‘I f****d up’: Lewis Hamilton apologises for crash as Singapore GP podium hopes are dashed

Hamilton started fourth but finished ninth after hitting the barrier

Lewis Hamilton in action at the Singapore Grand Prix (Getty Images,)

Lewis Hamilton apologised to Mercedes and said, “I f****d it up big time,” after he crashed into a wall and fell off the road before finishing ninth at Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix.

Sergio Perez took the chequered flag of a turbulent wet-dry race under the lights of the Marina Bay Circuit, while Max Verstappen’s wait for a second Formula 1 world championship goes on following an error-strew display.

Verstappen started eighth and finished just one place higher after he dropped to last when a wild move on Lando Norris backfired.

However, the Dutch-Belgian – 104 points clear of Charles Leclerc in the standings – will be crowned champion at the Japanese Grand Prix in a week’s time if he wins and sets the fastest lap.

Leclerc finished second here, with Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz joining him on the podium. McLaren’s Norris was fourth.

Hamilton will leave Singapore keen to erase the memory of a night where he made two uncharacteristic mistakes. After losing out to Sainz at the start, Hamilton spent the majority of Sunday’s race inhaling the Ferrari man’s exhaust fumes. And on Lap 33, he was in the tyre barrier.

Hamilton carried too much speed into the seventh corner and whacked the wall. He slipped his Mercedes into reverse – falling behind Norris but ahead of Verstappen – and attempted to soldier on. But Hamilton’s front wing was dangling off his Mercedes and orange sparks flew as he was forced to stop for repairs.

“I am so sorry about that guys,” he said over the radio. “I f****d it up big time.”

Hamilton dropped from fourth to ninth, and then in the final 96 seconds of the two-hour race – which was delayed by 65 minutes following a downpour – he ran off the racing line at turn eight as he duelled with Sebastian Vettel. That promoted Verstappen to eighth, which then became seventh when the defending champion passed Vettel on the final lap.

“I am pretty flat,” said Hamilton after the race. “It was a poor day, a pretty rubbish day. I am just looking forward to tomorrow.

“It all went out the fricking window when I locked up, so my apologies to the team. Your heart sinks. I knew it was all over from then, but these things happen. I am not going to punish myself for a mistake. When you fail, you get up and try again, but it wasn’t the greatest day.”

Hamilton’s teammate George Russell will also be keen to banish the memories of Marina Bay. Russell qualified 11th – before he started in the pits following an engine change – and then collided with Valtteri Bottas and Mick Schumacher. He finished 14th and last, with six cars failing to finish at all.