Singapore GP: Race - RE-CAP & RESULTS

 

SINGAPORE GP - RACE - RE-CAP & RESULTS

    Lewis Hamilton claimed a dominant victory in Singapore as a poor strategy put Sebastian Vettel third, extending the gap at the top of the championship standings.

    Hamilton finished almost nine seconds ahead of Max Verstapen and 40s ahead of Vettel.

    The pole-sitting Mercedes made a strong start while fellow front row starter Verstappen was forced to defend against Vettel. The Red Bull put up a strong fight but Vettel had the better pace and was able to pull ahead at turn seven, just before the safety car was brought out.

    Further back, Sergio Perez collided with team-mate Esteban Ocon, forcing the Frenchman into the wall and out of the race.

    With tyre wear crucial in Singapore, Hamilton wasn’t quick to build a gap to Vettel, and all the front runners limited their pace in the first stint.

    The Ferrari was the first to dive into the pits just 14 laps into the 61 lap race, switching the hypersoft tyres to the harder ultrasofts. Vettel came out just behind Perez and he spent two laps struggling to find a way through before he was released into free air.

    Hamilton was the next to pit, taking soft tyres and returning to the net-lead.

    Verstappen followed on the next lap, also switching to the soft tyres. Despite his Renault engine spluttering as he left the pits, the Red Bull driver was able to emerge just ahead of Vettel, reclaiming the P2 he’d lost 16 laps earlier.

    Hamilton was unchallenged to the chequered flag, taking his seventh win of the season and extending his championship lead to 40 points.

    On the softer tyres, Vettel was forced to be more conservative than Verstappen and couldn’t push for the second place position. He nursed his tyres across the line, dropping half a minute behind the Red Bull driver by the chequered flag.

    Valtteri Bottas spent the majority of the race in “net” P4, but the position came under threat late in the race. The Mercedes driver was struggling to close the gap to back-marker Nico Hulkenberg enough to trigger the blue flags and felt as if he was being held up by the Renault. The lack of pace meant Kimi Raikkonen and Daniel Ricciardo were able to close the gap, but nobody was able to make a move before the chequered flag.

    Slower cars were also a problem for the midfield drivers. Perez, who started the race on the hypersoft tyres, came out behind the Williams duo of Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin after his pit stop. With both Williams drivers on soft tyres, neither were scheduled to pit soon and Perez would have to find a way past himself to keep his race alive. Sirotkin held Perez up and the Force India swerved at him as he came past, picking up a puncture and allowing Hulkenberg through to pick up the final points paying position

    The incident dropped Perez down the order again and he finished 16th, ahead only of Brendon Hartley, Kevin Magnussen, and Sirotkin.

    Fernando Alonso was the “best of the rest” driver and the final man who wasn’t lapped, finishing P7 ahead of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc.

RESULTS:

1. Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain / + 25 Points
2. Max Verstappen / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / Netherlands / + 18 Points
3. Sebastian Vettel / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany / + 15 Points
4. Valtteri Bottas / Mercedes-Mercedes / Finland / + 12 Points
5. Kimi Raikkonen / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland / + 10 Points
6. Daniel Ricciardo / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / Australia / + 8 Points
7. Fernando Alonso / McLaren-Renault / Spain / + 6 Points
8. Carlos Sainz / Renault-Renault / Spain / + 4 Points
9. Charles Leclerc / Sauber-Ferrari / Monaco / + 2 Points
10. Nico Hulkenberg / Renault-Renault / Germany / + 1 Point
11. Marcus Ericsson / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden
12. Stoffel Vandoorne / McLaren-Renault / Belgium
13. Pierre Gasly / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / France
14. Lance Stroll / Williams-Mercedes / Canada
15. Romain Grosjean / Haas-Ferrari / France*
16. Sergio Perez / Racing Point Force India-Mercedes / Mexico
17. Brendon Hartley / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / New Zealand
18. Kevin Magnussen / Haas-Ferrari / Denmark
19. Sergey Sirotkin / Williams-Mercedes / Russia

RETIRED - Esteban Ocon / Racing Point Force India-Mercedes / Collision Damage

* - Notes Grosjean received a 5-Second-Time-Penalty for ignoring blue flags

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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