That ball of fire we are talking about used to be car No. 44 and behind its wheel was Mercedes-AMG driver Lewis Hamilton. The car's engine suffered an unexpected blowout with just 15 laps to go. While the incident forced the British driver to retire from the race, it also resulted in both Red Bull drivers securing a podium finish, while teammate Nico Rosberg established his lead in the driver's championship standings with a comfortable third place.
Now, Hamilton is furious, demanding answers and even went on to say, "someone doesn't want me to win", hinting at sabotage. In fact, the 31-year-old went on to question Mercedes after the race on how only his engine failed despite eight drivers using power units from the manufacturer on the grid. But it has to be noted that Hamilton has suffered the most number of engine failures yet.
Stating his disappointment, Hamilton said, "Someone doesn't want me to win this year but I won't give up. I will keep pushing. I've just got to move on. I just can't believe that there are eight Mercedes cars and only my engines are the ones that have gone this way. Something just doesn't feel right."
Lewis Hamilton's car catches fire on Lap 40
The world champion suffered his third major engine failure of the season at the Malaysian GP, but it was his first to result in a DNF, leading him to not score any points over the weekend. Had it not been for the engine failure, Hamilton (265 points) would've won the Malaysian GP granting him a five-point lead over teammate Rosberg (288 points). However, it was not to be and now Hamilton is left chasing the latter by 23 points.
He further added, "It does not sit right with me. I will try and recollect myself and try to get myself together for the race next week. There are many decisive races but this is one of those."
As the current season draws to a close with just five races left, there are fewer chances for Hamilton to find redemption. The Japanese GP is up next week at the Suzuka Circuit and we expect the noise surrounding Mercedes and its engines to be carried over to the far east as well. As far as sabotage is concerned, that is something that none of the parties involved is ever going to agree to, but the entire incident has put Hamilton in a fix. While the Briton was aiming to win his third consecutive world championship title this season, things don't seem too optimistic right now.
