Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes further extended his grip on the top position of the Formula One drivers’ championship with a victory in the Singapore Grand Prix as Sebastian Vettel faltered yet again.
Vettel finished a disappointing third behind Max Verstappen of Red Bull and Hamilton, his strategy letting him down even as the Mercedes driver made most of Ferrari’s questionable tyres choice to increase his lead to 40 points over Vettel, with just six races remaining.
Hamilton, who started at the pole position had little difficulties controlling the entire tempo of the race to record his fourth win at the Singapore Grand Prix and equal Vettel as the most successful driver of the at the Marina Bay Circuit.
The only time Vettel looked to cause serious harm to the Mercedes leader was when he overtook the second-placed Verstappen, at the fifth corner of lap four. A period of safety car followed then after Racing Point Force India’s Esteban Ocon was crashed into the wall by his teammate Sergio Perez.
Racing resumed at the fifth lapse and once again it was Hamilton, who led the race with Red Bull’s Verstappen getting only sniffs. The front three though remained tight, separating each other by less than two seconds.
But Hamilton managed his pit stops well as Vettel lost on a poorly executed strategy. With 10 laps remaining and Vettel having no more pit stops, the top three looked certain. The German though was still 40s behind when Mercedes’ Hamilton cross the flag-line to ensure a major point lead with only six races to go.
Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas finished fourth, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari and Daniel Ricciardo at fifth and sixth respectively. Fernando Alonso of Mclaren finished a strong seventh, while Renault’s Carlos Sainz Jr came eight and his teammate Nico Hulkenberg finished 10th. In between Charles Leclerc, who will drive for Ferrari next season came ninth for Sauber.
Also Read: Liverppol will be different challenge: PSG midfielder Marco Verratti