“Oh for f*** sake!”: When Lewis Hamilton’s car caught fire but he couldn’t stop it

During the qualifying of the 2014 Hungarian GP, Lewis Hamilton’s car caught fire costing him an important title fight with Nico Rosberg.

Lewis Hamilton is one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers. Hamilton has won seven world championships, 103 race wins and 103 pole positions. 

Throughout his career, Hamilton has had very few DNFs compared to other drivers. But one incident during the qualifying session of the 2014 Hungarian GP cost him a lead in the championship standings.

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When Lewis Hamilton couldn’t stop the car

Lewis Hamilton’s hopes of victory in the 2014 Hungarian GP had gone up in smoke after his car caught fire in the opening minutes of qualifying. 

Flames came out of Hamilton’s car during his first warm-up lap during Q1. He slowly entered the pits as he was unable to stop his Mercedes. 

The fire was caused by a fuel leak. At first, the Briton didn’t stop the car because he wanted to get back to the garage and fix the car thinking of the championship. But eventually, the team asked him to stop but he couldn’t as the rear brakes had caught fire.

The Hamilton-Rosberg rivalry had started in 2014 and both of them were championship competitors. Both Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were so close that each and every point mattered.

Hamilton didn’t want to retire because Rosberg was already leading the championship. The Briton wanted to minimize the gap. But the engine change during qualifying put him at the back of the grid for the race.

This reliability issue didn’t affect Hamilton in the end as Hamilton ended up winning the 2014 Driver’s championship at the last race in Abu Dhabi.

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