By: Lewis Hamilton’s sixth place in the Singapore Grand Prix will leave both the fans and the British driver himself feeling hugely disappointed, particularly given the SF-26’s considerable competitiveness at this circuit and the excellent form shown by the English star throughout every session.
On Sunday in Singapore, a potential double podium behind team-mate Charles Leclerc was thrown away, once again, by a wrong strategy from the moment the car was placed on the starting grid.
This time, the strategy error was not the team’s
The decision to start on medium tyres raised more than a few eyebrows among Ferrari fans, aware that losing one or more places through a lack of grip at the start would have been very difficult to recover on the Marina Bay street circuit.
Despite this, Hamilton made a good start and, from that point, all that remained was to manage the medium tyre for as long as possible before switching to softs, which were proving far more durable than expected.
Then came the first error: Lewis pitted on lap 19, rather early, allowing him to rejoin in seventh place on the red-walled tyre and make up significant ground, but without any prospect of reaching the end of the race.
Having caught Leclerc, he asked to be allowed past the Monegasque and to use the pace advantage provided by the tyre compound, but Santi reminded him that he would need to manage the tyres to make it to the end of the race.
Then came the second error, a serious one attributable this time solely to the seven-time world champion.
On lap 39, Lance Stroll’s retirement brought out a safety car, and Leclerc took advantage by fitting a fresh set of softs.
Remarkably, Hamilton decided to stay out against the team’s instructions.
The rest is history: on lap 46, Leclerc comfortably passed Hamilton to chase leader Max Verstappen, while Hamilton suffered increasingly before his late collapse, when he was forced to surrender his position to Antonelli, Norris and Piastri respectively.
An inexplicably thrown-away podium
Ferrari’s number 44 appeared deeply disappointed at the end of the race and immediately apologised to his side of the team on the in-lap with these words:
“Sorry, guys, I let you down today with that strategy. It was my decision and I cost us valuable points. I’ll try to make up for it at the next race.”
Unfortunately, no further comments or explanations followed regarding the decisions made, owing to the illness that affected the driver shortly after the race and the FIA’s permission for him to miss the post-race media sessions.
It is difficult to explain his race conduct but, perhaps, the only interpretation lies in a desperate attempt to take second place from his team-mate.
The team was indeed ready to carry out a double pit stop, exactly as Vasseur stated after the race, and the decision not to come in was the driver’s, although it must be said that it is always difficult for someone driving the car to make the right judgement.
However, just as the team’s errors have been highlighted on other occasions, this time the driver must be criticised just as strongly. He may have placed his personal battle with his team-mate ahead of the team’s interests, compromising a substantial points haul that the Maranello outfit needs more than ever.
Cover and internal photo X: Scuderia Ferrari HP
All the news, photos, weather, session times and times from the Singapore GP 2026
