Kim Kardashian has been named the 'worst dressed' celebrity at the Singapore Grand Prix by fashion commentators, while her boyfriend Lewis Hamilton endured a frustrating sixth-place finish after a costly strategy error for Ferrari.
The reality TV star and business mogul attended the night race weekend in support of Hamilton, the seven-time world champion who joined Ferrari and, at 41, remains one of the most decorated drivers in Formula One history. Her outfit choice drew mockery online, with sports and fashion site The Spun singling her out as the worst-dressed celebrity at the event, an assessment that quickly ricocheted across social media.
On track, Hamilton had a tough day. Running in podium contention, he ignored a call from his team to pit under a virtual safety car, missed the pit entry, and then decided to stay out and try to hold track position to the end. The gamble backfired badly: struggling with massive tyre degradation in the closing laps, he lost three places and finished sixth.
'Sorry, boys,' Hamilton said on the team radio. 'I let you down today with that strategy. My call, and I lost us valuable points. I'll try and make up for it in the next one.' Ferrari later issued a fuller statement from the driver, who explained that he had chosen to start on a new medium tyre and try to make a one-stop strategy work at a track where overtaking is difficult. Unfortunately, the medium did not perform as well as the soft, and although his pace recovered in the second stint, he could not make the progress he needed.
The Singapore weekend was a double disappointment for the celebrity couple, with Kardashian taking heat for her fashion choices and Hamilton for his racecraft. The Grand Prix, one of the crown jewels of the F1 calendar and a magnet for international stars, once again generated as much gossip off the track as drama on it. Fashion critics were unsparing about Kardashian's look, though her defenders noted that 'worst dressed' lists are a reliable engagement machine and that she has built a billion-dollar shapewear empire on exactly this kind of attention. For Hamilton, the missed pit call was a rare unforced error in a season where Ferrari needs every point in its championship fight, and his immediate, public acceptance of blame won him credit with fans even as pundits questioned the decision-making. The couple's appearance also underlined how the Singapore night race has become as much a celebrity showcase as a sporting contest, with the paddock's hospitality suites now competing with the track for headlines. Whether the fashion verdict or the sixth-place finish stung more is a question only the couple can answer.