GPUpdate

Lewis Hamilton moved into the lead of the championship with a commanding victory in Sunday night’s Singapore Grand Prix, taking full advantage of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg’s terminal technical problems. Sebastian Vettel came home second, with Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo completing the podium.

Rosberg, who held a 22-point advantage over Hamilton heading into the race, was forced to start from the pit lane after a glitch on his way to the grid resulted in him failing to pull away on the formation lap.

This gave Hamilton a relatively smooth run to the first corner, with Vettel jumping Ricciardo and assuming second after Alonso, who had dived across the sizeable Turn 1 run-off area, relinquished the position.

While Hamilton gradually pulled away from Vettel in the opening stint, Rosberg struggled to make inroads.

Having failed to find a way past Marcus Ericsson’s Caterham with vital elements such as DRS not working, the German retired from the race at the first round of stops, when his upshift paddle failed to select a gear.

Hamilton’s tyre strategy, consisting of three bursts on the Super Soft rubber and a late Soft stint, was the fastest option according to supplier Pirelli, but it almost turned sour when his main rivals made earlier switches.

Vettel and team-mate Daniel Ricciardo moved to Soft tyres at the second round of stops, while Alonso, who had briefly led Vettel as their strategies diverged, made the swap during a mid-race Safety Car period, sparked when Force India driver Sergio Pérez knocked off his front wing in a clumsy collision with Sauber’s Adrian Sutil.

This meant that, with the field neutralised, Hamilton had to build up an advantage equivalent to a pit-stop on ageing Super Soft rubber, a feat he appeared to achieve by lapping around two seconds per lap faster.

Despite his final pit-stop being a clean one, Hamilton rejoined behind three-time Singapore winner Vettel, but it was no major drama for the Briton, as he took just one lap to reclaim the position on much fresher rubber.

Hamilton duly romped to his sixth victory of the 2014 campaign, a result that puts him three points clear of Rosberg and atop the championship standings for the first time since the Spanish Grand Prix in May.

Vettel had just enough life left in his Pirelli tyres to keep Ricciardo at bay for intra-team honours, while Alonso had to settle for fourth position, despite showing signs of fighting for much more earlier in the race.

Felipe Massa took valuable points for the Williams team in fifth, a result of even greater importance after team-mate Valtteri Bottas slid out of the top 10 positions on the final lap as he struggled with his tyres.

Having gambled on a stop after the Safety Car phase, Toro Rosso’s Jean-Éric Vergne made a series of late passes to cross the line sixth, crucially getting a run in clean air to absord a penalty for exceeding track limits.

Sergio Pérez took seventh with a fine recovery, ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Räikkönen and Force India team-mate Nico Hülkenberg, while McLaren rookie Kevin Magnussen rounded out the points-paying places.

Jenson Button had been set to score, but pulled off the track in the closing stages after his car shut down.

In addition to Button and Rosberg, the Saubers of Sutil and Esteban Gutiérrez returned to the garage with race-ending technical problems, while Caterham’s Kamui Kobayashi retired on the formation lap.

RESULTS – 60 LAPS/TWO HOURS:

PosDriverCarGap
1Lewis HamiltonMercedes2h00m04.795s
2Sebastian VettelRed Bull/Renault13.534s
3Daniel RicciardoRed Bull/Renault14.273s
4Fernando AlonsoFerrari15.389s
5Felipe MassaWilliams/Mercedes42.161s
6Jean-Eric VergneToro Rosso/Renault56.801s
7Sergio PerezForce India/Mercedes59.038s
8Kimi RaikkonenFerrari1m00.641s
9Nico HulkenbergForce India/Mercedes1m01.661s
10Kevin MagnussenMcLaren/Mercedes1m02.230s
11Valtteri BottasWilliams/Mercedes1m05.065s
12Pastor MaldonadoLotus/Renault1m06.915s
13Romain GrosjeanLotus/Renault1m08.029s
14Daniil KvyatToro Rosso/Renault1m12.008s
15Marcus EricssonCaterham/Renault1m34.188s
16Jules BianchiMarussia/Ferrari1m34.543s
17Max ChiltonMarussia/Ferrari1 Lap
Jenson ButtonMcLaren/MercedesElectrical
Adrian SutilSauber/FerrariWater leak
Esteban GutierrezSauber/FerrariElectrical
Nico RosbergMercedesSteering wheel
Kamui KobayashiCaterham/RenaultNot started

Drivers’ championship

PosDriverPoints
1Lewis Hamilton241
2Nico Rosberg238
3Daniel Ricciardo181
4Fernando Alonso133
5Sebastian Vettel124
6Valtteri Bottas122
7Jenson Button72
8Nico Hulkenberg72
9Felipe Massa65
10Sergio Perez45
11Kimi Raikkonen45
12Kevin Magnussen39
13Jean-Eric Vergne19
14Romain Grosjean8
15Daniil Kvyat8
16Jules Bianchi2
17Adrian Sutil0
18Marcus Ericsson0
19Pastor Maldonado0
20Esteban Gutierrez0
21Max Chilton0
22Kamui Kobayashi0

Constructors’ championship

PosConstructorPoints
1Mercedes479
2Red Bull/Renault305
3Williams/Mercedes187
4Ferrari178
5Force India/Mercedes117
6McLaren/Mercedes111
7Toro Rosso/Renault27
8Lotus/Renault8
9Marussia/Ferrari2
10Sauber/Ferrari0
11Caterham/Renault0

Hamilton slings Singapore GP win and Championship lead as Rosberg crumbles

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