Vettel eases to Singapore hat-trick
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E-mail Xinhua, September 22, 2013
Triple world champion Sebestian Vettel of Red Bull won the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday evening, widening his lead over Fernando Alonso to 60 points.
With only six races to go, the German is closer to his fourth consecutive world championship.
Vettel started from pole in the evening and managed to keep his lead despite an attempt from Nico Rosberg of Mercedes to challenge him in the early part of the race.
"The start was quite hairy. Nico had a better start than me. I had to keep the inside clear to him," he said.
Vettel widened his lead to 10 seconds before a safety car period due to Daniel Ricciardo hitting the wall in the 25th lap. The lead was then narrowed to one second, with Rosberg still trailing behind.
But Vettel managed to widen his lead again to half a minute, putting the race under his control towards the end of the race. He finished the 61-lap race in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 13 seconds.
"The car was incredible this evening," he said. "It was a pleasure to drive around this crazy track."
The Singapore Grand Prix is the only night race on the calendar and one of the toughest for both the driver and the car as the Marina Bay street circuit has 23 corners. The heat and humidity on the tropical island also added to the challenge.
The German driver said he was enjoying the race and was not looking at the drivers' championship too much as he had a strong position.
Alonso, who represents Ferrari, had a bumpy start but managed to overtake several others in the later part without changing his tyres. He finished the second and now has a total of 187, compared with 247 for Vettel.
Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus finished the third despite some trouble with his back over the weekend. He now has a total of 149 points, making him the fourth in the drivers' standings.
Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes finished in the fifth position. He now has 151 points, just ahead of Raikkonen in the drivers' standing.
Nico Rosberg, who started the second on the grid, finished the fourth. He now has 116 points.
Mark Webber, the teammate of Vettel who is retiring from Formula 1 next season, stayed in the leading pack almost throughout the whole race but had to retire with flame coming out of the back of his car due to serious gear box problems. The unfortunate Australian driver is now the 5th on the drivers' list.
Romain Grosjean, who started the third on the grid, was forced to retire due to technical problems with his car in the middle of the race.
Red Bull is still leading the the constructor standings, with 377 points so far, or a comfortable gap of 103 points over runner-up Ferrari.
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