Singapore – Race: The night belongs to Nico Rosberg, the blow is close for Ricciardo!

The setting doesn’t change over the years, but the world of Formula 1 never tires of it. For the eighth race in history at Marina Bay, the 22 drivers raced through the winding streets of the city-state, with the buildings and the majestic Singapore Flyer ferris wheel as a backdrop. 61 laps were scheduled; would the drivers complete them all in under two hours?

At the front of the grid, the man of the moment placed his Mercedes just a few paces from the start, for the 29th time in his career, the 7th this season. After an exceptional lap in Qualifying, Nico Rosberg, for his 200th Grand Prix start, was feeling confident… ahead of a Red Bull, that of Daniel Ricciardo. Lewis Hamilton, struggling with his machine, was in 3rd place on the grid, ahead of the other Red Bull of Max Verstappen. The Austrian team planned to give it their all at the first corner, equipped with super-soft tires for an offset strategy. Behind them, Kimi Räikkönen’s surviving Ferrari also hoped to join the fray, while the other cars, notably the Toro Rosso and Nico Hülkenberg’s Force India, stayed on alert in case of trouble ahead.

At the very end of the grid, Sebastian Vettel was starting from the last row after his suspension failure in Qualifying. The German took advantage of this to change his engine, turbo, MGU, and gearbox; the grid penalties being quite insignificant in this situation.

First blow to the competitors occurred 15 minutes before the start. It affected, once again, Romain Grosjean’s Haas. This time the brake pedal seemed to be the issue for the Frenchman, who would officially withdraw a few minutes later.

Meteorologically, rain spared this race, and dry but hot and heavy weather awaited the drivers in their cockpits. The track was washed by tropical downpours on the night from Saturday to Sunday, making the installation laps and then the warm-up laps crucially important.

At 8 p.m., Singapore time (2 p.m., Paris time), 21 drivers set off for a 5.065-kilometer formation lap. Romain Grosjean was out of the race for good, as his Haas had succumbed to technical issues. Just over three minutes later, from Rosberg to Vettel, the pack lined up for the start of the Singapore Grand Prix.

Verstappen nearly stalls, crash right from the start!

About ten meters was enough to witness the first crash of the Singapore night! Starting 8th, Nico Hülkenberg found himself trapped by Verstappen’s poor start, who was starting two rows ahead of him. Sandwiched between the two men, Carlos Sainz hit the rear left wheel of the Force India driver with his front right wheel as he overtook him on the right. In this move, one could blame the Red Bull driver for moving directly to the right.

HUL: “I just got hit by the Toro Rosso – I was sandwiched by them” 📻#SingaporeGP 🇸🇬 #F1NightRace 🌃 pic.twitter.com/mAd0t5B1Zs

— Formula 1 (@F1) 18 septembre /f1/actualite/21333-singapour-qualifications-rosberg-silllumine-ricciardo-sintercale-.html

The Safety Car therefore went out on the track, confirming the statistic: in every edition, the Mercedes AMG driven by Bernd Maylander has gone out on the track at least once.

Another driver affected, Valtteri Bottas ran over debris and got a flat tire, which forced him to change his tires on the first lap, all while rejoining right in front of Vettel’s Ferrari.

Similarly, Jenson Button broke his front wing and a part of his suspension, a long and difficult race awaited him…

During the 3rd lap, the race was finally freed by the green flags. At the same time, a marshal (who was picking up debris) narrowly avoided being hit by cars speeding towards the first corner! A remarkable but especially nerve-wracking image, disaster was not far off…

Consequences of the departure, Carlos Sainz was shown a black and orange flag by the stewards. A part of his sidepod was gradually coming loose, and he absolutely had to return to the pits to remove the defective part, which was done at the end of the 7th lap.

In the lead, none of these adventures had affected Nico Rosberg, who was leading the race ahead of Ricciardo and Hamilton. Räikkönen had moved up to fourth place… ahead of Fernando Alonso, the big winner in the early stages, thanks to a start that only he has the secret to. In 6th place was Daniil Kvyat, Verstappen reclaimed 7th place ahead of Massa, Magnussen, and Ericsson, two drivers happy to round out the Top 10. But watch out, as a contender was coming back with Sebastian Vettel, already up to 13th place.

