Lewis Hamilton was taken to the medical centre at the Marina Bay Circuit after the Singapore Grand Prix, with Ferrari confirming he felt unwell. The seven-time world champion was excused from his usual post-race media duties after being seen crouching in parc ferme with his helmet and race suit still on.
No details were given about the nature of his illness, though the Singapore race is known as one of the most physically demanding of the year. Despite taking place at night, the heat and humidity take their toll on drivers, who can lose several kilograms of weight through water loss.
Ferrari confirms Hamilton saw FIA medical team
In a statement, Ferrari confirmed Hamilton had sought medical attention after the race. It read: "After the race, Lewis felt unwell and has been seen by the FIA medical team. He has been given permission by the FIA to not attend the post-race media pen."
As he did not speak to either TV or written media in the Singapore paddock, the team put out quotes on behalf of Hamilton. They did not reference his illness but did express regret for ignoring Ferrari's pit stop plan during the race and staying out on track, resulting in him throwing away a podium and finishing sixth.
Hamilton takes responsibility for strategy error
Hamilton said in the statement: "Today wasn't the result we were looking for and it was on me. At a track that's difficult to overtake, you need to try something different and I chose to start on a new medium tyre, to go long and try to make a one-stop work. Unfortunately, the medium didn't perform as well as the soft.
"I had a good second stint and the pace was back, but I couldn't make the progress I needed. Under the VSC, the team called me in but I missed the entry. After that, I decided to stay out and try to hold track position to the end but, in the closing laps, I was struggling massively with tyre degradation and lost three places.
"I finished P6, which doesn't reflect the pace we had in the car today. A painful lesson today, but I take full responsibility for the decisions I made.
"Not every call will work out, and I can accept getting it wrong but I'm sorry to the team for the points we lost today. They put so much into every weekend, and I wanted to deliver more for them. I'll continue to put the work in and come back fighting at the next race."
Team boss backs strategists
Team principal Frederic Vasseur was quick to absolve his strategists of any blame, agreeing with Hamilton that the driver had been at fault for failing to stop. He said: "We asked him to pit. Don't blame the team guys. Clearly on the radio he apologised and said, 'It was my call'. He decided to not stop behind the VSC but we would have been P2 and P3.
"We were not sure we could go to the end so we chose to stop under VSC. There was a radio message, the driver has apologised that he let the team down. It was very clear. We were P2, P3 on track, we called two of our guys to pit behind the VSC, one of our guys said, 'No I prefer to stay on track', or he missed pit entry. Don't blame the team."
