Hamilton given five-second time penalty, drops behind Alonso

Lewis Hamilton has been given a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits “multiple” times during the last laps of the Singapore Grand Prix as he tried to hold off Fernando Alonso in their battle for seventh.

Hamilton had a huge 40-second margin to Alonso but lost his front brakes and cut several corners as he tried to get the car across the line.

The Ferrari driver held off Alonso by four tenths but will now drop to eighth, with Alonso promoted to seventh.

The stewards said: "During the hearing, the driver 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.”