Lewis Hamilton faces more misery as Mercedes summoned to stewards

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Lewis Hamilton faces more misery at the Singapore Grand Prix as the stewards summoned a Mercedes representative moments after the Brit secured third place in qualifying. An FIA statement declares the reason as an ‘inaccurate self scrutineering form’, which could be another twist in the latest jewellery row. 

Earlier in the day, Hamilton was called to explain the nose stud that he wore during the third practice session in a continuation of the saga which kicked off earlier this year. The seven-time world champion had removed the silver item upon instruction from the FIA prior to the British Grand Prix.

But he could now face a fine for competing in FP3 and qualifying with the jewellery intact. Hamilton was instructed to go to the stewards’ office directly after FP3 and he was again required to provide an explanation after qualifying, this time alongside a Mercedes representative.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after his trip to see the authorities, Hamilton explained that he had been forced to put his nose piercing back in on health grounds.

“It got infected loads of times and I was trying to find a solution and I went back to the clinic and that is the best way for it to heal,” he said. “For me, it is a health part so that is the way it is going to stay and we are going to have to deal with it.”

Hamilton will be hoping he is not penalised with a grid penalty as he is set to start Sunday’s Grand Prix from third place. And with just Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez ahead of him, the 37-year-old will fancy his chances of a strong result.

Hamilton said: “I was pushing so hard, I was so close I was trying so hard, these guys are so quick, but I thought maybe with the perfect lap we could be fighting for first place but I just didn’t have the grip in the last lap. But I’m grateful to be on the second row and for the team to continue to push, hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

“We knew the car would be stronger than it was in Monza but we didn’t know how close we would be, to lose out just by that bit, it’s ok but we will just get up and fight again tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell had a contrasting qualifying as he was dumped out of Q2.

“I was struggling with something to do with the brakes and the engine in P1 that was pushing me into the corners and it kind of felt like I had a throttle on as I was going in and I didn’t,” Russell explained.

“The tyres felt good but I just couldn’t get round any corners.

“It is such a shame, we probably couldn’t have done any better in Q3 because we couldn’t resolve the problem.

“It is one of these things that is really frustrating.

“It is disappointing for myself and the team, Lewis was looking good and the car was looking really fast but we just couldn’t make it work.

“It is definitely an encouraging weekend but encouraging doesn’t mean anything we are here to score points.

“Where we deserve to be fighting is probably top three.”

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