Hamilton's Singapore snub of Ferrari pitwall signals deepening trust breakdown, says Collins

Lewis Hamilton defied Ferrari’s instruction to pit during a virtual safety car period at the Singapore Grand Prix, finishing sixth, and former F1 strategist Bernie Collins believes the incident is symptomatic of a deeper rift between the seven-time champion and his team’s pitwall.

Hamilton had already stopped on lap 19 when Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll retired with a clutch problem on lap 40, triggering a virtual safety car and offering a cost-effective second stop. Ferrari called Hamilton in after team-mate Charles Leclerc, but Hamilton elected to stay out and attempt a one-stop strategy. His tyres degraded badly in the closing laps, leaving him sixth at the chequered flag. He subsequently apologised to the team and confirmed the decision was his own.

Collins, speaking on the Sky Sports F1 Show, was unequivocal about what the moment revealed. “Someone of Lewis’s stature doesn’t forget to do a pitstop,” she said. “That was crucial, I think, to the race at that point.”

She drew a direct line to the previous round in Malaysia, where Hamilton also overruled Ferrari’s strategy call — staying on dry tyres when the team wanted him to switch to intermediates. “That shows more globally that Lewis isn’t trusting that Ferrari team,” Collins argued. “He’s questioning their decisions.”

The back-to-back incidents add an uncomfortable subplot to Ferrari’s season at a moment when the Scuderia can ill afford internal friction. Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli is closing in on the drivers’ championship, and Max Verstappen dominated the Singapore weekend for Red Bull, leaving Ferrari needing clean execution to remain competitive.

Hamilton joined Ferrari ahead of the 2025 season in one of the most anticipated driver moves in the sport’s recent history. The early signs of a communication breakdown between the 40-year-old and his engineers will concern the team, particularly given that strategy calls — and the driver’s willingness to follow them — often prove decisive across a championship campaign.