Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the Singapore Grand Prix with a strong run from pole position to increase his world championship lead over Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. Vettel could manage only third place behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen. Hamilton’s win for Mercedes had looked against the odds when the weekend began but he leaves the Marina Bay circuit with a 40-point lead over Vettel on this year's Formula 1 World Championship.
With the safety car being deployed in every single Singapore race, it was no surprise that the vehicle had to come out on Lap 1 after an incident between the two Force India (Racing Point) drivers when Sergio Perez claimed he had no where to go and sadly had pushed his team mate Esteban Ocon into the wall, after that from the front, Hamilton ran a controlled and dominant race from the front, with Mercedes managing his strategy superbly on Saturday singapore evening, was helped by the latest in a series of questionable strategy calls from Ferrari.
It dropped Hamilton's title rival Sebastian Vettel from second to third behind Max Verstappen, throwing away a position the German had earned by overtaking the Red Bull driver on the first lap fo the race.
This is the Brit's fourth win in Singapore, his 69th win of his career, and he now leads the championship with 40 points.
Hamilton admitted to losing around two kilos in qualifying, so hot is it in Singapore, but he delivered a lap described as “stardust” by his Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff to take pole. With track position so crucial in Singapore, with overtaking difficult, the world champion made the most of starting at the front.
Red Bull took advantage with Verstappen who put in a fine performance for second place and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel third.
Hamilton's team mate Valtteri Bottas came in at P4 and Kimi Raikkonen in fifth.
Daniel Ricciardo was sixth while Fernando Alonso finished seventh, a good result for him.
Carlos Sainz was in eighth, Charles Leclerc ninth and Nico Hulkenberg finished off the points in 10th.
What’s next?
The drivers and teams head to the Black Sea resort of Sochi in two weeks’ time for what will be the fifth Russian Grand Prix in the history of the Formula 1 World Championship in 28 - 30 September 2018. Mercedes have got a perfect record around the Sochi Autodrom – but Sebastian Vettel will be desperate to disrupt that record and try and yank himself back into contention for the 2018 F1 title.
Full race results for the Singapore Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, round 15 of the 2018 Formula 1 season.
2018 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix - Race Results
1. Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport 61 laps
2. Max Verstappen NED Aston Martin Red Bull Racing + 8.961s
3. Sebastian Vettel GER Scuderia Ferrari + 39.945s
4. Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport + 51.930s
5. Kimi Raikkonen FIN Scuderia Ferrari + 53.001s
6. Daniel Ricciardo AUS Aston Martin Red Bull Racing + 53.982s
7. Fernando Alonso ESP McLaren F1 Team + 103.011s
8. Carlos Sainz Jr. ESP Renault Sport Formula One Team + 1 lap
9. Charles Leclerc MON Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team + 1 lap
10. Nico Hulkenberg GER Renault Sport Formula One Team + 1 lap
11. Marcus Ericsson SWE Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team + 1 lap
12. Stoffel Vandoorne BEL McLaren F1 Team + 1 lap
13. Romain Grosjean FRA Haas F1 Team + 1 lap
14. Pierre Gasly FRA Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda + 1 lap
15. Lance Stroll CAN Williams Martini Racing + 1 lap
16. Kevin Magnussen DEN Haas F1 Team + 1 lap
17. Brendon Hartley NZL Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda + 1 lap
18. Sergio Perez MEX Racing Point Force India F1 Team + 2 laps
19. Sergey Sirotkin RUS Williams Martini Racing + 2 laps
Ret. Esteban Ocon FRA Racing Point Force India F1 Team 0 laps.
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