Hamilton opens gap on Vettel

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.

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.

“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.

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’s teammate, Valtteri Bottas, held off a prolonged late challenge from Kimi Raikkonen in the other Ferrari to claim fourth place, the pair finishing just ahead of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo. McLaren’s Fernando Alonso came home in seventh, with Renault’s Carlos Sainz eighth and Sauber’s Charles Leclerc ninth.