Next stop Japan – WE ARE NOW CLOSING AFP’s LIVE REPORT on the Singapore Grand Prix. What a day for Lewis Hamilton who has overtaken his Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg at the top of the table with a three point advantage. Sebastien Vettel finished second and Daniel Ricciardo was third.
Hamilton stunned in the qualifiers and kept his lead throughout the fiendishly tricky Marina Bay circuit.
But Rosberg had a dismal day. Steering wheel problems blighted his pre-start run up and the German was forced to begin his race from the pits with a defective car that lasted just 14 laps.
With five races remaining there is still everything to play for. Next stop: Japan in early October.
Speaking to Eddie Jordan from the podium Hamilton says he felt comfortable he’d be able to rtake Vettel on the new tyres. “This year is absolutely incredible,” he adds.
Vettel says the most nerve wracking moment was the safety car and that he just about scraped through on the tyres. Second place is the former world champion’s best placement so far this season.
Podium – Hamilton flashes “V” for victory as he walks out onto the podium to cheering crowds. After a round of national anthems the trophies after lifted, the champagne bottles are popped and the fizz starts flying.
Hamilton tops leaderboard – Hamilton drives into the pits and pats his silver arrow. A fist clenched in celebration. He shakes hands with Vettel.
The Brit now takes top place on the leadership board ahead of his Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg who began the race 22 points ahead of him but had a disatrous day. It’s now Hamilton 241 points, Rosberg 238.
Hamilton wins the Singapore Grand Prix
Lap 61 – Hamilton cruises to victory. Fireworks light up the track as he passes the chequered flag. Sebastian Vettel is second, Daniel Ricciardo finishes third.
Meanwhile Bottas has a nightmare final two laps, he drops down out of the points. Vergne has a barn stormer, moving up to sixth.
Lap 58 – In fifth place Massa is probably having the most comfortable race right now. He’s a good 13 seconds ahead of Bottas and knows he has little chance of catching Alonso in fourth.
Meanwhile Bottas is holding off Raikkonen and Hulkenberg. But will his increasingly struggling tyres be able to make the last three laps?
Lap 56 – Just five laps left to go. It’s going to be Red Bull vs Red Bull as Vettel and Ricciardo vie for second and third. Each driver will want to beat the other but they’ll also want to avoid any kind of move which could see their team losing out on vital points.
Meanwhile Hamilton just needs to hold on. He’s a good six seconds ahead and a fresh pair of tyres. The odds are looking good.
Lap 54 – And Hamilton overtakes Vettel. The German’s lead lasted less than a lap!
Meanwhile Button is out. His Mclaren just seemed to lose power. What a dramatic lap. That’ll be a huge relief to Bottas.
Lap 53 – Hamilton pits. The team work hard and it’s around 29 seconds. As he pulls out the pit lane Vettel screaches in front of him. Hamilton now 1.6 seconds behind.
Over the last few laps Hamilton was around two seconds faster than Vettel each time and he’s got the advantage of some nice new tyres. The expectation is he’ll get the lead back. But we’ll have to wait and see.
Lap 52 – Hamilton is getting really worried about his tyres now. “My right rear is getting seriously worn, I’m not sure if these things are going to explode or not.”
He’s built up a 25 second lead and the pit team is ready. This is a crucial moment.
Lap 51 – Despite the drama of the safety car this has been a largely processional race for the top eight places over the last ten laps. That could all change if Hamilton decides to pit. And the race leader isn’t happy with his tyres. “I need to box pretty soon, my tyres are going off,” he tells his team.
Lap 48 – There’s also a good fight going on between Button and Bottas in seventh and sixth respectively. The Brit is around 0.7 seconds behind the Finn, within DRS striking distance. The question is whether Button will strike.
Lap 45 – Alonso and Ricciardo are scrapping it out again. The Spaniard is currently 1.7 seconds behind the Australian. Meanwhile Kyvat has pitted, shortly after also complaining that he can’t get a drink of water.