After only 10 laps, Nico Rosberg’s radio warned of an excessively high brake temperature, and the German driver had to manage his pace! That being said, the gap to Ricciardo remained stable, with just under a 5-second lead.

LAP 10/61

MERCEDES: “This is serious Nico, we need that brake management” 📻#SingaporeGP 🇸🇬 #F1NightRace 🌃 pic.twitter.com/BYFReYv7Hg

— Formula 1 (@F1) 18 septembre /f1/actualite/21333-singapour-qualifications-rosberg-silllumine-ricciardo-sintercale-.html

The order of the day for most drivers was to conserve their machines as much as possible. But even in this situation, the tires were degrading rapidly: on the 13th lap, Max Verstappen returned to the pits to put on a new set of super-softs. The Red Bull driver rejoined the pack just behind Esteban Ocon’s Manor, which he overtook with ease.

Mercedes on softs for the second stint, Ricciardo stays on super-softs

The wave of the first pit stop was in full swing, and the big guns, Ricciardo and Hamilton, pitted at the same time. Complaining about his poor pace and a cautious strategy, the Englishman still opted for softs, while the Australian chose super-softs.

One lap later, Rosberg delayed his first pit stop. Difficult tire change for his mechanics, but fortunately for him, he stayed ahead of his two pursuers. Only Kimi Räikkönen remained on track among the favorites with his ultra-softs. For two short laps, the Finnish driver led the race, switched to super-softs, and returned to his 4th place.

A few places further, there was a nice exchange within the Red Bull clan between Daniil Kvyat, eighth, who was making no concessions to Max Verstappen. Was there an emotional reaction from the Russian driver? His current opponent was complaining on his radio about the behavior of the driver in front of him.

LAP 19/61

Kvyat vs Verstappen 😮

The Russian with something to prove…#SingaporeGP 🇸🇬 #F1NightRace 🌃 pic.twitter.com/grmsNnM5o7

— Formula 1 (@F1) 18 septembre /f1/actualite/21333-singapour-qualifications-rosberg-silllumine-ricciardo-sintercale-.html

At the very front, Daniel Ricciardo was gradually closing the gap on Nico Rosberg, gaining almost half a second per lap on Rosberg for several laps. The gap was widening on Lewis Hamilton, who was clearly struggling with his brakes. The Englishman had to keep an eye on Kimi Räikkönen behind him, who was closing in rapidly, under a second behind by the 26th lap.

In virtual 5th and 6th position, the latecomers for tire changes were finally observing their first pit stop. Vettel fitted ultra-soft tires, while Pérez remained on softs. The German driver from Scuderia Ferrari moved into the points on lap 28, thanks to a daring overtake on both Sainz and Gutiérrez. Now, he had a clear path to attack and climb even higher in the standings.

Räikkönen freezes Hamilton, Vettel continues his wild comeback

The halfway mark was reached and the Scuderia was still putting on a show. Unusually, Hamilton was overtaken, here by Kimi Räikkönen on the straight between the ninth and tenth corner, thanks to a late and failed braking by Lewis Hamilton. Number 7 claimed second place, as Daniel Ricciardo had just pitted for his second stop. A bold choice with the soft tires: with 28 laps to go, was he betting on staying on track until the end?

People rushed into the pits and in turn: Räikkönen, Rosberg, and Hamilton put on the soft tires. The four front-runners were at that moment with the same tires. Yet Hamilton continued to lose ground, quickly falling more than five seconds behind the Ferrari ahead of him. Behind him, the other Ferrari took 5th place, with Sebastian Vettel at the peak of his abilities overtaking the brave Daniil Kyvat.

