Hamilton storms to victory, Rosberg falters

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 Lewis Hamilton has gone top of the Formula One standings with victory at the Singapore Grand Prix, with Nico Rosberg retiring.

British Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes won the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday evening, while his teammate Nico Rosberg dropped out early in a dramatic turn due to problems with his steering wheel.

The win gave Hamilton another 25 points, allowing him to overtake his teammate narrowly on the drivers' standings. Rosberg, who was obviously frustrated, had been leading the drivers' standings prior to the Singapore Grand Prix.

"Of course I was dreaming it last night, but you never really think it's going to happen," he said after the race.

Four-time world champion Sebestian Vettel of Red Bull finished in the second place, with his teammate Daniel Ricciardo trailing behind. Spanish driver Fernando Alonso finished in the fourth place.

The two-hour race started on the 5.065-km Marina Bay street circuit, which has 23 corners. The night race was known for a test given its long duration and the heat and humidity on the tropical island.

Hamilton started from the pole position and soon established a comfortable lead that allowed him to go for his first pit stop without losing the advantage in the early part of the race.

Rosberg, however, was not able to get away and had to start from the pit lane. He finally dropped out after only several laps and was seen frustrated and angry on the screen.

The safety car was deployed after a collision involving Adian Sutil and Perez Sergio that sent debris onto the circuit. It remained in the circuit for several laps.

Hamilton had to pit for his soft tyres after 52 laps as he hadn 't used them. Running on a three-stop strategy, he got a lead of over 25 seconds before his last stop but it was obviously not good enough as Vettel, who used a two-stop strategy, grasped the chance to get slightly ahead of him. However, he managed to take the lead again when they turned a corner.

"I know I had a big gap. And then when I came in, I know that I had to fight the guys that will be on a long long run-down tyre. I know that we had to have a chance to get by. I felt kind of comfortable," Hamilton said.

The drivers were not able to complete the scheduled 61 laps as they hit the limit of two hours for the race.

Vettel managed to stay on the circuit to the end without another pit stop to change his worn tyres, with Ricciardo and Alonso trailing with narrow gaps and giving him a lot of pressure.

"I think we had a decent race played with a little bit of strategy. We tried our most to stay out with the last settled tyres, and try to make them work, which was very very much borderline," he said.

The runner-up position was the best result this season for the four-time world champion, who had been struggling most of the time this season due to a car that fell short in terms of power and was not very reliable in the early past of the season, though he has a competitive chassis.

The F1 car development has been especially important this season as the previous 2.4 liter V8 engine was replaced by a 1.6 liter turbo-charged V6 hybrid engine. It is believed to be the biggest change of rules in at least 10 years.

The Marina Bay street circuit, with its many corners, is believed to be less demanding on the speed of the cars but requires more downforce.

On the drivers' standings now, Hamilton leads with 241 points. His teammate Rosberg trailed with 238 points.

Ricciardo, who has had a wonderful first season with the Red Bull Racing team, now has 181 points. With five races to go, he still has a chance theoretically to go for the championship this season. Vettel is now still the sixth-placed driver.

On the constructor's standings, Mercedes still has a comfortable lead with an accumulated 479 points, while second- placed Red Bull Racing has 305 points.

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