Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton saw his slender championship lead turn into a deficit to teammate Nico Rosberg after he could only manage third place in Singapore.
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Rosberg celebrated his 200th F1 Grand Prix by taking his 22nd Grand Prix win, saying that his luck at the Marina Bay circuit had finally changed after torrid races in 2014 & 2015: “In the past the Singapore track has not treated me so well, so this win is a very special one and an even more emotional one for me”. Hamilton arrived as championship leader but leaves with his two-point advantage overturned; he now trails by eight after finishing third.
“It’s a lot different to when I was here past year”, said Hamilton, who emerged from the 2015 Singapore race with a 41-point lead over Rosberg despite retiring.
He said, “I had a bad start, it wasn’t as bad as Monza but it wasn’t good, which is disappointing. Obviously we came here to win and we didn’t but I felt we left it all on the track”.
Hamilton claims his own brake issues were his downfall during the race at the Marina Bay street circuit, and resulted in him watching race victor Rosberg and second-placed Daniel Ricciardo ease ahead over the opening stint.
The British driver ended the race +8.038 off the pace and now trails Rosberg by eight points in the battle for the world title.
“This weekend has been a tricky one for me but I’m just happy to get on the podium and get some points for the team”, Hamilton said.
The German, who started Sunday’s race in pole position, had to withstand a late surge from Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo to eventually claim the victory by precisely 0.488 seconds.
“I was struggling with the breaks overheating so I had to slow down and watch the other guys pull away”.
Ironically the late drama was triggered by Mercedes’ decision to bring in Hamilton for tyres in a bid to get him back onto the final spot of the podium, which he did by emerging clear of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen. “It was a bit tight at the end after Daniel (Ricciardo) did a clever pit stop timing wise”.
“As soon as did a pit stop we thought Nico would come in”.
There were no more safety cars, throughout a 61-lap race that has yet to be completed without one, but the different tyre strategies of the leading cars made for a tactical and exciting race on a circuit that offers very few overtaking opportunities.
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Raikkonen’s teammate Sebastian Vettel had started last after a suspension failure in qualifying but gave a driving masterclass to finish fifth.
