Lewis Hamilton
Singapore—Lewis Hamilton, driving for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas team, powered to a dominant victory at the 2018 Singapore Grand Prix (SGP).
Hamilton took his 69th career win, coming in well ahead of Max Verstappen of Red Bull and chief championship rival Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari.
The 2018 SGP ran the full race distance, clocking in at just under the two-hour limit.
Hamilton capitalized on his stunning pole position lap on Saturday, leading the entire race except when he temporarily lost position during his scheduled pit stop.
Vettel and Ferrari tried to do an undercut, pitting earlier than the Mercedes. But the gamble didn’t pay off, as Vettel got trapped behind Force India’s Sergio Perez.
This not only prevented him from closing in on Hamilton, but also allowed Verstappen to take second after the Red Bull’s scheduled pit stop.
Saturday’s qualifying race saw Hamilton take pole position, as he got into the groove and put together what he later called a “magical” lap, or a “sexy lap,” after which he felt he couldn’t possibly go faster.
It was Hamilton’s 79th pole position, his fourth in Singapore and seventh of the 2018 Formula One season.
Hamilton pulled away from the field on the opening lap, until a collision between the Force India cars had Perez pushing teammate Esteban Ocon rash into the wall.
This brought out the safety car, which has made an appearance at every Singapore Grand Prix since 2008.
The victor of the night race was never really in doubt, as Hamilton seemed to be conserving his tires and his car.
He was able to respond and extend his advantage whenever second place Max Verstappen would close in.
Even Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff looked rather unconcerned as the race drew to a close after nearly two hours.
Hamilton recorded his 69th career victory.
This year’s SGP marked the 11th running of the night race. SGP is dubbed as a jewel in the Formula One calendar, thanks to the sparkle of the cars as they run under the floodlights on the Marina Bay Circuit—and the glittering city.
The 2018 edition recorded an attendance of 263,000 during the three-day event. It’s the second highest in the SGP’s history. The inaugural 2008 race attracted 300,000 guests.
Singapore Grand Prix has always been an entertainment event built around the F1 race, and this year was no exception.
The main music acts this year were hot new artist Dua Lipa from UK, Martin Garrix, Jay Chou from Taiwan, and The Killers from America. Three-time Grammy nominee Simply Red was also there.
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