Sir Lewis Hamilton suffered a disappointing Singapore Grand Prix, after crashing out of podium contention; however, he was consoled by a beautiful gift from an obviously big fan.
After looking strong on Friday and then qualifying third at the Marina Bay Circuit, it looked for all the world that the seven-time World Champion might just be in contention for a first victory of the season.
However, it wasn’t to be, after the Brit made a poor start off the line following a bout of wheelspin, which allowed Carlos Sainz in fourth, to sail past in the damp conditions.
The Mercedes driver did settle into the race behind the Ferrari driver and looked much faster than the Spaniard.
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Hamilton soon became frustrated behind Sainz, after being unable to get close enough in key braking areas such as Turn Seven.
There was simply no way past the Ferrari, which proved a stumbling block for the 37-year-old, something that was further cemented by a pivotal error.
On Lap 33, Hamilton went into Turn Seven considerably too fast, which as a result, saw the Brit crash directly into the barrier on the exit of the overtaking spot.
Incredibly, the only damage to his W13 was to his front-wing; however, it was severe enough to force the 103-time GP winner into the pits for a nose change.
The lengthy pit-stop for the new front-wing saw Hamilton drop to ninth, staggeringly behind both Aston Martin’s.
Again, Hamilton was considerably faster than Sebastian Vettel ahead in the AMR22 but failed to find a way past.
Hamilton had inherited eighth after Max Verstappen went off the circuit but fell back behind the Dutchman in the closing minutes of the race, after going deep into Turn Eight due to being caught on the wet part of the circuit on slick tyres.
The second mistake came whilst trying to overtake the four-time World Champion, who was also overtaken by Verstappen right at the end of the race.
Mercedes only claimed two points from what looked set to be a strong weekend for the Silver Arrows, meaning they now sit 69 points behind Ferrari in the battle for second in the Constructors’ Championship.
Hamilton was clearly disappointed by his error, which cost both himself and the team a potential podium finish.
His mood was somewhat uplifted by a fan, though, who gave the 37-year-old a gift that Hamilton was overwhelmed to receive.
The gift given to Hamilton appeared to be a photo frame with a design of his dogs Coco and Roscoe.
“Oh wow, what is that?” Hamilton said when given the gift.
“Roscoe and Coco,” replied the fan.
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“Cocos!” Hamilton responded with a huge smile on his face.
“Oh Coco, I miss her so much,” continued the Mercedes driver, in regard to his dog Coco, who sadly passed away in 2020.
“Thank you so much,” he concluded.