Charles Leclerc’s podium provided a positive result for Ferrari, but Lewis Hamilton’s difficult race and questions over strategic execution left the Scuderia with plenty to review.
Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur has called on his team to learn from a frustrating Singapore Grand Prix weekend and return stronger at Austin, after a race that delivered a podium for Charles Leclerc but exposed shortcomings in the team’s strategic execution.
Despite showing competitive pace throughout the weekend, Ferrari was unable to challenge Max Verstappen for victory. Leclerc finished second, while Hamilton, who had qualified third, eventually crossed the line in sixth after a complicated race shaped by tyre strategy and a missed opportunity under the Virtual Safety Car.
Vasseur nevertheless insisted that Ferrari’s overall performance offered reasons for encouragement.
« Overall, it was a solid weekend for us. We finished second and third in both the Sprint and qualifying, and in the race Charles finished second while Lewis came very close to the podium, » Vasseur said.
« Max had slightly more pace than us throughout the weekend, so we still have work to do to close that gap, but the team delivered a strong performance and we scored valuable points. »
Hamilton’s strategy raises questions
Ferrari’s decision-making came under scrutiny after Hamilton switched to a two-stop strategy relatively early in the Grand Prix.
The approach required the seven-time world champion to complete two particularly quick stints on soft tyres. However, the plan became increasingly difficult to execute when Leclerc rejoined the track ahead of his teammate on medium tyres.
Hamilton initially attempted to overtake Leclerc, reporting over team radio that he was losing several seconds per lap behind the other Ferrari.
After spending close to 15 laps pushing aggressively, Hamilton was subsequently instructed to manage his tyres and pace, raising further questions about the effectiveness of Ferrari’s strategy.
Vasseur explained that limited tyre information had complicated the team’s pre-race calculations.
« From a strategy perspective, everyone went into the race with very little information about the tyres. The soft compound proved more competitive than expected compared with the medium, » he said.
« Starting second and third, it therefore made sense to split our strategies to keep all our options open against Max. That is why Lewis had a more difficult first stint, but it gave him greater flexibility later in the race. »
Ferrari had considered both one-stop and two-stop strategies, depending on how the race unfolded and whether a Safety Car or Virtual Safety Car intervention created an opportunity.
Conflicting accounts of the VSC incident
Further questions emerged over Ferrari’s handling of a Virtual Safety Car period, when the team believed it had an opportunity to bring both drivers into the pits.
According to Vasseur, Hamilton failed to take the pit entry and subsequently missed another opportunity to stop, potentially costing him a chance to fight for the podium.
« When the VSC was deployed, we called both cars into the pits while they were running second and third. Unfortunately, Lewis missed the pit entry and did not take the opportunity afterwards, which probably cost him the chance to fight for the podium, » Vasseur explained.
However, Ferrari’s explanation has attracted scrutiny, with differing accounts emerging from the team regarding the operational failure.
The available television footage did not clearly show Hamilton attempting to enter the pit lane, while the relevant radio communication was not audible on the F1 TV feed.
Those uncertainties leave questions about the sequence of decisions during the VSC period and whether Ferrari’s earlier strategic choices had already compromised Hamilton’s race.
Although Vasseur attributed the lost opportunity to the missed pit entry, the broader management of Hamilton’s two-stop strategy remains a significant part of Ferrari’s Singapore post-race analysis.
Vasseur calls for improvement ahead of Austin
Despite the difficulties, Ferrari leaves Singapore with a podium finish and valuable championship points.
The team’s pace was encouraging, particularly across the Sprint and qualifying sessions, but Verstappen’s advantage demonstrated that further performance gains are required.
For Vasseur, the priority is now to assess both the positives and the mistakes before the next round in the United States.
« These things can happen in racing. The objective now is to analyse everything that happened this weekend, take the positives from it and come back stronger in Austin, » he said.
Ferrari will therefore head to the United States Grand Prix seeking not only to reduce its performance deficit to Red Bull, but also to deliver the cleaner strategic execution needed to convert competitive pace into stronger race results.
