‘A painful lesson’ – Hamilton apologises as he takes responsibility for strategy gamble in Singapore

Lewis Hamilton has stated that he takes “full responsibility” for a strategy gamble that backfired in the Singapore Grand Prix, with the seven-time World Champion calling the move a “painful lesson”.

After starting the race from P3 on the medium tyres, Hamilton was the first driver to make a pit stop when he switched to the soft compound. An opportunity to make a second stop arose when a Virtual Safety Car was deployed, with Ferrari team mate Charles Leclerc amongst those to pit.

While Hamilton was also called in, the Briton initially missed the pit entry but ultimately decided to stay out on track in an attempt to make a one-stop strategy work until the end of the race.

As the event wore on, Hamilton continued to struggle with his ageing tyres and dropped down to sixth place. He went on to voice his regret at how things had panned out as the chequered flag fell, commenting over the radio: “Sorry boys. I let you down today with that strategy. My call, and I lost us valuable points. I'll try and make up for it in the next one.”

Ferrari confirmed that, having felt unwell after the race, Hamilton was seen by the FIA medical team and received permission to not attend the media pen. A statement from the World Champion was subsequently released, however, in which he reflected on a tough evening in Singapore.

"Today wasn’t the result we were looking for and it was on me,” said Hamilton. “At a track that’s difficult to overtake, you need to try something different and I chose to start on a new medium tyre, to go long and try to make a one-stop work. Unfortunately the medium didn’t perform as well as the soft.

“I had a good second stint and the pace was back, but I couldn’t make the progress I needed. Under the VSC, the team called me in but I missed the entry.

“After that, I decided to stay out and try to hold track position to the end but in the closing laps, I was struggling massively with tyre degradation and lost three places, finishing P6, which doesn't reflect the pace we had in the car today.

“A painful lesson today, but I take full responsibility for the decisions I made. Not every call will work out, and I can accept getting it wrong but I’m sorry for the team for the points we lost today. They put so much into every weekend, and I wanted to deliver more for them.

“I’ll continue to put the work in and come back fighting at the next race.”