Lewis Hamilton breaks latest Michael Schumacher F1 record despite Singapore penalty

Despite receiving a five-second time penalty for repeated corner cutting as he tried to limp his  Ferrari home, Lewis Hamilton broke an all-time F1 record in the Singapore Grand Prix.

Running seventh and with Ferrari locked into a tight fight with Mercedes and Red Bull for second in the constructors', the Scuderia opted to pit Hamilton to see if he could pass Kimi Antonelli and rescue more precious points for the team, and deny them to Mercedes.

Switching to softs for a final blast, Hamilton carved great chunks of time out of team-mate Charles Leclerc and Antonelli, nearly four seconds per lap faster, as Leclerc waved him through, but just as he latched onto the back of Antonelli, his brakes failed, leading him to crawl home. 

He finished seventh on the road, but dropped to eighth following the time penalty for corner cutting, with his fastest lap of a 1:33.808 being unbeaten, with Pierre Gasly's Alpine second-best.

In setting the fastest lap, Hamilton did so for the 16th consecutive season, having now done so in every season since 2010 to break the joint record of 15 he held with Schumacher, who did so between 1992 and 2006.

Hamilton had actually set the fastest lap during the Chinese GP to break the record in his second race with the team, but this was expunged after he was disqualified for plank wear, with Lando Norris inheriting the accolade.

The Briton already holds the record for the most seasons with a fastest lap, now 18, having also picked at least one up in 2007 and 2008. Only in 2009, in his first season as reigning world champion, did Hamilton fail to set a fastest lap. 

In terms of overall rankings, Schumacher's tally of 77 fastest laps remains unbeaten, with Hamilton now moving to 68. 

During his final season with Mercedes in 2024, Hamilton's fastest lap in Monaco also broke Schumacher's record of 53 fastest laps with one team; with Hamilton eventually ending on 55 with the Silver Arrows.