Ferrari used the lap-39 Virtual Safety Car in the Singapore Grand Prix to pit Charles Leclerc for fresh soft tyres, while Lewis Hamilton remained on track despite running on significantly older rubber.
The decision immediately split Ferrari’s strategy. Leclerc rejoined around 10 seconds behind the Briton in third place, but with the advantage of the better-performing soft compound for the closing phase of the race.
Ferrari pits Charles Leclerc under Singapore GP VSC
The Virtual Safety Car was triggered when Lance Stroll became stranded on track on lap 39, creating an opportunity for teams to make a stop at a reduced time loss compared with normal racing conditions.
Ferrari chose to bring Leclerc in, while Mercedes also stopped Kimi Antonelli. The more notable part of Ferrari’s decision was that Hamilton stayed out even though his tyres were considerably older than those on Leclerc’s car.
Ferrari also elected not to double stack its two drivers. That avoided the risk of Hamilton waiting behind his Maranello teammate in the pit lane, but it also meant only one of the two SF-26s took advantage of the VSC window.
Leclerc returns on soft tyres behind Hamilton
Leclerc emerged from the stop roughly 10 seconds behind Hamilton, who remained in third place. The trade-off was that the Monegasque now had the faster soft tyre available for the final part of the Grand Prix.
That created a clear strategic contrast between the two Ferrari drivers. Hamilton retained track position but continued on older tyres, while Leclerc sacrificed time in the short term to gain fresher rubber and greater tyre performance potential.
The decision was notable because Hamilton could arguably have benefited from the stop as much as, or more than, Leclerc given the age of his tyres. However, there was no indication in the supplied information that Ferrari explained the reasoning behind prioritising Leclerc for the stop.
Ferrari avoids double stack as VSC reshapes strategy
The VSC also affected the battle behind Ferrari. Antonelli stopped for soft tyres but lost a position to Lando Norris in the process, leaving the Mercedes driver around six seconds behind the McLaren when he returned to the circuit.
For Ferrari, the more important consequence was the separation of its two race strategies. Rather than bringing both drivers in under the same neutralisation, the team kept Hamilton out and gave Leclerc the tyre advantage.
At that point, the strategic picture had become a direct contrast between track position and tyre freshness. Hamilton held the place ahead, while Leclerc had the newer and better-performing compound with a 10-second gap to recover.
How that choice would influence the closing laps depended on how quickly Leclerc could exploit the soft tyres and how well Hamilton’s older tyres could continue to perform. What was already clear, however, was that the lap-39 VSC had created one of Ferrari’s most consequential strategy decisions of the race.
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