Lewis Hamilton urged Ferrari to let him make use of his soft-tyre pace after closing onto Charles Leclerc during the Singapore Grand Prix, telling the team he had lost two seconds while running behind his team-mate.
The situation developed with the two Ferrari drivers on different compounds, Hamilton on soft tyres and Leclerc on mediums. By lap 27, the seven-time world champion was unhappy with the amount of time he felt he was giving away in traffic, creating an immediate strategic question for the Ferrari pit wall.
Lewis Hamilton reports time loss behind Charles Leclerc
The Briton made his frustration clear over the radio on lap 27, reporting: “We lost two seconds that last lap.” Ferrari acknowledged the message, but Leclerc remained ahead as the two cars continued in formation.
The context was important because Hamilton was on the softer compound and therefore in a phase of the race where he wanted to exploit the additional performance available from his tyres. Leclerc, meanwhile, was continuing on mediums, leaving Ferrari to manage two cars on different strategies while both remained part of the same on-track sequence.
There was no immediate indication that Ferrari intended to order a position swap, and no such instruction was included in the exchange. What was clear, however, was that Hamilton believed the pace available to him was being compromised by remaining behind the other SF-26.
Hamilton tells Ferrari he needs to use his speed
Two laps later, Hamilton returned to the subject. On lap 29, he told the pit wall: “I need to use this speed, mate,” reinforcing the point that he wanted to capitalise on his current tyre advantage rather than continue losing time in the traffic ahead.
Ferrari’s response did not immediately address the possibility of moving Leclerc aside. Instead, the Briton was instructed to manage more through Turns 10 and 18, with the team referring specifically to tyre management and performance.
That reply suggested Ferrari’s immediate priority was not simply to maximise Hamilton’s short-term pace. The team was also asking him to control how he used the car and tyres at particular points of the circuit, underlining the wider compromise involved in the stint.
Ferrari faces strategic pressure with its two drivers together
The sequence created an awkward but understandable situation for Ferrari. Hamilton wanted to use the speed available on the soft compound, while Leclerc was still occupying the track position ahead on mediums. With no confirmed instruction to swap the cars, the team had to balance Hamilton’s faster phase against the need to protect the race plans of both drivers.
The seven-time world champion’s radio comments did not amount to a demand for the Monegasque to surrender the position, but they clearly communicated that he believed time was being lost. The fact that he raised the issue twice within a short period showed how important the traffic situation had become to his stint.
For Ferrari, the challenge was therefore not simply deciding which driver was faster at that moment. The team also had to consider tyre life, stint objectives and the consequences of interrupting Leclerc’s own race while Hamilton was on a different compound.
As the Singapore Grand Prix progressed, the exchange offered a clear insight into the pressure created when alternative strategies brought Ferrari’s two cars together on track. Hamilton wanted to attack while his tyres were at their most useful, but Ferrari’s response showed that immediate pace was only one part of the calculation.
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