Ferrari Reacts To Lewis Hamilton Safety Concerns

Ferrari has played down safety concerns regarding Lewis Hamilton's brake failure in the closing stages of Formula 1's Singapore Grand Prix.

Hamilton has been chasing Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes down late in the race after charging on a set of soft tires as part of a daring two-stop strategy.

It seemed to be a gamble that paid off as he sliced what was a margin of over 20 seconds down to within DRS distance of the Italian rookie, setting the seven-time champion up for a move for fifth place as they entered the final three laps.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari — Scuderia Ferrari

But the hard work was not rewarded as a front-left brake failure left him limping home at reduced speed, eventually finishing just in front of Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso.

Yet because he was unable to sufficiently slow his car down at various corners in the final two laps and despite losing heaps of time to rivals, track limit infringements landed Hamilton in trouble with the race stewards and he was ultimately hit with a five-second penalty to drop him behind his former McLaren teammate and into eighth in the final classification.

F1 rules dictate that cars must not be driven in an unsafe condition, yet Hamilton was not investigated for breaching this regulation.

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In the aftermath of the race, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur was asked whether Hamilton's slow pace and lack of brakes constituted a safety risk.

"From lap two or three, we had to do lift and coast for most of the race, and it is not easy to drive as you have to adapt your braking point," said Vasseur, as per RacingNews365. "Clearly, when we pushed those few laps with Lewis, the pace was decent, but we can't do 95% of the race on the back foot.

"We all know that in Singapore, when you are in the middle of the pack, it is critical for the brakes, and it was good we didn't have a DNF at the end, but it was not expected.

"In terms of safety, yes [it was okay], because we adapted the pace, it is not like Lewis was pushing like hell in the last lap, he was 30 seconds slower.

"So yes, in terms of safety, it was on the safe side."

Hamilton's teammate Charles Leclerc finished only sixth on another weekend where the Scuderia failed to match the performance of rivals McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull.

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