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Lewis strolls, Nico limps from Singapore

SINGAPORE, Malaysia - Hamilton secured his seventh win of the season at the 2014 Singapore GP, with Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo earning two podiums for Red Bull in second and third respectively.

Hamilton dominated throughout the race while team mate Nico Rosberg was forced to retire from the race, one of five drivers who failed to finish the 2014 Singapore GP.

Hamilton moved to 241 points, ahead of Rosberg on 238, with five races left in the 2014 season. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso finished in fourth, followed by Williams' Felipe Massa in fifth.

PACE-CAR DRAMA

The halfway point (lap 31) of the 2014 Singapore GP saw Sergio Perez losing the front wing of his Force India, following a collision with Adrian Sutil's Sauber. The Safety Car was deployed until lap 38 as marshals cleared the debris on turns nine and ten.

Laps 1 - 10

Rosberg suffered a poor start to the 2014 Singapore GP as a steering wheel issue resulted in him being moved to the pits lane. Mercedes confirmed he was having serious technical issues. By lap ten, Rosberg languished at the rear of the pack in 20th.

By lap three Hamilton commanded at the front followed by Vettel and Alonso in third and fourth respectively.

HAMILTON DOMINATES

On lap three, McLaren's Kevin Magnussen, handed penalties at each of his previous two races (Monza and Belgium) was investigated by stewards for "exceeding track limits" at turn 7.

By lap 10, Hamilton continued to lead the pack with the fastest lap (1min53.035), 2.8 seconds ahead of Vettel in second. Alonso held onto to third by lap 10. Rosberg continued to struggle at the rear.

Laps 10 - 20

By lap 11, Hamilton extended his lead to 5.1 seconds to rival Vettel in second place. Alonso held onto third despite dogged challenge by Ricciardo in fourth. Rosberg's woes continued with the 2014 Drivers' championship leader at the rear of the grid with no sign of improvement.

By lap 14, Hamilton, Vettel, Alonso and Ricciardo entered the pits to use supersoft tyres.

ALL OVER FOR ROSBERG

Rosberg entered the pits to allow Mercedes' technicians to resolve his technical woes. Ultimately, his Singapore GP hopes were dashed and the 2014 Drivers' championship lead taken from him. Rosberg commented: "It wouldn't shift, it was very frustrating."

On lap sixteen, Caterham's Jean-Eric Vergne was handed a five-second stop/go penalty for exceeding track limits.

Hamilton held a commanding 7.2sec lead by lap 19 over rival Vettel in second, followed by Alonso and Ricciardo in third and fourth respectively.

Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez retired from the race and joined Robserg in the pits. Sauber reported that he suffered an "electrical problem" with his power unit. He became the third driver of an eventual five to retire from the race.

Laps 20 - 30

Alonso set the fastest lap (1min52.849) on lap 20 as he attempted to close the gap (2.7sec) to second place Vettel. Torro Rosso's Max Chilton was forced to pit after suffering a front-left puncture.

Vettel was told he should reduce the gap to Hamilton and, curiously, that he should "ignore the (gear change) beeps'.

RICCIARDO TAKES THE LEAD

On lap 25, Hamilton extended his lead to 10.6 seconds ahead of Vettel, who attempted to stay in second though was challenged by team mate Ricciardo in third. By the end of the lap he was overtaken by Ricciardo.

Hamilton extended his lead to 17 seconds before he entered the pits on lap 27 for a relatively slow pitstop at 4.7sec. He rejoined the grid in second place behind Ricciardo.

By lap 30, Hamilton set the fastest lap (1min51.793) and was 4.4 seconds ahead of second place Alonso. Vettel moved down to third place followed by team mate Ricciardo in fourth.

SAFETY CAR DEPLOYED

Laps 30 - 40

The halfway point of the 2014 Singapore GP saw Sergio Perez losing the front wing of his Force India, following a collision with Adrian Sutil's Sauber on lap 31. The Safety Car was deployed until lap 38 as marshals cleared the debris on turns nine and ten.

During the slowdown period on lap 34, Ricciardo was told by Red Bull engineers to avoid kerbs, with an engineer stating over the radio: "We may have an issue with the car."

On lap 36, the safety car remained in effect though lapped cars were allowed to overtake. Sutil was handed a five-second stop/go penalty for his involvement in Sutil's crash as race stewards announced the crash would be investigated further.

RACE RESUMES, HAMILTON UNDER PRESSURE

The Safety Car was recalled on lap 38 and Hamilton immediately set about extending his lead over the Red Bull duo of Vettel and Ricciardo. The Mercedes' ace was at a disadvantage as he had yet to use soft tyres.

