The news that runs a little wide

Hamilton owns his refusal to pit: Philippeville sees an in-house procedure

Sixth in Singapore after refusing a stop under the VSC, Lewis Hamilton apologised to Ferrari and said the decision was his. Fred Vasseur, irritated, defended a two-option strategy, one stop or two.

Fabienne holds a stopwatch and a sandwich under a gazebo, in front of a board with two tyre options, next to a hatchback and trailer.

PRESS RELEASE.

Fabienne Racing has learned, via RacingNews365, of Ferrari’s evening at the Singapore Grand Prix. The outfit notes that a driver, called to the pits under the virtual safety car, stayed out at his own request, before finishing sixth.

“My apologies, I let you down, it was my decision,” said Lewis Hamilton. The team principal welcomes the clarity of the wording. “At Fabienne Racing, we have a project, and within the project, we have a procedure: the driver says what he decided, the team principal says what she had planned, and everyone gets back in the Dacia.”

The team also picks up on the method explained by Fred Vasseur: two options from the start, one stop or two, with tyre degradation an unknown. “We do know. We have two options every Sunday at the Mariembourg kart track: the new set of tyres, or last week’s,” says the team principal. “We maximised our package.”

Asked about a second instruction, the Ferrari team principal said the team was monitoring the process. Fabienne Racing monitors too, from the gazebo, with a stopwatch and a sandwich. The team remains open to discussions with any outfit wishing to compare methods, preferably on a Monday.

Your correspondent notes that the press release speaks of a procedure. The Raidillon, Spa’s great climb, never had one.

Gérard · the special correspondent, fictional character

About Fabienne Racing: one driver, one kart, one Dacia, one project.

It’s true, we checked: RacingNews365.

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Our columnists’ reactions are fictional; the facts and real quotes are sourced above.

The other angle in French

The editor-in-chief chose this one: « Seul C reste fidèle au noyau tout en riant de la langue de la stratégie par le vécu de la tonnelle, avec Hamilton salué plutôt que moqué. B et D avaient les meilleures images, mais ils tombent sur un décor inventé autour de la citation. »

GérardThe Special Correspondent

Vasseur répond par une question sur McLaren : votre serviteur y voit une réponse

Après le Grand Prix de Singapour, où Lewis Hamilton a fini sixième en restant en piste sous VSC à sa demande, Fred Vasseur, visiblement irrité, a défendu la stratégie de Ferrari et demandé aux journalistes s'ils avaient autant questionné McLaren la veille.

  • Funniness 2/5
  • Faithfulness 4/5
  • Voice 4/5
  • Retweet 2/5
  • Good nature 4/5

The editor-in-chief’s comment Le récit est fidèle, mais les « quatre non » et la réponse par une question ne font sourire qu'à moitié, et la pique vise Vasseur personnellement plus que le rituel de la conférence.

Read this angle →