FEATURE
“N
o. No. No!” was the cry from
Lewis Hamilton when the rear of
his Mercedes burst into flames
as he began lap 41 of the Malaysian Grand
Prix which he was dominating up to that
point.
Hamilton slowed on the outside of the
Turn 1 complex, flames and smoke belching
from the back of his car. He emerged from
the cockpit, disappointment palpable as a
sure win was on the cards in the incident
packed race.
Shortly after the DNF Mercedes
confirmed that Hamilton suffered an internal
combustion engine failure, and that it was
unexpected with no warning signs at all.
Thereafter Hamilton was forced to
watch as his title rival and teammate Nico
Rosberg recovered from a first lap incident,
which saw him drop to the back of the
pack, to finish third and increase his world
championship lead to 23 points.
The reigning F1 world champion said
afterwards, “My question is to Mercedes.
We have so many engines made for
drivers, but mine are the only ones failing
this year. Someone need to give me some
answers because this is not acceptable.”
“We are fighting for the championship
and only my engines are failing. It does
not sit right with me. I will try and recollect
myself and try to get myself together for the
race next week.”
“There are many decisive races but this
is one of those. Someone doesn’t want me
to win this year but I won’t give up. I will
keep pushing,” added Hamilton.