In a chaotic race on the streets of Singapore, Lewis Hamilton surprised the field by taking the win and expanding his Formula One championship lead.
The streets of Singapore have created some memorable championship moments for the Formula One world championship. Another one of those moments came to pass on Sunday for the 2017 title hunt. A big crash on the first lap of the race has allowed Lewis Hamilton to expand his lead in the points, winning the Singapore Grand Prix.
Sebastian Vettel, who entered the race as the favorite and won the pole convincingly on Saturday, did not make it past the first lap. Starting in wet conditions, Vettel did not get the start he hoped for from pole, with teammate Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen right on his heels. Contact between Verstappen and Vettel would ultimately lead to a crash in the first corner, collecting Raikkonen and McLaren’s Fernando Alonso.
The incident would leave Lewis Hamilton at the front of the pack and he never looked back. It was a strong drive from the lead Mercedes driver, at a track where the silver arrows were expected to struggle mightily. Even team boss Toto Wolff was not optimistic heading into Sunday, hoping to run a race of damage control in the points championship. At the end of the day, Hamilton would expand his title lead to 28 points over Sebastian Vettel.
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Following Hamilton home on Sunday was Daniel Ricciardo in second, with Valtteri Bottas completing the podium in third. Carlos Sainz Jr. for Scuderia Toro Rosso and Sergio Perez of Force India rounded out the top five.
Here are the full race results from the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix:
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Mercedes AMG Petronas
- Daniel Ricciardo, Tag Heuer, Red Bull Racing
- Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, Mercedes AMG Petronas
- Carlos Sainz Jr., Renault, Scuderia Toro Rosso
- Sergio Perez, Mercedes, Force India
- Jolyon Palmer, Renault, Renault Sport
- Stoffel Vandoorne, Honda, McLaren
- Lance Stroll, Mercedes, Williams Martini Racing
- Romain Grosjean, Ferrari, Haas F1
- Esteban Ocon, Mercedes, Force India
- Felipe Massa, Mercedes, Williams Martini Racing
- Pascal Wehrlein, Ferrari, Sauber
- Kevin Magnussen, Ferrari, Haas F1
- Nico Hulkenberg, Renault, Renault Sport
- Marcus Ericsson, Ferrari, Sauber
- Daniil Kvyat, Renault, Scuderia Toro Rosso
- Fernando Alonso, Honda, McLaren
- Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, Scuderia Ferrari
- Max Verstappen, Tag Heuer, Red Bull Racing
- Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, Scuderia Ferrari
Next: Renault Terminates Red Bull Engine Supply After 2018
The next race for the Formula One world championship comes at the start of October from Malaysia. It will be the final running of the Malaysian Grand Prix, and you can see the race on Sunday, October 1 on NBCSN.