Sebastian Vettel secured his third win of the season as he led from start to finish in Singapore, though it wasn’t the easy victory he might have hoped for.
The German might have been in control at the front, but Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo piled on the pressure but couldn’t find a way past at any point during the two hour 61-lap race.
Two Safety Car periods threatened Vettel’s victory, particularly the second which came about after a fan was seen walking along the track, prompting questions over security at the Marina Bay street circuit.
Vettel’s team-mate Kimi Raikkonen completed the podium as he managed to hold off Lewis Hamilton for much of the race, before the Mercedes driver retired after reporting a “loss of power” which it’s thought was caused by a throttle problem.
The Briton and championship leader dropped down to 16th before choosing to retire his car and save the relatively new engine for future races.
It was Nico Rosberg that took over the fourth place ahead of Williams’ Valtteri Bottas and the second Red Bull of Daniil Kvyat.
Max Verstappen made a charge through the field to take eighth, despite stalling on the grid and starting a lap down as he was forced to start from the pit lane.
Both McLarens retired from the race with gearbox trouble, despite claiming the event was their best chance at scoring a handful of points.
# | Driver | Team | Gap | Points |
01. | S. Vettel | Ferrari | 25 | |
02. | D. Ricciardo | Red Bull | +1.4 | 18 |
03. | K. Raikkonen | Ferrari | +17.1 | 15 |
04. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | +24.7 | 12 |
05. | V. Bottas | Williams | +34.2 | 10 |
06. | D. Kvyat | Red Bull | +35.0 | 8 |
07. | S. Perez | Force India | +50.8 | 6 |
08. | M. Verstappen | Toro Rosso | +51.4 | 4 |
09. | C. Sainz | Toro Rosso | +52.8 | 2 |
10. | F. Nasr | Sauber | +90.0 | 1 |
11. | M. Ericsson | Sauber | +97.5 | |
12. | P. Maldonado | Lotus | +97.7 | |
13. | R. Grosjean | Lotus | +1 lap | |
14. | A. Rossi | Marussia | +2 laps | |
15. | W. Stevens | Marussia | +2 laps | |
16. | J. Button | McLaren | DNF | |
17. | F. Alonso | McLaren | DNF | |
18. | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | DNF | |
19. | F. Massa | Williams | DNF | |
20. | N. Hulkenberg | Force India | DNF |