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Singapore GP: Vettel victory livens up title race

Singapore - Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel won the 2015 Singapore GP and runaway championship-leader Lewis Hamilton retired mid-race, injecting new life into the fight for the Formula 1 title.

Vettel led from start to finish in a race that was temporarily interrupted by a fan wandering on the track.

Vettel's third win of the season came by 1.4 seconds over Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo.

Power failure

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was third, as all three finished in the positions they started at the Marina Bay street circuit.

As it happened: 2015 Singapore GP

Hamilton suffered a power delivery failure that the team took a long time to diagnose and could not fix, forcing him out mid race.



His championship lead over Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg, who finished fourth, was cut from 53 to 41 points, with Vettel a further eight points back.

Williams driver Valterri Bottas was fifth, Red Bull's Daniil Kvyat sixth and Force India's Sergio Perez seventh.

Max refuses team orders?

Toro Rosso teenager Max Verstappen finished eighth, appearing to refuse team orders in the closing laps to move over for team mate Carlos Sainz Jr, who was ninth. Sauber's Felipe Nasr passed Romain Grosjean on the penultimate lap for the last points position.

There were two safety-car periods in the race. The first came following a collision between Williams' Felipe Massa, who was coming out of the pits, and Force India's Nico Hulkenberg. Race stewards blamed Hulkenberg, and he will get a three-place grid penalty at the next race.

'There's a man on the track!'

The second came in bizarre circumstances when a fan was seen wandering on the track near the Anderson Bridge section. Vettel shouted over the team radio "there is a man on the track!" and the safety car was immediately deployed.

The casually-dressed man soon climbed over a trackside barrier and off the track and the race resumed.

Highlights from the Singapore GP:

  • Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel wins 42nd race of his career to draw within eight points of  Mercedes' second-placed Nico Rosberg on the overall drivers' standings
  • Race disrupted by a man on the track, prompting a safety car intervention
  • Championship leader Lewis Hamilton retires for the first time in 2015, after suffering "multiple issues"
  • Collision between Felipe Massa and Nico Hulkenberg knocks the German out of the race and also brings out the safety car
  • Seventeen-year-old Max Verstappen fights back from last to eighth after refusing Toro Rosso orders to yield to his team mate Carlos Sainz
  • Only 14 drivers finish as six cars are forced out on the bumpy, technical street circuit

2015 Singapore Grand Prix at Marina Bay Street Circuit: Results

Race

Qualifying

Third practice

Second practice

First practice

Stay with Wheels24 for the 2015 Singapore Grand Prix

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