Lewis Hamilton has openly taken responsibility for a flawed strategic choice at the previous round in Singapore that cost both himself and Ferrari a vital podium finish. Speaking on Thursday's media day ahead of the United States Grand Prix, the seven-time World Champion explained how his gamble on an alternative tyre strategy ultimately backfired and dropped him down to sixth at the chequered flag.
Heading into the Singapore race, Hamilton had been on course to secure third position and lock out a double podium for Ferrari alongside team mate Charles Leclerc. Looking for a way past eventual race winner Max Verstappen rather than simply following suit, Hamilton wanted to run a different plan from his garage neighbor. But a split-second call to stay out instead of pitting under a Virtual Safety Car proved disastrous.
It definitely hurts when I lose points for the team, it's not something I do very often, but I'll double the efforts to make sure that doesn't happen again.
"As soon as I was alongside the pit lane I knew it was probably the wrong decision but owned up to it, took responsibility for it and you move on," Hamilton said. He explained that his intent was to continuously challenge the team and the norms, noting that this mindset defines how he got to where he is in the sport. While he admitted that the risk did not pay off on this occasion, he stressed that nothing has changed regarding how well he and the team work together behind the scenes.
Reflecting on the painful cost of the error, Hamilton added, "It definitely hurts when I lose points for the team, it's not something I do very often, but I'll double the efforts to make sure that doesn't happen again." Ferrari enjoyed some of their strongest pace of the season in Singapore, though the Scuderia has gradually fallen away as the closest challengers to Mercedes over recent rounds.
Looking ahead to the track action in Austin and despite a small upgrade arriving for the weekend, Hamilton does not expect the competitive order to shift dramatically. Pointing to the fluctuating fortunes throughout the year—with Mercedes leading at one point, McLaren stepping up, and Red Bull recently dominating—he anticipates another tightly contested weekend among the front-runners if they can get the car in the right place.
