From lights to flag for Vettel!
Masterly drive from Sebastian Vettel to win for the third time this year, in action-packed Singapore, ahead of former team-mate Daniel Ricciardo and Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.
Vettel from the podium: "It was pretty intense. We had a bit of a breather with the Safety Cars, but we had a lot of pressure from behind. Second stint I was dictating the pace and then from some point chipping away to control the gap."
Vettel makes it four wins from eight attempts in Singapore. He also gets his 42nd win (he’s now the third driver with most wins in F1 history, overtaking Senna). Scuderia Ferrari also celebrates having both drivers on the podium for the first time since Spain 2013. "You’re great, you’re magic!" said the team to Vettel.
Daniel Ricciardo from the podium: "I think both safety cars came out at crucial times, but nonetheless I think his pace was good. It was quite representative of qualifying, we seemed to be the two quickest cars today."
Kimi Raikkonen from the podium: "Today I struggled again. I had no chance to do anything about the first two. I could follow them in the beginning, but then the tyres just went."
It was eventful evening at Singapore, with not only the statistical one, but two Safety cars in the race. The first following a Massa-Hulkenberg incident (which means Hulkenberg gets a three-place grid penalty at Japan); the second following a fan walking on track.
For Mercedes, Nico Rosberg finished P4 ahead of Valtteri Bottas, Daniil Kvyat, Sergio Perez, Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz and Felipe Nasr in the top ten. Lewis Hamilton retired on lap 34 after a throttle failure. Also disappointing was McLaren’s race, after having to retire both cars yet again.
Towards the end, and following a splendid comeback, Max Verstappen was asked several times to swap positions with team-mate Carlos Sainz; however Verstappen ignored the order to finish P8.
RACE RESULT
1. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, Winner
2. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, +1.478s
3. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, +17.154s
4. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, +24.720s
5. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, +34.204s
6. Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull, +35.508s
7. Sergio Perez, Force India, +50.836s
8. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso, +51.540s
9. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso, +52.860s
10. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, +90.045s
