Lewis Hamiltons Singapore Grand Prix ended in frustration after a late-race mechanical failure forced him to fight for control and ultimately cost him a position after stewards penalized him for repeatedly exceeding track limits.
The Ferrari driver was running comfortably in seventh with two laps remaining when a severe braking issue struck his car. Hamiltons engineer, Ricardo Adami, instructed him to slow down to cool the brakes, warning that overheating could lead to complete failure. But on a circuit notorious for punishing brake systems, the damage was already done.
Lewis Hamilton Mourns the Loss of His Beloved Bulldog, RoscoeRadio messages between Hamilton and his engineer revealed the mounting tension as the problem worsened. Losing my brakes, mate, Hamilton said. Pedals going long. Despite multiple lift-and-coast attempts to cool the system, Hamiltons braking power deteriorated rapidly. He eventually let teammate Charles Leclerc pass while trying to nurse the car home.
As his performance fell off sharply, Hamilton began overshooting corners and taking to the run-off areas, at times cutting the inside of turns. When Adami warned him not to, Hamilton responded, Im not trying to cut the course, mate. He later told his engineer he had lost all braking on the left front.
With Fernando Alonso closing in fast, Hamilton managed to hold position to the finish by less than half a second. But after the race, stewards determined he had breached track limits multiple times and handed him a five-second penalty, dropping him from seventh to eighth place.
Hamilton questioned the ruling, arguing that his off-track excursions were the result of force majeure. Surely theres no penalty when its force majeure? he asked on the radio. The stewards disagreed.
Despite the setback, Ferrari praised Hamiltons effort to salvage points under difficult conditions. Weve had a strong recovery there, Adami told him. Strong race overall.
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