Fred Vasseur dispelled any notion that Lewis Hamilton’s SF-25 was in an unsafe condition in the closing laps of the Singapore Grand Prix, adamant it was safe because he slowed down.

Hamilton was one of only three drivers to adopt a two-stop strategy at the Marina Bay circuit and used his fresh soft Pirellis to try to hunt down Kimi Antonelli for sixth place.

Lewis Hamilton: ‘I’ve lost my brakes, lost my left front’

But as he closed in on the Mercedes driver, he told his race engineer, “losing my brakes, mate”. Told by Riccardo Adami to “lift and coast”, Hamilton added: “I’m losing big time. I’ve lost my brakes, lost my left front.”

His teammate Charles Leclerc overtook the Briton who was struggling to stay on the track, incurring one track limit violation after the other as Fernando

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