Vettel claims victory in Singapore Grand Prix

Ferrari Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany celebrates on the podium after winning the Singapore F1 Grand Prix at the Marina Bay street circuit 20 September - Reuters

Sebastian Vettel completed a pole to flag victory at the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday, the German driving his Ferrari to a third victory of the season as championship leader Lewis Hamilton suffered his first retirement of the campaign.

Vettel stayed calm in an incident-packed race highlighted by two safety car periods and even a track intruder to finish ahead of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo and team mate Kimi Raikkonen on his way to a fourth victory at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. Hamilton, who had climbed up one spot from fifth on the grid but was never able to match the pace of the leaders, retired on the 32nd lap after his Mercedes lost power and began to drift down the field.

The victory enabled Vettel to close to within 49 points of the Briton in the standings with six rounds remaining, while Nico Rosberg reduced the deficit to his team mate to 41 points after the German finished fourth.

The next race is the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka on 27 September.

Championship leader Hamilton retires in Singapore

Formula One world championship leader Lewis Hamilton retired from the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday after encountering power problems in his Mercedes.

The British driver, who had not suffered a retirement this season, eventually drove into the pits at the end of lap 32.

Hamilton, the reigning world drivers’ champion, was riding in fourth having picked up a place from his third row starting position when he complained over his team radio about issues with his car, which has dominated this year.

“Lost power guys, lost power,” Hamilton said over the radio on lap 26 before tumbling down the field as his team tried in vain to figure out the cause of the problem.

The Briton, who has a 53-point lead in the championship over team mate Nico Rosberg with six races remaining after Singapore, fell to 16th over the next laps before his team opted to call him in.

Hamilton has enjoyed mixed fortunes under the floodlights of the Marina Bay Street Circuit, winning twice in 2009 and last year but also being forced to retire when leading in 2012 with former team McLaren.