The two-hour race started on the 5.065-kilometer Marina Bay street circuit, which has 23 corners spread over.
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While Rosberg held off Daniel Ricciardo to win his eighth grand prix of the season, Hamilton was struggling with brake issues and tentative strategy had to be abandoned when the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen passed him during his middle stint.
Formula One’s governing body is to investigate an incident that saw cars cleared to race while a marshal was still on track following a Singapore Grand Prix safety vehicle period on Sunday.
Rosberg had looked comfortable in the latter part of the race, but a late switch to super-softs by Ricciardo changed everything.
Rosberg, who was 43 points clear of Hamilton after the first four races of the year but 19 behind at the summer break, now leads his title rival by eight points with six races remaining.
“A statistic like that is not something I focus on, it doesn’t have any importance to me”, the 31-year-old said after winning his third race in a row. We did everything we could and I thought it was pretty much a ideal race. I’m going to celebrate after this. “I had to roll out the best laps I could”.
His pole to chequered flag victory here followed wins at Spa-Francorchamps and Monza.
Ricciardo rued the missed opportunity to record his first victory of the season but is hoping the weather gods will intervene to help him step on the top of the podium in 2016.
When the safety vehicle peeled in at the end of lap two, a marshal was seen sprinting across the track and reaching the other side just in front of leader Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes.
Hamilton finished third, but it wasn’t a stunning performance and by mid-race he was in fourth behind Raikkonen.
“Nico has performed fantastically well this weekend, he’s done an wonderful job, and I expect him to continue like that, so I’ve just got to make sure that I do the same”.
“This weekend, he’s done an incredible job. I expect him to continue like that so I’ve got make sure that I do the same”.
With the championship lead secured, Rosberg has no intention to let it slip, especially when he feels that his F1 W07 Hybrid steed is starting to flex its muscles. “We’ve got to have a good weekend”, said Hamilton, who lost half his Friday practice running with a hydraulic failure that limited his ability to fine-tune the car’s set-up.
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“Every weekend they have to change the vehicle, adapting to new circuits and understanding them”.
