.
Lewis Hamilton is known for maintaining extremely high standards of physical and mental preparation, but he finished the Singapore Grand Prix in an evident state of exhaustion. The Ferrari driver nevertheless accepted responsibility for how the tyre gamble unfolded after the missed opportunity under the Virtual Safety Car.
There is no question that the missed pit stop was an error. What remains less certain is whether it was simply a racing mistake or whether the extreme heat, humidity, dehydration and Lewis Hamilton’s physical condition may have unintentionally contributed to the momentary loss of concentration that proved so costly.
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