Why was Hamilton penalized in Singapore despite his evident brake issues?
Lewis Hamilton dropped behind his old rival Fernando Alonso at the Singapore Grand Prix after the seven-time world champion was handed a five-second time penalty for exceeding the track limits on multiple occasions.
Following a strong display in the opening stages of Saturday’s qualifying session, Hamilton secured sixth place on the starting grid ahead of his team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The Briton was overtaken by the Monegasque at the start into the first corner, and spent the majority of the race in P7. However, Ferrari called Hamilton in for a second pit stop to switch to a fresh set of red-walled soft tyres.
The seven-time world champion quickly set the timing screens alight, going over two seconds faster than Leclerc and Kimi Antonelli, who were his main rivals at the Marina Bay Circuit.
When Hamilton closed in on Leclerc, the Monegasque let him by, so the Briton could launch an attack on the driver, who replaced him at Mercedes. However, Hamilton suffered a sudden brake issue into Turn 17 which he could only manage on the last two laps by almost avoiding using the brakes.
Hamilton still finished the encounter in P7, but he crossed the finish line just four-tenths ahead of Aston Martin rival Fernando Alonso.
Following the race, the Briton has been given a five-second penalty for exceeding the track limits on four occasions which saw him drop back to eighth position, losing a couple of points in the process.
Hamilton did not exceed the track limits until the closing stages of the race, having delivered a faultless drive until his brake issues. When he battled though the technical problems, he went wide at Turns 2, 5, 16 and 17 – once in every corner in this order.
Although every time he exceeded the track limits was a result of his brake issues, the stewards noted that „this was not a justifiable reason,” and applied “the usual penalty for such type of infringement.”
The stewards noted: “The Stewards heard from the team representative and the driver, reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, video, team radio and in-car video evidence.
“During the hearing, the driver confirmed that he left the track at several occasions. He was trying to manage a brake 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.”
