Monday 24 March at 12:28 : After ruing his qualifying penalty and botched pit stop, British media turned its attention to the thirst of championship leader Lewis Hamilton when the McLaren driver finished just fifth at Sepang.

23-year-old Hamilton, who is single-mindedly revered by his compatriot press corps, told reporters at the Malaysian circuit that his drink bottle stopped working during the hot race on Sunday.

"The great thing, though, is my fitness. Physically I felt fine and was able to push all race," the Briton said.

BMW's Robert Kubica, not feeling well all weekend, also told reporters after finishing second at Sepang that he didn't have a drink all race because it was as hot as tea.

But the British press ran only with Hamilton's thirst, The Sun headlining that "Lewis suffers water torture", while The Times began its race analysis with the words "Lewis Hamilton battled dehydration".

The Evening Standard added: "Hamilton runs dry -- Kimi on top as Lewis is out of luck and water", and the Daily Mirror noted that the championship leader had "nothing to drink" but "loads of bottle".

Team boss Ron Dennis, though, seemed to played down his driver's thirst, insisting that the "only drama was (Hamilton's) seized wheel nut".

"Without that, Lewis would have been on the podium ... 100 per cent sure," he said, discounting the possibility that teammate Heikki Kovalainen could have retained third place.