LAP 34/61

Vintage Kimi! The Iceman passes HAM for P3 ❄️

Just the slightest bit of contact 💥#SingaporeGP 🇸🇬 pic.twitter.com/l39rjWjyp9

— Formula 1 (@F1) 18 septembre /f1/actualite/21333-singapour-qualifications-rosberg-silllumine-ricciardo-sintercale-.html

With 20 laps to go (41st lap of the race), the main issues revolved around the Ferrari team. In what position would Sebastian Vettel finish? Should Kimi Räikkönen focus on what’s behind him or ahead? Moreover, the lead of the race was not yet secure for Rosberg: Ricciardo’s pace on his soft tires allowed him to reduce the gap to under 5 seconds.

Pneumatic bluff game, long-distance Rosberg-Ricciardo battle for victory!

In all this, a bold move by Lewis Hamilton, who fitted ultra-soft tires on lap 46. The Englishman was catching up to Räikkönen’s Ferrari, creating uncertainty.

Informed at the last moment, the single-seater emblazoned with the Prancing Horse rushed to make its final stop as well.

And the good move was for Hamilton who revived his race by temporarily climbing onto the podium!

Hamilton’s decision spiced up the race at the top of the standings: Would Ricciardo and Rosberg stay on track or also switch to ultra-softs?

The response was positive: Daniel Ricciardo was also changing tires, with super-softs being fitted for the Australian this time! So it was up to Rosberg to cover his three rivals’ strategy. But the leader stayed on the track! The Red Bull was gaining precious seconds. The end of the race was becoming thrilling: with worn tires, Rosberg had to both control his car and remain competitive against the comeback of Daniel Ricciardo, who was 2.5 to 3 seconds faster per lap on his fresh tires.

Spectacle at every level in this final stage of the race! Besides the long-distance battle for the lead, Verstappen was also putting on a show. After passing Kvyat and then Pérez (who still had to pit), the Dutchman was firmly battling with Fernando Alonso, who had been running an admirable race in 6th position but fell into the DRS zone on lap 55.

The finish line was in sight, and Rosberg was limiting the damage as best he could. With four laps to go, Ricciardo had closed the gap to under 5 seconds, despite a recovery that was slightly less convincing than expected.

LAP 56/61

RIC: “What time is ROS doing?” ⏰🤔

He’s slashed ROS’s lead to 5.2s…#SingaporeGP 🇸🇬 #F1NightRace 🌏 pic.twitter.com/j7eKqS2N3d

— Formula 1 (@F1) 18 septembre /f1/actualite/21333-singapour-qualifications-rosberg-silllumine-ricciardo-sintercale-.html

But free from any stragglers, the Australian had three laps to attack at full throttle, just like Nico Rosberg!

It was now up to the Mercedes driver to make his way past a few drivers ahead of him as they entered the 61st and final lap. The moment when the two men connected happened in the second sector. But a few meters were still missing.

Finally, it is indeed Nico Rosberg who wins the Singapore Grand Prix! Eighth victory of the season for the Mercedes driver, with style, at the moment of his 200th Grand Prix in Formula 1.

ROSBERG: “Yes guys, COME ON!” 📻 #SingaporeGP 🇸🇬 #F1NightRace 🌃 pic.twitter.com/Qu9iNOgSRQ

— Formula 1 (@F1) 18 septembre /f1/actualite/21333-singapour-qualifications-rosberg-silllumine-ricciardo-sintercale-.html

Daniel Ricciardo finishes second in this urban race, as in Monaco. But this time there is no doubt that the Red Bull driver enjoyed himself in his car: he did everything he could to clinch the victory.

Therefore, Rosberg regains the lead in the drivers’ championship with an 8-point advantage over Lewis Hamilton, who did not improve his starting position. 273 points for Rosberg compared to 265 points for Hamilton.

Beyond the victory, will the manner in which number 6 claimed the honors in Singapore matter for the end of the season?

Here is the full ranking of this Singapore Grand Prix /f1/actualite/21333-singapour-qualifications-rosberg-silllumine-ricciardo-sintercale-.html

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION: ROS wins to go back on top of the driver standings #SingaporeGP 🇸🇬 #F1NightRace 🌏 pic.twitter.com/sEMwaNJ5fU

— Formula 1 (@F1) 18 septembre /f1/actualite/21333-singapour-qualifications-rosberg-sillumine-ricciardo-sintercale-.html

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