Hamilton leads after Singapore win

Lewis Hamilton has taken the lead in the Formula One drivers’ championship by winning the Singapore Grand Prix, leapfrogging teammate Nico Rosberg who had to retire early with a gear-selection failure.

Hamilton led comfortably before he was forced into a late pitstop, giving up the race lead to Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel. However, Hamilton quickly passed the German to win by 13.5 seconds at the Marina Bay circuit.

Hamilton moved to 241 points, ahead of Rosberg on 238, with five races left.

Rosberg was forced to start from the pit-lane due to an electronically caused gear selection failure, and he did 14 laps in the stricken car before retiring.

Vettel finished second, just holding off Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was fourth.

“It was a horrible feeling really, to see everybody go. Because then I knew it was over,” Rosberg told Sky Sports television.

“Then the whole steering wheel just wasn’t working so I didn’t have any hybrid power and the shiftingI would shift two gears at once all the time and I had no DRS. The car just wasn’t working at all. And then there was no point to continue. It was a tough day really.”

Drivers’ standings (Top-5):

1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 241
2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 238
3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 181
4 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 133
5 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 124

Constructors table (Top-5) 

1 Mercedes 479
2 RedBull 305
3 Williams 187
4 Ferrari 178
5 Force India 117