Hamilton opens up 40-point lead in Singapore
SINGAPORE: Britain’s Lewis Hamilton eased to victory from pole position at the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday as the Mercedes driver extended his championship lead over Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel to 40 points with six rounds to go.
Hamilton held off a mid-race challenge from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to register a recordequalling fourth triumph at the floodlit Marina Bay Street Circuit track, while Vettel finished third to slip further behind in the title race. “Great job everyone, what a weekend... keep pushing, keep pushing, we’ve got this,” Hamilton told his team over the radio soon after crossing the line at the end of the 61st lap.
Hamilton’s 69th overall victory was his seventh of the season and it was built on the foundations of a stunning qualifying lap on Saturday, when he stormed to pole in a car deemed inferior to the Ferraris and Red Bulls on this circuit.
For Vettel and Ferrari it was another disappointing weekend after the car showed plenty of pace through all three practice sessions, the German’s cause not helped by a questionable strategy and a poor pitstop.
Hamilton won this race from the third row a year ago when Vettel, Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen collided before Turn One but there was no repeat of such drama this time after the drivers got off to a clean start at the head of the field.
Hamilton’s team mate Valtteri Bottas held off a prolonged late challenge from Raikkonen in the other Ferrari to claim fourth place, the pair finishing just ahead of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo, who was closing on them in the final laps. Mclaren’s Fernando Alonso came home in seventh, with Renault’s Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg claiming eighth and 10th respectively, either side of Sauber’s Charles Leclerc. “Me and Raikkonen had a very strong package, but in the end, we finished third and fifth,” Vettel said.