Lewis Hamilton says it was “a bit of fun” to poke fun at his former F1 rival Fernando Alonso on social media after the Singapore Grand Prix.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton was forced to care for his ailing Ferrari at his home in Singapore after developing slow braking problems.
Hamilton had a lead of more than 40 seconds over former title rival Alonso in sixth place, but he slowed considerably as he struggled to keep his car off the wall.
Hamilton ultimately crossed the line just 0.4 seconds behind seventh-placed Alonso, but he crossed the line after cutting a few corners.
As a result, Alonso criticized Hamilton’s driving after the checkered flag, repeatedly saying, “I can’t believe it,” and then went on an unusual rant on the radio, saying, “Is it safe to drive without brakes? This must be a hell of a P7. I can’t drive it.”
Alonso’s wish came true when Hamilton was given a five-second time penalty for violating track limits and was demoted to eighth.
But it was Hamilton who had the last laugh, teasing the 44-year-old Spaniard on Monday after the race.
The Ferrari driver posted an edited version of the British sitcom One Foot in the Grave, in which protagonist Victor Meldrew repeatedly says, “I can’t believe it.”
Hamilton was asked if he had spoken to Alonso ahead of this weekend’s US Grand Prix.
“No, I haven’t seen Fernando since then,” Hamilton said Thursday in Austin.
“It was kind of fun. It reminded me of that. I hadn’t watched the show in over 20 years, but I thought it was interesting so I posted it.”
“What is life if you can’t enjoy it at all?”
Asked at an earlier FIA press conference whether he thought the five-second penalty was a sufficient penalty, Alonso said: “No, I was happy with the penalty.
“I got the position. One second was enough. I didn’t need the extra four seconds.”
Lewis Hamilton explains ‘nerve-wracking’ brake incident
Hamilton admitted the braking incident at the end of the race was “nerve-wracking”.
“The last few laps were definitely nerve-wracking,” he added.
“I’ve won races with three tires in the past, but this time I finished the race with three brakes! It’s definitely something I don’t want to experience again.
“I couldn’t stop the car. I just pedaled straight to the end and there was nothing there, so I had no choice but to take the exit road. Otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to turn the corner.”
“I think that penalty was good. It doesn’t make a big difference for me anyway.”