F1 news: Lewis Hamilton’s ‘painful lesson’ at Singapore GP highlights Ferrari mistrust
The 2026 Singapore Grand Prix will be one to forget for Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton.
The seven-time champion was in the run for a podium finish before a wrong strategy call saw him drop all the way down to P6.
However, the call did not come from the pit wall, but from Hamilton himself. While he has taken responsibility for the mistake, his decision raises questions about the level of trust between the driver and his team.
Here, Sports News Blitz sub-editor Nicole Powell reflects on Hamilton’s P6 finish and whether Ferrari’s culture may have played a part in his decision.
Hamilton makes wrong strategy call
During a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) period at the Singapore GP, Hamilton overrode a call to pit for fresh tyres.
The Brit was left vulnerable in the final laps, dropping from P2 to P6 by the chequered flag after team-mate Charles Leclerc pitted under the VSC, and Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri also passed him.
"Sorry boys. I let you down today with that strategy,” Hamilton said on team radio post-race.
"My call, and I lost us valuable points. I'll try and make up for it in the next one."
The media did not get a chance to hear from him after the race, as he was excused from media duties because he was feeling unwell after racing in Singapore’s extremely hot and humid conditions.
However, on Monday, October 12, Hamilton took to social media saying:
"Yesterday wasn't the result we were looking for, and that's on me. At a track that's difficult to overtake, you need to try something different and I chose a strategy that ultimately didn't deliver.
"It's a painful lesson to learn, but I take full responsibility for the decisions I made. In this sport, not every call will work out. It's about accepting when you get it wrong and how you move forward.
"I'm grateful to the team for the work they put in every weekend. P6 doesn't reflect the pace we had in the car over the weekend, and despite the result there are positives to take away.
"Massive thanks to the fans in Singapore for the energy. I'll continue to put the work in and come back fighting at the next race."
Is Hamilton the only one to blame?
While Hamilton is the one who made the call that cost him a podium finish, there is a history that suggests the blame does not fall entirely on him.
Over the years, Ferrari have developed a reputation for poor strategy decisions.
Even over the past two seasons, during which Leclerc and Hamilton have been team-mates, we have seen the pair disagree with the pit wall and sometimes ultimately make their own decisions.
The Singapore GP was just another instance where Hamilton questioned his team, only this time, the driver was in the wrong.
Speaking to iPredicta, ex-Red Bull chief Richard Hopkins shared a similar view:
“It’s typical Lewis but it’s also a sign of not all being right at Ferrari. He’s a seven-time world champion and he's more than capable of making strategic decisions himself although he doesn't see everything that’s going on within the Grand Prix.
“I think the problem is a bit more fundamental than that, we have seen so many incidents this year and in previous years of communication failures in the Ferrari team and that is the thing that is really letting the team down at the moment to the point where Lewis as the driver, even when Ferrari might be making the correct decision, he has mistrust in their decision-making capability and I think that’s exactly what happened here.
“So he had the call and he didn’t believe they were going to be making the right call so took the matter into his own hands. But in this instance they probably did make the right call and as a result of Lewis’ decision it turned out to be the wrong one.”
Hamilton is ultimately responsible for the decision he made, but Hopkins' comments suggest that the issue goes beyond one mistake.
If a driver loses confidence in the team's strategy calls, even the right decision from the pit wall can become difficult to trust.
That does not excuse Hamilton's decision in Singapore, but it raises questions about how Ferrari can expect their drivers to follow its strategy if previous communication problems have affected their confidence in the team.
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What needs to change?
Ferrari have had similar issues with multiple drivers over the years, making it difficult to argue that the drivers are the problem.
It can be argued that Ferrari need a change of team principal. However, the team have already seen several changes in that department over the years, and the same concerns have continued to surface.
This suggests that the problem may go beyond the person in charge. While the team principal is responsible for addressing communication failures, Ferrari also need to understand why these issues keep happening if they want to prevent similar situations in the future.
Christian Horner is a name that has come up in light of Ferrari’s troubles. Hopkins, however, does not believe that the former Red Bull team principal would solve the problem.
“I don’t think it really matters who is at the helm here in as far as who is going to be believed or who he is going to listen to and take orders from,” he said.
“It’s more fundamental in as far as it’s up to that team principal to be fixing those communication errors. Is Horner capable of it? Yes I’m sure he is. Is Fred capable of it? I think he needs to move it to the top of his priority list.
“It’s clearly more important that team and car performance right now so moving that to the top of his priority list and fixing those issues and understanding what’s going wrong I think is absolutely key to Ferrari’s future.”
Whether it is a personnel or culture issue, Ferrari will need to get to the bottom of this if they want to be serious title contenders.
Hamilton's mistake in Singapore cost him a potential podium, but Ferrari must also consider why a driver of his experience felt the need to take the decision into his own hands.
If the team cannot rebuild that trust, similar problems could continue to undermine its results.
The Scuderia's next test comes in North America, with the United States Grand Prix taking place in Austin, Texas, from October 23-25.
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