Laps 40 - 50

Despite a lengthy Safety Car period, within two laps (lap 38 - 40) Hamilton extended to his lead over second place Vettel by 5.8 seconds and set a new fastest lap of 1min50.417.

Sauber's woes continued with Sutil entering the garage on lap 41, putting an end to the team's Singapore GP run. On lap 44, Vettel's hopes of beating Hamilton were dashed as he was warned to make his tyres last until the end of the race.

On lap 45/61, Hamilton held a 15.3sec lap over Vettel, followed by Ricciardo in third. Alonso moved down to fourth place and was being challenged by the surprisingly competitive Williams of Felipe Massa in fifth.

Vettel's gap to race-leader Hamilton extended to 18.7sec on lap 47, though Hamilton would eventually need to pit.

Laps 50 - 61

With eleven laps left (lap 50), Hamilton held a commanding lead of 22.7sec over Vettel. Despite this, he was pulling away from second-placed Vettel much slower as his tyres continued to hamper him.

On lap 52 he told Mercedes that his tyres are struggling. His team replied that he needed a 26sec cushion. He entered the pits at lap 53 and was overtaken by Sebastian Vettel with eight laps left.

VETTEL TAKES THE LEAD

Vettel held onto the lead though was passed on lap 54 due to using considerably 'older' tyres.

Jenson Button's 
McLaren suffered mechanical failure, prompting yellow flags. The race was fast approaching the two-hour limit with concerns that the Singapore GP would not see drivers complete the full 61 laps.

With new tyres fitted, Hamilton moved 8.0sec ahead of Vettel on lap 59 with two laps remaining.

During the final lap, Hamilton secured his seventh win of the season at the 2014 Singapore GP, with Red Bull's Vettel and Ricciardo earning second and third respectively.

Results from the 2014 Singapore GP at the Marina Bay Street Circuit:
1 Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes 2hr00min04.795
2 Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Red Bull +13.534
3 Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) Red Bull +14.273
4 Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari +15.389
5 Felipe Massa (Brazil) Williams +42.161
6 Jean-Eric Vergne (France) Toro Ross +56.801
7 Sergio Perez (Mexico) Force India +59.038
8 Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari +1min00.641
9 Nico Hulkenberg (Germany) Force India +1min01.661
10 Kevin Magnussen (Denmark) McLaren +1min02.230
11 Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Williams-Mercedes +1min05.065
12 Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela) Lotus +1min06.915
13 Romain Grosjean (France) Lotus +1min08.029
14 Daniil Kvyat (Russia) Toro Rosso +1min12.008
15 Marcus Ericsson (Sweden) Caterham +1min34.188
16 Jules Bianchi (France) Marussia +134.543
17 Max Chilton (Britain) Marussia - Ferrari +1 lap

Retired:
Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren 8 laps
Adrian Sutil (Germany) Sauber 20 laps
Esteban Gutierrez (Mexico) Sauber 43 laps
Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes 47 laps
Kamui Kobayashi (Japan) Caterham

Fastest Lap: Lewis Hamilton - 1min50.417 (Lap 39)

Drivers’ and Constructors' points after the 2014 Singapore F1 GP on Sept 21

Drivers
1 Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes - 241
2 Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes - 238
3 Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) Red Bull - 181
4 Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari - 133
5 Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Red Bull - 124
6 Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Williams - 122
7 Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren - 72
8 Nico Hulkenberg (Germany) Force India - 72
9 Felipe Massa (Brazil) Williams - 65
10 Sergio Perez (Mexico) Force India - 45
11 Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari - 45
12 Kevin Magnussen (Denmark) McLaren - 39
13 Jean-Eric Vergne (France) Toro Rosso - 19
14 Romain Grosjean (France) Lotus - 8
15 Daniil Kvyat (Russia) Toro Rosso - 8
16 Jules Bianchi (France) Marussia - 2
17 Adrian Sutil (Germany) Sauber - 0
18 Marcus Ericsson (Sweden) Caterham - 0
19 Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela) Lotus - 0
20 Esteban Gutierrez (Mexico) Sauber - 0
21 Max Chilton (Britain) Marussia - 0
22 Kamui Kobayashi (Japan) Caterham 0

Constructors
1 Mercedes - 479
2 Red Bull - 305
3 Williams - 187
4 Ferrari - 178
5 Force India - 117
6 McLaren - 111
7 Toro Rosso - 27
8 Lotus - 8
9 Marussia - 2
10 Sauber - 0
11 Caterham - 0

2014 Singapore GP quali and practice times:

Qualifying
Third Practice Session
Second practice 

First practice

Stay with Wheels24 for the 2014 Singapore GP weekend 


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