Lewis Hamilton dramatically turned on his Mercedes team by appearing to hint at a conspiracy theory after his bid to win a fourth championship was left hanging in the balance following yet another engine failure.
Hamilton was on course to cruise to the 50th victory of his career in Malaysia and move at least five points clear of his sole rival Nico Rosberg, who fought back to finish third following a first-corner collision with Sebastian Vettel, in the championship race.
But with 15 laps remaining, Hamilton’s Mercedes engine blew up in the most dramatic of circumstances to hand victory to Daniel Ricciardo with his team-mate Max Verstappen following him home to seal Red Bull’s first one-two finish in nearly three years.
Rosberg is now 23 points clear of Hamilton with just five rounds remaining.
Hamilton’s title defence has been plagued by a number of mechanical problems, and he swiftly demanded answers from his team.
“Someone doesn’t want me to win this year,” Hamilton told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“My question is to Mercedes. We have so many engines made for drivers, but mine are the only ones failing this year. Someone needs to give me some answers because this is not acceptable.
“We are fighting for the championship and only my engines are failing. 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.”
Hamilton’s usual session with the written media was subsequently cancelled by Mercedes, with a team spokesperson citing a “mutual decision”.
Mercedes later changed their mind in what seemed like an apparent bid to stem the hostile fall-out from Hamilton’s comments in the immediate aftermath of his retirement.
“Honestly, you have got to understand from my point of view,” Hamilton said as he sat down with the written press more than two hours after his retirement.
“On one side, we have had the most incredible success for these two years of which I am so grateful. These guys work so hard and we are all feeling the pain right now.
“But when you get out the car, the feeling you have after leading the race and the car fails, it is pretty hard to say positive things all the time.
“Mercedes have built 43 engines – with the extra three that I have had – and I have happened to have most, if not all, of the failures. That is definitely a tough thing, but I have 100 per cent confidence in these guys. I have been with them for four years, and I have 100 per cent faith.
“I love it here, and without them I would not have won these extra two championships. I saw tears in the eyes of my mechanics. We all bear the pain.”
Hamilton also moved to clarify his comment in which he said “someone doesn’t want me to win this year.” Pointing upwards, Hamilton insisted he was referring to a “higher power”.
“It feels right now that the man above or a higher power is intervening a little bit,” he added.
And Niki Lauda, Mercedes’ non-executive chairman, followed suit. “He can mean anybody,” Lauda said. “He can look up and think if I’m unlucky and don’t find an explanation, then I say to myself, ‘maybe God thinks I’ve done something wrong’.
“We work for him and Nico in a perfect way. He won two championships with us. I know Lewis very well. He will not accuse the team.”
In response to Hamilton’s hints of a conspiracy, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said: “Every remark and every answer is allowed after such a frustrating moment.
“If you’re in the lead and about to get back in the championship and the engine blows up, and a microphone is put in front of your face, he is allowed to say whatever he wants. It’s completely understandable.”
