Lewis Hamilton won a chaotic and rain-hit Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday to seize control of the Formula One world championship as his title rival Sebastian Vettel crashed out on the first lap. Ferrari's Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, and Red Bull's Max Verstappen all went out just after the start of the first wet race in Singapore, which saw three safety cars and finished with only 12 drivers.
It all played perfectly into the hands of Mercedes driver Hamilton, who went from fifth on the grid to first and held off Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo to clinch his third win in a row. With his 60th race victory and seventh this season, Hamilton - who said he needed a "miracle" after struggling in qualifying - stands 28 points ahead of Vettel with six grands prix left this year.
"Guys what can I say - what a turnaround today! Fantastic job with the team strategy," Hamilton said over the radio, before leaping out of his car and hugging his engineers. "God blessed me today, for sure," he said later, dripping with champagne. "I capitalised on the incident - who would have known that would happen? "It was really unfortunate for the Ferraris but a great result for the (Mercedes) team."