Lewis Hamilton incurred a five-second time penalty at the Singapore Grand Prix, resulting in his demotion to eighth place, directly behind Fernando Alonso.
In the closing stages of the race, Hamilton repeatedly breached track limits as his front brakes malfunctioned. He was attempting to carefully guide his Mercedes to the finish, a situation that provoked a furious reaction from Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso.
On his team radio, Alonso launched into a scathing tirade, exclaiming, “I cannot f***ing believe it… Is it safe to drive with no brakes? For me, you cannot drive when the car is unsafe. Sometimes they try to disqualify me with no mirror, and now you have no brakes and everything is fine? I doubt it.”
Although Hamilton initially crossed the finish line a mere four-tenths of a second ahead of Alonso, his penalty ultimately placed him behind the Aston Martin driver. Alonso`s seventh-place finish marked his strongest performance since the season`s summer break.
The race stewards` report stated that during the hearing, Hamilton acknowledged multiple instances of exceeding track limits. He explained that he was grappling with a brake problem. However, after reviewing the situation and consulting the Driving Standards Guidelines, the stewards concluded that a brake issue did not constitute a justifiable exemption for track limit violations, and therefore, the standard penalty was applied. Neither Hamilton nor his team representative contested the decision.
Hamilton was the sole driver among the top ten to opt for a two-stop strategy, utilizing soft compound tires for the final 16 laps. This aggressive choice likely intensified the stress on his braking system, exacerbating the problem.
Charles Leclerc allowed Hamilton to pass, enabling Hamilton to challenge another driver for fifth place. However, just as he closed the gap, his brakes failed.
Reflecting on his performance, Hamilton stated, “It was an okay race. My start wasn`t great. Overtaking was incredibly difficult, and I remained stuck in my position. I was closing in on [the driver ahead] when the brakes suddenly gave up. You could see sparks coming off the left front. I had to ease off to cool them down, and although they recovered somewhat, they were never fully effective.”
Hamilton Calls for Improved Qualifying Performance
In a notable achievement, Hamilton outqualified Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc in Saturday`s Singapore session, marking the first time he had done so since July`s British Grand Prix. This result highlighted his improving performance trajectory over the preceding four races.
Ferrari had been widely expected to be strong contenders on the demanding Singapore street circuit. However, they found themselves notably behind McLaren, Mercedes, and Max Verstappen`s Red Bull.
Hamilton believes his team is “pushing extremely hard,” but he acknowledged that they are still not maximizing their single-lap performance, an area that could significantly influence their overall race outcomes.
