Lewis Hamilton penalised in Singapore as Fernando Alonso rants over brake issue

Lewis Hamilton was the subject of an extraordinary X-rated rant by Fernando Alonso prior to the Briton being penalised by the stewards in Singapore.

Hamilton’s night at the Marina Bay Street Circuit was derailed by a late brake problem which ended his challenge on passing Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli for fifth.

Hamilton allowed team-mate Charles Leclerc through before he spent the closing laps keeping Aston Martin’s Alonso behind.

The seven-time world champion took the chequered flag less than a second ahead of his former rival.

But a furious Alonso said over the radio: “Oh, f****** hell, man. I cannot believe it. Yeah, he knew it. I cannot f****** believe it, I cannot f****** believe it. I mean, I cannot f****** believe it. I cannot f****** believe it. Is it safe to drive with no brakes?

“This should be f****** P7. I mean, you cannot drive like you are alone on track.”

Hamilton was summoned to see the stewards before they dealt him a five-second penalty for “leaving the track without a justifiable reason” on multiple occasions. The sanction promoted Alonso to seventh and left Hamilton a place worse off.

The FIA said: “During the hearing, the driver (Hamilton) confirmed that he left the track at several occasions. 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 qualified ahead of Leclerc for just the fifth time across their first 18 races together as Ferrari team-mates on Saturday, but he earned just two points a day later and his wait for a first Ferrari podium goes on. He is sixth in the world championship, 46 points adrift of Leclerc.