Lewis Hamilton 'cheating' slammed by ex FIA steward

Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton has been slammed for 'cheating' at the Singapore Grand Prix by an ex FIA steward.

The Singapore race weekend came to a difficult end for Hamilton, after a late brake issue allowed Fernando Alonso to close the gap to the Brit to just four tenths of a second.

A furious Alonso took to his team radio to blast Hamilton for driving with brake issues, in a lengthy X-rated tirade.

Hamilton further drew the ire of his F1 rival when he left the track to nurse the brake issue, totalling four track limit violations during the closing stages of the race.

The FIA’s rules state that a driver can exceed track limits on three occasions before they are shown the black and white flag. A further breach of track limits after the flag results in a five-second time penalty, with Hamilton on the receiving end of this punishment in Singapore.

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Hamilton track limits provokes strong reaction

As a result of his penalty, Hamilton was demoted to eighth while Alonso was promoted to seventh, despite the Ferrari star’s protestations in the stewards room that he left track limits because of the brake issue.

A man well versed in the FIA rule book, former F1 driver and steward Johnny Herbert, did not take kindly to Hamilton’s rule breaking however, and labelled it as ‘cheating’.

“It was the right thing to do to give Lewis that penalty because there was a bit of cutting of certain corners, so he didn't have to brake. He got his just desserts,” Herbert said to BettingLounge.

“The stewards made the right call. Fernando was definitely making sure the stewards were aware of his anger. But I think it was quite clear at the end of the day that liberties were being taken for Lewis to get to the end of the race.

“You can't take those liberties, you can't cheat to that degree. Very Fernando, getting on his high horse, shouting and screaming!

“We all expect that from Fernando, that competitiveness from that very first race when he came into Formula 1 all those years ago.”

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