One of the most welcome newcomers to the Formula One calendar is the Singapore GP. A floodlit street circuit burns brightly against the darkness of night creating a rather unique spectacle. Top of the billing was again the championship battle between Nico Rosberg and his team mate Lewis Hamilton. With Hamilton on pole and closing the gap in the championship to the German, Rosberg needed a strong finish to keep the pressure at bay.
On the parade lap there was drama from the off. Rosberg’s car refused to select a gear and so had to start the race from the pit lane. Lights out saw Hamilton storm into the first corner with both Red Bulls having to deal with a daring manoeuvre from Alonso which resulted in him leaving the track. The Ferrari was forced to give the place back as an advantage was gained by him exceeding track limits. McLaren showed strong initial pace challenging the Williams cars. It was very clear as Rosberg struggled to keep pace with a Torro Rosso that his car was in bad shape. On Lap 15 of the Singapore GP Nico Rosberg was force to retire the car leaving Lewis Hamilton free to overtake him in the championship standings. A safety car on lap 31, whilst the front wing of Perez was cleared from the track, bunched the pack together once more. Hamilton pitted for tyres less than 10 laps before the finish allowing for Vettel to take the lead. The Mercedes car is hands down the fastest machine out there and so the hunt for the Red Bull began, but could Lewis catch him before then end of the race? The 2 hour limit was in its dying moments when Hamilton flew around the outside of Vettel reclaiming first and taking overall victory. Sadly for Jenson Button who was in the points, his car suffered an electrical fault, rebooted, but then came to a halt.
Vettel held second beating Riccardo in a rare turn of events, but the real headline is that Hamilton is once again the favourite to win the 2014 Formula One world championship.
1. Lewis Hamilton
2. Sebastian Vettel
3. Daniel Ricciardo
4. Fernando Alonso
5. Felipe Massa
6. Jean-Eric Vergne
7. Sergio Perez
8. Kimi Raikkonen
9. Nico Hulkenberg
10. Kevin Magnussen
11. Valtteri Bottas
12. Pastor Maldonado
13. Romain Grosjean
14. Daniil Kvyat
15, Marcus Ericsson
16. Jules Bianchi
17. Max Chilton
Rtd Jenson Button
Rtd Adrian Sutil
Rtd Esteban Gutierrez
Rtd Nico Rosberg
Rtd Kamui Kobayashi
