Ferrari called both cars into the pits during a Virtual Safety Car period at the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix, but Lewis Hamilton remained on track after missing the pit-lane entry. The decision ultimately contributed to the seven-time Formula 1 world champion losing his podium position and finishing sixth, with Lewis Hamilton taking full responsibility and apologising to the team.
Ferrari is locked in a fight with McLaren for second place in the Constructors’ Championship, making every point particularly valuable. That made Lewis Hamilton’s mistake at Marina Bay especially costly for a team that had entered the weekend targeting another strong result.
Lewis Hamilton misses Ferrari VSC stop at Singapore GP
The key moment came on Lap 39, when the Virtual Safety Car was deployed so the marshals could remove Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin AMR26, which had stopped with a suspected clutch problem.
At that stage, Lewis Hamilton had already completed 21 laps on his Soft tyres, while Charles Leclerc was running a set of Mediums that had covered 15 laps and was not delivering the expected lap-time performance. Ferrari therefore took advantage of the VSC to call both drivers into the pits, reducing the time normally lost during a stop. The call was not heard on any of the race broadcasts.
The two Ferraris were running second and third and had enough separation to complete a double pit stop, with 4.4 seconds between the cars as they approached Turns 10 and 11 when the VSC came into effect. The strategic importance of neutralised race periods can also be explored through the Ferrari pit-stop and strategy data.
Charles Leclerc entered the pits, but Lewis Hamilton stayed on track and ultimately completed a 44-lap stint on the Soft tyres. After missing the opportunity to stop, Lewis Hamilton was passed in succession by Charles Leclerc, Kimi Antonelli, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, dropping from second place following his Ferrari team-mate’s second stop to sixth at the finish.
“Sorry, guys,” Lewis Hamilton said over the radio after the race. “I let you down today with that strategy. It was my decision and we lost valuable points because of it. I’ll try to make it back in the next race. Great job with the pit stop, anyway.”
Fred Vasseur confirms Ferrari called both cars into the pits
After the race, Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur was asked about Lewis Hamilton’s failure to make the stop. The Frenchman, who had already outlined the importance of maximising every opportunity during Ferrari’s Singapore weekend, initially played down the significance of the incident.
“I’m not sure that’s the main topic of the weekend,” Frédéric Vasseur said during his post-race press conference.
Asked whether Ferrari had actually sent Lewis Hamilton a radio message telling him to pit, given that the instruction had not been heard on the broadcast, Frédéric Vasseur was unequivocal.
“We asked him to come into the pits. Guys, don’t blame the team. On the radio it’s very clear: he was the one who said, ‘I’m sorry, I let you down. It was my decision.’”
Frédéric Vasseur then explained Ferrari’s intended strategy in greater detail.
“The situation is very clear: we were second and third on track. We called both cars and said, ‘Guys, pit during the VSC.’ One of my guys told me, ‘No, I prefer to stay out.’ Or he didn’t say it exactly like that: he said, ‘I missed the pit-lane entry.’ Don’t blame the team. Lewis decided not to stop during the VSC, but in that case we would have been second and third.”
Lewis Hamilton accepts responsibility for Ferrari points loss
After the Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton was taken to the Medical Centre after feeling unwell and was given permission to miss his scheduled post-race media duties.
Two hours after the Singapore Grand Prix ended, Ferrari released Lewis Hamilton’s comments explaining what had happened and why he had chosen his initial strategy.
“Today we didn’t get the result we were looking for, and that was my fault. On a circuit where it’s difficult to overtake, you have to try something different. I chose to start on a new set of Medium tyres, extend the stint and try to finish the race with just one stop. Unfortunately, the Mediums did not offer performance on the same level as the Softs.”
“In the second stint I felt good and the pace became competitive again, but I wasn’t able to recover the positions I needed. During the VSC, the team called me into the pits, but I missed the pit-lane entry. At that point I decided to stay out and try to defend the position until the end. However, in the final laps I struggled massively because of tyre degradation and lost three positions, finishing sixth. A result that does not reflect the potential of the car we had today.”
Lewis Hamilton concluded by accepting responsibility for the outcome and the points Ferrari lost in its Constructors’ Championship battle.
“Today was a painful lesson, but I take full responsibility for the decisions I made. Not every choice will turn out to be the winning one and I can accept that I got it wrong, but I’m sorry for the team and for the points we lost today. Everyone works extremely hard for every race weekend and I would have liked to get a better result for them. I’ll keep working hard and come back more determined than ever at the next race.”
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