F1 - Amazing night Race SINGAPORE GP 2018 event #15, Marina Bay Street race: Congratulations 1. Lewis Hamilton, 2. Max Verstappen 3. Sebastian Vettel and 7. Fernando Alonso ! - NAANII GLOBAL Luxury/Quality Family Lifestyle MAGAZINE 'en Vogue' - NAANII GLOBAL Quality & Luxury Family Lifestyle - MAGAZINE 'en Vogue'-

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Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes AMG Petronas
Under the white-hot spotlights of the Marina Bay Street Circuit there were no big stage nerves for Lewis Hamilton, as the Mercedes driver delivered another pitch-perfect performance to extend his championship lead over arch-rival Sebastian Vettel.

This time it was the German’s Ferrari team that fluffed its lines, as Formula 1’s Managing Director, Motorsport Ross Brawn reveals, but while the battle for the lead was settled early on there was plenty of action to enjoy further down the order.
 
What an amazing weekend for Lewis Hamilton.
On Saturday, an incredible Q3 lap resulted in a pole position that was to prove crucial on Sunday, when he dominated the race from start to finish.
The result and the gaps at the front don’t really tell the story of just how untouchable Lewis was yesterday and he produced a masterclass in extracting the most out the package at his disposal, pushing when he had to and managing the tyres where possible.
The win is an important step, if not yet the decisive one, in his duel with Sebastian Vettel. It’s also proof that Mercedes, the dominant force of this hybrid era, is still working to improve in areas where it has maybe lost some ground in recent times.
Mercedes has won four of the last five races in Singapore, but rarely has it proved to be as competitive as this weekend.
There are many possible explanations for this, starting with a car that, unlike last year’s, seems better-suited to tracks such as this.
There’s also the undoubted ability to get the most out of the tyres, as could be seen from the fact that in qualifying Mercedes had the quickest car in sector three of the track, proving they could make the tyres last for a whole lap, which was not the case for Ferrari. Last, but by no means least, there’s Lewis, who seems to improve all the time.
When you are at the top, there’s no room for complacency, a mantra that Mercedes and its champion drivers continue to follow with aplomb.


Max Verstappen - Aston Martin Red Bull Racing
celebrated second place in fine style and it was well deserved, as the young Dutchman squeezed every last drop of performance out of his Red Bull, first when he unexpectedly put it on the front row on Saturday and then on Sunday with an impeccable drive that showed real maturity.
In his two tussles with Vettel, on the opening lap and then as he rejoined the track after his pit stop, Max didn’t put a foot wrong.
After that, he even managed to close on Hamilton when they came up behind traffic, but even then he avoided unnecessary risks, perhaps aware that he didn’t have a real chance of winning.
It shows that the Dutchman has all the hallmarks of a future champion. It's not enough to just produce phenomenal performances in some races if others are marred by silly mistakes, but more and more Verstappen's race are characterised by not just prodigious pace but also composure.
Max is growing in stature and he now needs a car with which he can always fight for victory, not just in certain situations. And even if Red Bull is a relatively young team, it has shown through their past success that they know how to do that.

“It was a shame to lose a position to Sebastian so early on but there was not a lot I could do as we were both flat out. I should have been able to hold the line but I just couldn’t match his speed. My only real chance to win was at the start, unfortunately it was a bit all over the place and I knew my chance had gone. Luckily the team had me on a great strategy and therefore managed to get me back into second place with a brilliant pit stop. When I got close to Lewis due to back markers I never really thought the pass would be possible. It’s hard to overtake here so I didn’t want to take the risk. It was also slightly unfair how he had been held up by drivers not getting out of the way. I had a few driveability issues again behind the Safety Car and pulling away from the pit stop was dreadful, but in the end we managed it well and got the result we wanted. After the way the car has felt at certain points this weekend, qualifying on the front row and taking second place today is an amazing result.”



Fernando Alonso 'on top form', 7th !
Fernando Alonso professed himself to be “really happy” on Sunday night in Singapore and his seventh place meant he could claim to be the ‘best of the rest’ and the only driver from outside the top three teams to finish on the same lap as the winner.
Certainly Fernando put in yet another superb display. His was a relatively lonely and, for him, maybe a slightly boring race, though I’d venture that driving for 110 minutes at an average speed of around 165 km/h in a cockpit where the temperature is above 50° C, can hardly be categorised as boring, but despite that Fernando delivered a performance of consummate skill.
He ranked the result “a small win” and while that is certainly true, I’m sure that his satisfaction was tinged with a degree of regret at not having a car capable of fighting for the win, which is what his talent deserves. He has twice won at this track and finished on the podium a further three times, usually without the benefit of having the best car and again on Sunday, he demonstrated that he is still at the top of his game.

Scudería Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel - Kimi Raikkonen
Maurizio Arrivabene:
`Today's winner deserved the victory. After Sebastian overtook Verstappen, we went for an aggressive strategy, trying for the undercut on the Ultrasoft tyres. Unfortunately, during the one lap that would prove to be crucial, we found ourselves behind another car and so we were unable to run at a fast enough pace. Despite today's result, not all is lost. Now, calmly and with determination, we will tackle the remaining six races, fighting all the way to the end'.
Sebastian Vettel:
' It's never easy to come and win even if, obviously, that was our target. Yesterday the qualifying didn't go the way we wanted and we couldn't extract the best out of ourselves. Today, starting from third position, we had to try something different, but it didn't work out and we finished where we started. We were running second after a good start which allowed me to get past Max, I was happy and confident when I got the call to box, I knew I needed a mega out lap to try and challenge for the lead but it didn't work. I lost time behind another car and the brakes got a little too hot, it was close but we got the worse of it. I fully support the team's decision because, as I am sitting in the car, I can't be aware of everything that goes on, so I rely on them. Our target was not to finish third, but today we just did not have enough speed.'

While Mercedes leave Singapore in high spirits, Ferrari must be somewhat concerned by their form at Marina Bay, and in recent weeks.
After the summer break, the Italian team was dominant, winning in Spa and getting both cars on the front row in Monza. However, since then, the spell has been broken.

At its home race, the defeat could be put down to various incidents, but in Singapore, both Mercedes and Red Bull were better. Not by much, as on the streets of Marina Bay the gaps separating the top three were hardly a chasm, but by enough, as third in qualifying and in the race for Vettel seemed about the right result. The men in red admitted they made the most of what was available to them and they need to work out why as soon as possible.
In the race, Vettel and his team opted for an aggressive strategy, pitting early for Ultrasoft tyres, rather than the more obvious Softs, precisely because they knew they couldn’t win by playing it safe. The gamble didn’t pay off, but it was probably worth a shot.

The gap in both championships is not yet insurmountable, but it is significant, especially against a strong rival in the habit of winning.
Ferrari can count on a car that has always been competitive and on drivers who know how to fight for a title, but now they need to turn things around, starting in Sochi.


Foto: Copyright Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team, all rights reserved