Ferrari made a ‘detrimental’ set-up choice in Singapore that directly led to Lewis Hamilton’s penalty

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Ferrari have made some tough decisions throughout the 2025 Formula 1 season that have seen them fail to win a Grand Prix all year.

Although there are hopes that Ferrari’s pull-rod suspension will benefit them in 2026, the switch over the winter break has contributed to Fred Vasseur’s team going from constructors’ championship challengers to simply hoping to finish on the podium at each race.

Charles Leclerc was the most in-form driver at the end of 2024, but he’s not finished in the top three since Spa, and Lewis Hamilton is still waiting for his first Ferrari podium.

The reaction to Ferrari’s sixth and eighth place finishes at the Singapore Grand Prix in the Italian media was stark.

Leclerc admitted Ferrari won’t win a race this year, and now there are question marks over how the team are going to tackle Formula 1’s upcoming regulation changes.

With a few laps to go in Singapore, it looked like Hamilton had unlocked some pace on the soft tyres and was battling with Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

By the end of the race, the seven-time world champion was tiptoeing around the circuit, hoping not to be overtaken by Fernando Alonso, cutting corners and picking up a penalty as a result.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory

Ferrari’s ‘detrimental’ brake discs caused Lewis Hamilton’s failure at the Singapore Grand Prix

A report from Formula Uno Analisi Tecnica provided more details on what went wrong with Hamilton and Leclerc’s cars.

After the race, Leclerc said Ferrari put Hamilton in a ‘very difficult situation’ by placing him on a two-stop strategy.

Although it allowed him to push harder, the Monegasque driver was suffering with brake problems from the start of the race, and Hamilton was no longer in a position to manage these problems as he chased down Antonelli.

Alonso was furious with Hamilton when he thought he could get away with skipping chicanes to finish seventh before his penalty, with the Spaniard making up a 45-second deficit in the final two laps.

It’s believed that Ferrari have placed smaller brake discs on their cars than any other team on the grid this year.

This is for aerodynamic reasons to reduce drag, but the report suggests that this ‘this compromise once again proved detrimental’.

It meant that the material wore out quicker than his rivals, and while both drivers were asked to lift and coast from virtually the start of the race to manage the issue, Hamilton gambled to try and maximise the benefit of the soft tyres.

READ MORE: Who is Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur? Everything you need to know

Ferrari beginning to prepare for life without Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton

Two of the biggest talking points heading into 2026 will be whether Ferrari can start challenging for wins again and what will happen in the driver market if they’re once again off the pace.

Leclerc’s camp have reportedly approached Red Bull among other teams to sound out whether he would have options elsewhere in the paddock.

Hamilton controls an extension clause in his contract, but whether he will want to potentially tarnish his F1 legacy by hanging around at an underperforming Ferrari is another matter.

It’s believed that Gabriel Bortoleto is on Ferrari’s wishlist if they need a new driver for 2027.

Ferrari have a kinship for working with Brazilian drivers after Rubens Barrichello and Felipe Massa’s stints with the team, even if Alain Prost denied Ayrton Senna his dream Ferrari move in the 1990s.

The big name that Ferrari have been linked to is Oscar Piastri, off the back of a tense race in Singapore for McLaren.

Alongside Leclerc or Hamilton, Piastri would be a game-changing signing, but if both drivers move on, he would have a serious job on his hands rebuilding F1’s most iconic team.