Lewis Hamilton has revealed the moment he knew he had messed up by ignoring Ferrari's instructions at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Hamilton was running third in the race at Marina Bay Street Circuit earlier this month when a virtual safety car (VSC) was deployed on lap 39 following a crash for Lance Stroll.

At the time, Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen were ahead of him in P2 and P1, respectively, and while they both opted to pit, Hamilton did not. It would later transpire that Ferrari had instructed him to box on that lap and follow his team-mate into the pits for a cheap stop, but Hamilton chose to overrule his team.

By the next lap, the VSC was over, and the opportunity for Hamilton had passed, with the seven-time champion forced to go to the end on the pair of softs he was already running. This led to him being overtaken by Kimi Antonelli and Lando Norris in the latter stages of the race and coming home in P6.

"Sorry boys. I let you down today with that strategy," Hamilton said over the team radio after the finish. "My call, and I lost us valuable points. I'll try and make up for it in the next one."

Lewis Hamilton reflects on Ferrari error in Singapore

Further comments from Hamilton post-race described the situation as a 'painful lesson', with the seven-time world champion's words making it very clear he had made an error in ignoring his team.

Hamilton and Ferrari have the chance to put it all behind them at the US Grand Prix in Austin this weekend, where the Brit has an impressive record.

Ahead of the action in Texas, though, Singapore was still on Hamilton's mind, revealing to the media the exact moment he knew he had screwed up.

"It was a split-second decision, and I decided to stay out. As soon as I was alongside the pit lane, I realised it was probably the wrong decision," Hamilton explained.

"But I owned up to it, took responsibility for it, and you move on."

Hamilton and Ferrari looking forward

In light of what went down, Hamilton and Ferrari held talks over how they can avoid such a scenario happening again in the future, with the team looking forward rather than dwelling on the past.

Hamilton says he will continue to push and challenge decisions, though, believing it's his job to drive things forward.

"We've had good conversations in the background about how we can do better together and how we can collaborate better," he continued. "But I think nothing's changed in terms of how well we work together in the background.

"I truly believe my job, rather than to follow suit always, is to continuously challenge the team and myself, including constantly challenging the norms. And that's ultimately how I've got to where I am. I will not shy away from that.

"Sometimes it doesn't go well, and that was one of those times. But you live to fight another day. And we win and lose as a team, so we carry the weight and the cost together. It definitely hurts when I lose points for the team. It's not something I do very often, but I'll double my efforts to make sure that doesn't happen again."