Lewis Hamilton was given a five-second penalty by Formula 1’s stewards, having failed to respect track limits in the latter stages of the Singapore Grand Prix.
Hamilton suffered from suspected brake issues in the last four laps of the race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, which meant he dropped behind Charles Leclerc – though this had been the plan all along after the Briton failed to let his Ferrari team-mate repass him at Baku.
Hamilton enjoyed a comfortable 52-second advantage over Fernando Alonso on lap 58, but lost three seconds, five seconds and 32 seconds respectively over the next three tours.
The seven-time world champion managed his remaining 12-second gap on the last lap, but took too many liberties with track limits, which unleashed Alonso’s fury.
“I cannot fucking believe it,” the Aston Martin racer said four times over team radio after crossing the finish line, having finally caught up with Hamilton’s Ferrari in the last two corners. “Is it safe to drive with no brakes?”
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / LAT Images via Getty Images
A calmer Alonso then told Spanish broadcaster DAZN: “They told me about it two laps from the end and I finished about a tenth behind him, so it was a bit frustrating.
“But at the same time, I think it’s being investigated now for track limits and everything, because when you don’t have brakes you can’t really go off the track, because we all have to stay on the track, with or without brakes – and although he always has a bit of tolerance, hopefully today it will be a little less.”
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The FIA stewards have now ruled that Hamilton was indeed at fault, awarding him a five-second penalty that drops him to eighth, behind Alonso, in the final classification.
“During the hearing, the driver confirmed that he left the track at several occasions,” the stewards wrote in their ruling. “He was trying to manage a brakes issue situation.
“This being said, after further investigation, and in accordance with the list of exemptions foreseen in the Driving Standards Guidelines, the stewards considered that this was not a justifiable reason and apply the usual penalty for such type of infringement. This was not contested by the team representative nor the driver.”
Hamilton’s deficit to team-mate Leclerc in the standings therefore increases to 48 points, while Ferrari only has an eight-point margin on Red Bull for third place in the constructors’ championship.
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