Meanwhile Hamilton is storming ahead. He’s a good 17 seconds clear of Vettel. The futher he pulls away the less he’ll need to worry about his proposed pit stop. Vettel, meanwhile, must look after his tyres. If he needs to pit it’s the end of his chances of catching Hamilton.
Lap 43 – Unlike Vettel, Hamilton is told he can change his tyres. Mercedes are aiming to make the switch in seven laps time according to the radio chatter. The team adds that if a safety car comes out again, they’ll call him straight in.
Lap 41 – Vettel is also told to look after his tyres to the end. He’s not happy. The Red Bull team responds that the tyres can make it and that there are plenty of other cars who will have to last the rest of the race on the same set of wheels.
Lap 39 – Williams tells Bottas he’s going to have to make his tyres last to the end if he has any hope of ending with some points on the board.
Meanwhile Hamilton is 3.9 seconds ahead after just a lap. It’s like he’s driving a completely different car from everyone else. All the more remarkable given Rosberg’s reliability nightmare
Lap 38 – Safety car is now off the track. The engines roar back into life. Hamilton makes a great restart, he’s managed to pull away more than two seconds ahead of Vettel.
Lap 36 – With the safety car still out, here’s how the top 10 currently stand:
1. Hamilton
2. Vettel
3. Ricciardo
4. Alonso
5. Massa
6. Bottas
7. Button
8. Raikkonen
9. Vergne
10. Magnussen
Lap 35 – Radio chatter from Magnussen. He can’t drink any water because it’s burning his mouth. That’s not a nice problem to have. Meanwhile plenty of drivers are using the safety car out as an opportunity to pit and make adjustments.
Lap 33 – Safety car still out. Chatter over the Red Bull radio suggests Ricciardo is having some sort of power problems. Meanwhile Hamilton complains that he was told about the debris from Perez’ wing just as he ran over it.
Lap 32 – Safety car is out. Looks like Sergio Perez was clipped by Adrian Sutil and his front wing broke off, some of it scattering across the track.
We’re just over half way through the race now. This is the seventh year in a row the safety car has come out at Singapore, one of the twistiest, narrowest tracks in the competition.
Lap 29 – Well that’s one way to respond to your competition. Hamilton has just set the fastest lap, just two after Alonso set his own fastest time.
Rosberg on reliability – Rosberg has been speaking to the BBC: “The steering wheel did not work and then the whole car wasn’t working. We need to find out what the problem was because again we have a reliability problem.
“We’ve had a few this year and that’s our weakness. We need to get to the bottom of it and make the car 100% reliable.
“It tough not even leaving the grid. I was hoping the team could fix it because it was going on and off, sometimes working, sometimes not.
“There’s no point in shouting, it’s reliability issue, and it’s happened again.”
Lap 26 – Hamilton pits. Not exactly super quick but Mercedes are probably playing it safe. He’s on the soft tyres so will likely pit again before the race is out
Lap 25 – Alonso is into second. He pitted a lap earlier on to soft tyres. Vettel followed his lead the following lap but couldn’t get out ahead. What a few laps for the Spaniard. Can he hold the German off for the next 36?
Lap 23 – Mercedes radion chatter shows Hamilton has picked up some debris under his left wing. He doesn’t seem bothered and says the car feels fine.
Meanwhile Alonso is having some real success in shaving down the seconds between him and Vettel in second. The gap is now just 1.6 seconds. With Hamilton so far out in front it looks like this is where the real racing will take place — the battle for second and third.
Lap 21 – Max Chilton pits a second time with a front right puncture.
Bad days at the office also for Kobayashi and Gutierrez who have both had to retire alongside Rosberg. Gutierrez was so furious he appeared to throw his glove against a wall.
Lap 20 – Rosberg’s car trouble appears to have centred around his steering wheel, according to Mercedes’ official Twitter account. The German was unable to switch gears. The gears seemed to come back on for a while but then the steering wheel malfunctioned.
After Rosberg pitted, the Mercedes team failed to get his car operational again. “The car refused to get out of neutral – plan had been to stall and restart, but it wasn’t to be,” the team tweeted.
