Vettel wins a dramatic Singapore Grand Prix
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel won an incident-packed Singapore Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday, 20 September. Starting from pole position, Vettel led all the way to take the chequered flag at the floodlit Marina Bay Street Circuit, despite twice losing the big advantage he had built up when the safety car was deployed.
Sebastian Vettel after winning the 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix
A proven master on the slow and twisty Singapore track, Vettel gave his rivals no chance when he planted his foot on the accelerator and made a flying getaway from the front of the grid. Australia's Daniel Ricciardo finished second for Red Bull, his best result of a frustrating year, while Vettel's team mate Kimi Raikkonen crossed the line third.
Singapore GP track in 2015, the Marina Bay Street Circuit
But while Vettel certainly deserved to win, what happened behind him was much more interesting.
Runner-up at the 2015 Singapore GP, Australian Daniel Ricciardo
On lap 13 (out of 61 laps), as Felipe Massa exited the pits, he was hit from the side by Nico Hulkenberg who then slammed into a wall, wrecking his Force India car and ending his race. The debris from the collision brought out the first safety car.
Kimi Raikkonen was third at the 2015 Singapore GP
The second safety car appeared on lap 37 when a spectator was spotted walking on the circuit before climbing back though a hole in the fence, setting pulses racing. Meanwhile, current leader of the Driver Standings, Lewis Hamilton, had to retire due to engine problems, making him one of six casualties, which also numbered Button, Alonso, Hulkenburg, Grosjean and Massa.
Nico Hulkenberg in his Force India car, which crashed into Felipe Massa's car; both were eventually out of the race, although for separate incidents
And a bold Max Verstappen added to the excitement when he defied team orders to let his teammate Carlos Sainz pass him at the end, leading to a fight for the eighth position. Despite Verstappen’s Toro Rosso car stalling on the grid before the start of the race, the teenager managed to come back from a full lap behind the pack to zoom through the field and finish in eighth, ahead of Sainz.
17-year old Max Verstappen, the youngest World Championship Grand Prix driver, who defied team orders and went on to clinch the eighth position in the Singapore GP, ahead of teammate Sainz
(All images - credit: Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licence)
