Vettel sets Singapore alight

Sebastian Vettel led the Singapore Grand Prix from start to finish to collect his ninth win of the season and edge even closer to his second world title. The Red Bull driver is now just one point away from winning this year’s championship.

He was in a class of his own for most part of the race and crossed the finish line ahead of McLaren’s Jenson Button and Red Bull’s Mark Webber. Fernando Alonso finished fourth with Hamilton fifth after yet another eventful race for the Briton.

How the race unfolded :

The McLarens made a good start from the second row of the grid and challenged Red Bull’s Webber for P2 on the rundown to the first corner. Jenson Button made it stick while his teammate Hamilton was pushed down the order.

At the end of the opening lap, Vettel was leading from Alonso, Webber and Massa. Hamilton was down in eighth place, behind both Mercedes.

Vettel immediately set a blistering pace and already had a 5.5s advantage on lap 5. Hamilton meanwhile tried to make up some of the places lost and was up in 6th place.

As Vettel pulled away at the front, Webber found himself sandwiched between the Ferraris of Alonso and Massa. He was within striking distance of Alonso but not quite enough to attack him for P3. Likewise, Hamilton was rapidly closing in on Massa.

Webber made his move on lap 10 and took P3. Alonso pitted at the end of this lap. He was followed seconds later by Michael Schumacher. Bruno Senna also came in for new tyres. Timo Glock meanwhile parked his Virgin in a run-off area and called it a day.

Massa and Hamilton stopped in the next lap and rejoined in the same order. The McLaren driver attacked during their out lap and collided with the Ferrari. He broke part of his front wing but the punishment was slightly worse for Massa who had to limp back to the pitlane with a rear puncture. Hamilton eventually came back in the pits one lap later for a new front nose and new tyres.

Webber pitted on lap 13. Vettel pitted from the lead on lap 15 and was followed by Button. Being yet to stop, Paul di Resta was up in third place with Pérez fourth. Alonso passed the Sauber driver on lap 15, just before the Mexican pitted.

Lewis Hamilton was handed a drive-through penalty for causing a collision and served it on lap 16.

Vettel resumed his charge at the front and had an 11-second margin on Button on lap 18. Di Resta was still in third place but coming under pressure from a much quicker Alonso. He was dispatched on lap 19 and eventually pitted.

Webber was back within one second of Alonso for third place. The Red Bull driver enjoyed a better pace than the Spaniard but struggled to find a way past on the twisty Singapore track. The Australian had it easy when Alonso dived in the pitlane for his second stop of the afternoon. He rejoined in fourth place.

Michael Schumacher crashed on lap 30 after hitting the rear of Pérez’s car. The Safety Car was immediately deployed and Mark Webber was able to instantly enter the pits for a free stop. Di Resta, Sutil and Rosberg followed suit. Vettel then pitted from the lead. Button also came in.

They retained their positions. Alonso was third, Webber fourth and di Resta fifth.

The race resumed on lap 34. Vettel didn’t have to worry too much about the restart as three backmarkers separated Button from him. It was not as comfortable for Alonso who had Webber right on his gearbox. The Australian seized his chance and took P3.

Vettel made the most of the clear track ahead of him to pull away at the front once again. Two laps after the restart, his lead was back up to a whopping 10 seconds. His Red Bull team told him he might be able to make it to the finish on his current set of tyres and he then paced himself a bit.

Hamilton on the contrary was not pacing himself and pushing hard to make it back in the top five after an eventful first part of the race. He was up in fifth place on lap 40.
Button and Webber seemed intent to make it to the end without stopping again, just like Vettel, and the three of them were matched in pace. The race really settled at that point, with gaps stabilized and few ongoing battles.

Quite unexpectedly though Webber pitted on lap 48 and rejoined in fifth place behind Hamilton. With fresher supersoft tyres on his car, the Red Bull driver easily passed the Briton for P4. In the meantime, Button pitted from P2. Hamilton also came in. Vettel followed suit for a quick change of tyres and rejoined in the lead. Alonso was the last of the frontrunners to stop.

Hamilton had to work his way up the field again as he was down in 8th place. He quickly got the job done and was back in 5th place on lap 53.

Button was extremely quick in the closing laps and Vettel did his best to manage the gap to the Briton despite some heavy traffic. Three laps to the chequered flag, the German’s lead was down to 3 seconds. Button however also had to slice through traffic and lost some time too.

Yellow-flags were waved on lap 60 as Jaime Alguersuari crashed his Toro Rosso at Turn 17.

Vettel faced more traffic in the final lap but safely made it through to collect yet another win. Button finished second ahead of Webber, Alonso and Hamilton. Di Resta, Rosberg, Sutil, Massa and Pérez scored points.