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F1: Lewis Hamilton retakes the lead of the championship in Singapore (+photos)

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Antoine Cremer
From press release

Lewis Hamilton made the most of Nico Rosberg's troubles in Singapore to take the lead of the drivers' championship back from his teammate.

Singapore Grand Prix F1 Sebastian Vettel Lewis Hamilton Daniel Ricciardo
Photo: WRI2

From 22 points back, Hamilton leaped ahead of Rosberg, who retired on lap 13 with an electrical problem, and now holds a three point advantage with five races to go.

"It was great to come here after winning in Monza and start the final leg of the season with such a competitive car," the Brit said.

Red Bull was quick in Singapore, but ultimately Hamilton was able resist the pressure from Sebastian Vettel, who held the lead momentarily after Hamilton's final stop.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W05 Singapore Grand Prix F1
Photo: WRI2

"I knew (Vettel) was on a two-stop strategy and that his tires were old. I went for it down the back straight. The gap was pretty small and maybe I could have chosen another point on the circuit.

"But I luckily squeezed through and made it stick."

Sebastian Vettel Lewis Hamilton F1 Singapore Grand Prix
Photo: WRI2

Rosberg's problems surfaced during his installation lap prior to the start. Mercedes opted to change steering wheel, but the tactic failed to fix the problem.

Having been forced to take the start from the pit lane, the German battled an uncompetitive car for his first stint and eventually retired right after his first stop, with the gearbox stuck in neutral.

Mercedes apologized to Rosberg and promised to work on its reliability.

Race results* – Singapore Grand Prix (round 14 of 19)
1 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes W05) - 60 laps 2.00'04"795
2 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 13"534
3 - Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull RB10-Renault) - 14"273
4 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F14-T) - 15"389
5 - Felipe Massa (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 42"161
6 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 56"801
7 - Sergio Perez (Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 59"038
8 - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari F14-T) - 1'00"641
9 - Nico Hulkenberg (Force India VJM07-Mercedes) - 1'01"661
10 - Kevin Magnussen (McLaren MP4/29-Mercedes) - 1'02"230
11 - Valtteri Bottas (Williams FW36-Mercedes) - 1'05"065
12 - Pastor Maldonado (Lotus E22-Renault) - 1'06"915
13 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E22-Renault) - 1'08"029
14 - Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso STR9-Renault) - 1'12"008
15 - Marcus Ericsson (Caterham CT05-Renault) - 1'34"188
16 - Jules Bianchi (Marussia MR03-Ferrari) - 1'34"543
17 - Max Chilton (Marussia MR03-Ferrari) - 1 lap

Fastest lap of the race: 1'50"417 by Lewis Hamilton

Singapore Grand Prix F1
Photo: WRI2

Retirements
Jenson Button
Adrian Sutil
Esteban Gutierrez
Nico Rosberg
Kamui Kobayashi

Drivers' championship
1.Hamilton 241; 2.Rosberg 238; 3.Ricciardo 181; 4.Alonso 133; 5.Vettel 124; 6.Bottas 122; 7.Button, Hulkenberg 72; 9.Massa 65; 10.Perez, Raikkonen 45; 12.Magnussen 39; 13.Vergne 19; 14.Grosjean, Kvyat 8; 16.Bianchi 2.

Constructors' championship
1.Mercedes 479; 2.Red Bull-Renault 305; 3.Williams-Mercedes 187; 4.Ferrari 178; 5.Force India-Mercedes 117; 6.McLaren-Mercedes 111; 7.Toro Rosso-Renault 27; 8.Lotus-Renault 8; 9.Marussia-Ferrari 2.
*Unofficial results

Antoine Cremer
Antoine Cremer
Automotive expert