Lewis Hamilton took a big stride towards the 2014 World Championship with a vital win in Singapore. However, an electrical issue for team mate and Championship rival Nico Rosberg, saw the German drop out after only 12 laps. Even before the formation lap, Championship leaders Mercedes-Benz spotted the problem and knew a pit lane start was on the cards. To compound Rosberg’s woes only the gears worked on his steering wheel and without the use of the MGU-K he couldn’t even overtake the Caterham of Marcus Ericsson, before retiring. It was also a disappointing evening for Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi, as an oil pressure problem saw him pull over before taking his place on the grid. However, it wasn’t all plain sailing for Hamilton, with the Red Bull of three time Singapore winner Sebastian Vettel keeping him honest in the first stint. His lead doubled just after the first round of pit stops, where McLaren’s Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen opted for the prime soft tyre over the super soft. Magnussen had big problems other than those on track as his drinks bottle overheated after being placed by a hot electrical item in the car that made drinking impossible. A similar issue also affected the Torro Rosso of Daniil Kvyat. After the race had finished Magnussen was treated for heat injuries incurred during the race. The safety car, for the eighth time in eight races at the Marina Bay circuit, was deployed through contact between Sauber’s Adrian Sutil and Force India’s Sergio Perez, which left the Mexican’s front wing scattered on the circuit. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso took the opportunity to pit for the prime tyre in response to Red Bull pitting both cars six laps earlier. However, Mercedes decided to leave race leader Hamilton out instead of pitting for new tyres. It was a bad day for Sauber as both cars suffered an issue where the battery wasn’t charging causing a double DNF for the Swiss team, who are yet to score a point in 2014. When the race resumed on lap 38 Hamilton needed to build a 27 second lead as the Red Bulls and Ferrari of Fernando Alonso were not planning to stop again, whereas Hamilton was yet to fit the prime tyre. The Williams of Valtteri Bottas was following the same strategy as Alonso except he had fitted his tyres on lap 23 and as the race neared the end he began to struggle with his tyres and steering, with Button and Raikkonen on his tail. On lap 51 Hamilton was just a few seconds away from the magic 27 second gap but was struggling, having taken the super soft tyres further than anyone predicted, with great pace and pitted two laps later but lost the lead to Vettel. Crucially Hamilton was able to get ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, who was also carrying an electrical problem. One lap later Hamilton managed to pass Vettel into turn six using the fresher tyres and superior car. Just as the lead changed hands Jenson Button’s race ended as the car shut down over the Anderson Bridge. The Brit was headed for a solid sixth place. The Torro Rosso of Jean-Eric Vergne exceeded the track limits at turn 7, warranting a five second penalty. With two laps to go Vergne managed to pass Hulkenberg, Raikkonen and Bottas and set about getting a 5 second gap. Perez also cruised up behind the train and as Bottas’ tyres fell completely off the cliff, he managed to pass both his team mate and Raikkonen as they passed Bottas, to take 7th place. The Williams, however, fell out of the points in the final sector of the race. But for Hamilton the win brings a three point lead in the Championship for the first time since the Spanish GP in May but rival Nico Rosberg is well in the picture for this year’s Championship. The battle moves on the Suzuka where neither driver has been on the podium let alone winning the race.
1. Lewis Hamilton 2:00:04.795
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
Jenson Button DNF
Adrian Sutil DNF
Esterban Gutierrez DNF
Nico Rosberg DNF
Kamui Kobayashi DNS
1. Lewis Hamilton 2:00:04.795
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
Jenson Button DNF
Adrian Sutil DNF
Esterban Gutierrez DNF
Nico Rosberg DNF
Kamui Kobayashi DNS