Hamilton Penalised, Drops to Eighth in Singapore

At the Singapore Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton suffered a front-left brake failure in the closing laps and nursed his Ferrari across the line seventh on the road. Hamilton admitted he had left the track several times while managing the issue, and FIA stewards — while acknowledging the brake problem — ruled it did not meet exemptions in the Driving Standards Guidelines and imposed a standard five-second penalty for “leaving the track without a justifiable reason.” The penalty dropped him to eighth, cost him two championship points and prolonged his wait for a first Ferrari podium, while Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was promoted to seventh and had earlier erupted in an expletive-filled radio rant. Neither Hamilton nor Ferrari contested the stewards’ decision. Hamilton expressed bafflement to media and on team radio, questioning whether force majeure should apply and saying he seems to be “with the stewards quite often” lately.