Lap 17 – Alonso is keeping the pressure up on second place Vettel with a three second gap separating the two.
Watch out for Ferrari on this track. They may have had a disappointing showing at their home Italian Grand Prix two weeks ago but they have bounced back in the qualifying stages.
Alonso was fastest in the first and third practice sessions and then qualified fifth on the grid for Sunday’s race under the Marina Bay circuit street lights
The Spaniard was just two-tenths of a second off the pace set by pole sitter Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes.
Rosberg’s dismal start – A shot by AFP’s Toshifumi Kitamura showing Rosberg stranded at the start of the race
Lap 15 – A voice comes over Rosberg’s radio dring his pit stop: “Okay let’s park it”. The season leader is now out of the Singapore Grand Prix. Mercedes just couldn’t fix the car. They must have figured there was little point carrying on as the chance of Rosberg getting any points was very slim.
After that desperately close battle on Saturday during the qualifiers it’s a heartbreaking moment for Rosberg.
Lap 14 – Hamilton comes into the pits. Not a quick change at a little over 29 seconds. Much will now depend on Vettel and Alonso’s changes. Hamilton has built up a comfortable 6 second lead. Will it be enough?
Lap 12 – We’re getting the first of the pit stops. Grosjean, Kyvat, Raikkonen, Massa, Hulkenberg and Sutil have all now pitted. Meanwhile Hamilton is managing to break away from Vettel with ease. He’s now an impressive 6.6s ahead of the German with laps 1.5s faster.
Lap 10 – Poor Nico Rosberg. He began today just 0.007 seconds behind Hamilton in what was expected to be a fiercely fought battle between the two Mercedes team mates. But that botched start has left him trailing 41 seconds behind Hamilton in 20th place.
Lap 7 – Stewards say no further action against Magnussen. That will be a relief for him as he is currently in a tight battle with Kyvat and Vergne for ninth place.
Lap 5 – Vettel is having a cracking race. He’s just set the fastest lap so far and is only 1.6 seconds behind Hamilton. Meanwhile Magnussen is under investigation by the stewards for exceeding track limits at turn seven.
Alonso cutting corners – Alonso manages to avoid any penalties for cutting the first corner after the start. He went wide on the first turn after the start but quickly dropped his advantage to Vettel which may have saved him from further punishment. The stewards say there will be no further action .
Lap 3 – Poor Nico Rosberg, he’s had to start from the pits. What a disatrous beginning for the season leader. Kevin Magnusson made an excellent start, jumping to sixth but a couple of mistakes cost him and he’s back down to ninth.
Lap 1 – And they’re off. Hamilton gets a good start. Vettel in second and Alonso up into third. It’s not clear yet whether Mercedes were able to sort out Rosberg’s car before the race started.
Rosberg stuck – Not a good start for Nico Rosberg who has been left on the grid as the other cars begin their parade lap.
Battle for Marina Bay – WELCOME TO AFP’S LIVE REPORT on the Singapore Grand Prix where Lewis Hamilton is on pole position for what is one of the trickiest and longest tracks of the season. It’s been a weekend of intense drama in the humid Asian metropolis. Hamilton managed to pip his team mate and current leader Nico Rosberg in the qualifying stages by just 0.007 seconds — or less than the length of their Mercedes’ nose cones.
Rosberg leads his Mercedes team mate by 22 points in the drivers’ championship with six races remaining.
Australian Daniel Ricciardo delighted many of his compatriots packed into the Marina Bay street circuit by claiming third on the grid for Red Bull ahead of his team-mate and defending four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, winner of the last three Singapore races.
Behind the two Red Bulls, two-time former champion Fernando Alonso will start fifth on the grid for Ferrari ahead of Felipe Massa of Williams and Kimi Raikkonen, who was seventh in the second Ferrari during qualifying.
Valtteri Bottas will start in eighth in the second Williams ahead of Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen of McLaren and Daniil Kvyat for Toro Rosso.