Lewis Hamilton hits back at Ferrari critics after strategy blunder: “McLaren made the same mistake”

Lewis Hamilton defended Ferrari's strategists following backlash over an errant tire decision during wet race conditions in Malaysia, claiming McLaren made the same blunder with less scrutiny. Both Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc initially plummeted through the field after starting on slick tires instead of intermediates. However, the pair mounted a recovery drive that saw Hamilton finish on the podium and Leclerc secure fourth.

Hamilton explained that the tire strategy was a collective team choice involving himself, team principal Fred Vasseur, and head of track engineering Matteo Togninalli. While Hamilton initially favored intermediate tires, he accepted the group consensus and noted that Ferrari is actively discussing ways to reach better decisions in the future.