Lewis Hamilton wins Singapore GP, grabs lead in title race from Mercedes teammate

Ryan Joseph Ramos September 21, 2014

The Singapore Grand Prix could prove to be the turning point in this year’s battle for the drivers’ championship. Lewis Hamilton held off a crowd near the end of the race to claim the victory while grabbing the lead in the standings, thanks largely to his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg failing to finish after many struggles even before the race began.

Hamilton managed to get out of a tricky pit stop in lap 51 and avoided a tight battle for the win, especially with two Red Bull Racing cars right in the thick of it. He retakes the lead from Sebastian Vettel by lap 54 thanks to DRS, and eventually cruised to the win in comfortable fashion.

That’s now back-to-back wins for Hamilton, after his win at the Italian Grand Prix, and he has momentum on his side backed by what now seems like a solid and reliable car again.

Rosberg had been struggling with electrical issues and had his steering wheel replaced during the formation lap, but once the race started, it was clear that the issues in his Mercedes were anything but done. He quickly fell off pace as his gear shifts weren’t working, lagging at the back of the pack early on.

He spent almost two minutes in the pit lane in lap 14 as the crew worked on his car, but eventually there would be no resolution and Rosberg had to settle for a race retirement.

The Red Bulls of Vettel and Ricciardo join Hamilton on the podium. It seems like it’s been such a long time for Vettel, hasn’t it? He hasn’t been on the podium since the Canadian Grand Prix (which Ricciardo won).

The rest of the points finishers are as follows: 4) Fernando Alonso 5) Felipe Massa 6) Jean-Eric Vergne 7) Sergio Perez 8) Kimi Raikkonen 9) Nico Hulkenberg 10) Kevin Magnussen

Hamilton now leads the drivers’ championship over Rosberg, 241 points to 238. Ricciardo is a bit behind in third at 181 points.