Fred Vasseur has defended Ferrari after Lewis Hamilton opted for a fruitless one-stop strategy in Singapore, losing out on a podium finish.
Lewis Hamilton was called into the pits on Lap 18 to shed his degrading Medium tyres, changing onto the Soft compound that would stay on his Ferrari to the end of the Singapore GP.
The seven-time World Champion declined Ferrari’s offer to box under the VSC brought out by Lance Stroll and further pushed back against a second stop later on. However, both Lando Norris and teammate Charles Leclerc were closing in with fresher rubber so it seemed inevitable that pit stop or no pit stop, Hamilton was going to lose out.
Whilst Ferrari are no stranger to criticism of their strategic decisions, Team Principal Fred Vasseur defended the team after the race, insisting that the team were not to blame for the strategy call. He also emphasised Hamilton’s own apology over team radio where he admitted that it was his call not to box and that he had let the team down.
“We asked him to pit,” Vasseur said of Hamilton, “Don’t blame the team, guys. Clearly on the radio he said, ‘I apologise, I let you down. That it was my call’.
“He decided not to stop behind the VSC, but he would have been P2, P3.”
“Don’t blame the team” says Vasseur
When asked if there was a radio message to Hamilton to stop under the VSC that had not been aired, Vasseur responded defensively saying he was “sorry” that the situation hadn’t been clear enough on the broadcast.
“Sorry for you, but there is a clear message! And the driver has apologised that he let the team down.”
“We were P2, P3 on track. We called two cars. Guys, you pit behind the VSC.
“One of my guys said, ‘no, I prefer to stay on track’. He said, ‘I missed the pit entry’. Don’t blame the team.”
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