Lew in smash 'n grab
Vettel smash boosts vegan Lewis
LEWIS HAMILTON announced prior to the Singapore Grand Prix that he plans to adopt a vegan diet.
But he was more than happy for Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to be the meat in a Ferrari sandwich as he survived some opening lap chaos to power to victory.
The spectacular crash on the wet tarmac of the Marina Bay Street Circuit saw Sebastian Vettel retire for the first time this season and helped Hamilton to one of the unlikeliest victories of his career.
Chaotic
This was meant to be an exercise in damage limitation for Hamilton after Vettel had scorched to pole position while the best the Brit could muster was fifth on the grid.
But as the rain fell under the floodlights it was Ferrari who were left picking up the pieces after a race which was supposed to swing the title momentum firmly back in Vettel’s favour.
Instead, Hamilton finds himself with a commanding 28-point lead in the drivers’ championship.
The biggest drama of a chaotic race came at the start. Vettel moved to his left to cover off Verstappen and a fast-starting Kimi Raikkonen.
Raikkonen surged ahead of Verstappen. But his right rear tyre made contact with Verstappen’s front left, and he was sent out of control before thudding into the side of Ferrari team-mate Vettel.
As Raikkonen and Verstappen came to ® from JAMES MURRAY a sudden halt at turn one – colliding with an unfortunate Fernando Alonso in the process – Vettel managed to get his Ferrari going.
But at the exit of turn three, and with significant damage to his car, the German lost control and crashed into the concrete wall.
Hamilton had a ringside seat for the carnage, which brought out the safety car, and calmly tip-toed his way into a lead he would not relinquish.
Not bad on a track which was meant to be far more suited to Ferrari and Red Bull.
But even though Daniel Ricciardo also managed to keep his nose clean he could do nothing to rein in Hamilton, despite the field being bunched up by two further safety car deployments.
“You’re just focused on winning and I was just trying to get to the front,” said Hamilton, reflecting on the startline incident.
“I needed it to rain and as soon as it did I knew where I was going to finish. I knew I had the pace when it rains. Those are my conditions. Of course we were very fortunate with the Ferraris. I couldn’t be happier, I’m really grateful.
“God blessed me today for sure. I capitalised on the incident. Who would have known that would happen?”
Verstappen certainly didn’t expect it, the Dutch teenager pointing the finger of blame at Vettel for ending both his and Raikkonen’s race.
He said: “If you are fighting for the world championship you shouldn’t take those risks squeezing someone that much.
“You can see what happens. Lewis is leading the race and the three of us are out.”
Vettel offered a different version of events, saying: “I had an average start, moved slightly to the left and was trying to fend off Max.
“Then the next thing there was a bump on the side and I saw Kimi’s car, so I don’t know what happened. There’s nothing we can do now. I’m sure there will be more opportunities.”
Maybe, but with the remaining six races at circuits well suited to Hamilton’s Mercedes, Vettel’s best chance of regaining the lead in the title race may already have gone.
It was also a case of what might have been for Brit Jolyon Palmer, who scored his first points of the season by finishing sixth after learning he will lose his seat at Renault to Carlos Sainz next season.