Lewis Hamilton has revealed that Ferrari held a "huge discussion" to reflect on a strategic error at the Bahrain Grand Prix, which he says "wasn't good enough".
Ferrari fitted both Hamilton and team-mate Charles Leclerc with slick dry tyres at the race, which was hosted in Malaysia and started on a wet track. The team anticipated the surface would quickly dry out once the race began. The decision proved wrong: Hamilton fell from second on the grid to almost the back of the field in the opening stages, while the 14 of 22 drivers who started on intermediate tyres gained a huge advantage.
Hamilton produced a stunning fightback to finish third on the podium. However, he sits 106 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli, and he reiterated his desire to see improvement from the team before this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix. "We're going to try and work on how we can come to a better conclusion more consistently in the future," he said.
Hamilton also defended Ferrari against what he sees as disproportionate criticism. McLaren started on dry tyres at the same race and suffered the same fate, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri sliding towards the back of the pack. "We do for some reason as a team get far more flack than anybody else," the seven-time world champion said. He added that the strategy team takes the brunt of the criticism, but that the call was made collectively by Hamilton, team principal Fred Vasseur, head of track engineering Matteo Togninalli and his engineer, with "ideas and information" pooled together. "It was ultimately a mistake," he acknowledged.
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing