MX23RW : Monday, November 25 10:55:30| >> :120:4592:4592:

Live Commentary: Singapore Grand Prix - Sebastian Vettel wins from Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso as it happened

Live text coverage of Formula 1's one and only night race on the streets of Singapore, courtesy of Sports Mole.

Good afternoon and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of Formula 1's only night race.

The Singapore Grand Prix is one of the highlights on the calendar as the drivers take to the streets of the city-state under darkness.

Lewis Hamilton starts on pole thanks to a dominant qualifying performance yesterday.

Can the McLaren man once again complete a pole-to-flag triumph and edge ever closer to championship leader Fernando Alonso? Find out with us below.


3.13pmAs the German national anthem is played out it's time for me to bid you farewell. We'll be back for the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka in two weeks' time. See you then.

3.11pmWhat this means for the world championship is Alonso is still clear at the top on 194, with Vettel 29 adrift in second. Raikkonen is third.

3.07pmFINAL TOP 10 POINTS SCORING POSITIONS: 1 Vettel 2 Button 3 Alonso 4 Di Resta 5 Rosberg 6 Raikkonen 7 Grosjean 8 Massa 9 Ricciardo 10 Webber

3.06pmIt's spectacular in Singapore as fireworks explode in the night sky over the floodlit tarmac.

3.05pmThe German wins his second successive GP in the city-state and you have to think would he have done it if Hamilton had not crashed out?

CHEQUERED FLAGSEBASTIAN VETTEL WINS THE SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX!

3.03pmSenna is out because of a problem and we're almost done here!

3.01pmProbably the only battle left on track involves Ricciardo (9th) and Webber (10th). Can the Aussie get ahead for another world championship point?

2.59pmThere's now five laps and five minutes remaining.

2.58pmButton really can't keep up with Vettel, who now has a near-six second lead.

2.56pmThe gap between all the cars is starting to widen and it looks as if Vettel has this in the bag. 8 minutes remaining.

2.55pmTOP 10 UPDATE: 1 Vettel 2 Button 3 Alonso 4 Di Resta 5 Rosberg 6 Raikkonen 7 Grosjean 8 Massa 9 Ricciardo 10 Senna

2.54pmHulkenburg shows that Force India are full of pace on fresh tyres by setting the fastest lap of the race.

10 mins leftThere's now no indicator for the remaining laps, just a timer counting down to the two-hour deadline.

Lap 52There's 12 minutes left of race time.

Lap 52The stewards are to investigate Webber and Kobayashi's little coming together.

Lap 51Vettel's now pulling away from Button as the German sets a new fastest lap of 1:52.134. In the pit lane and Hulkenburg replaces his punctured rubber.

Lap 50Webber and Kobayashi are wheel-to-wheel as the Red Bull man gets past for 11th place. The Japanese has also lost his front wing and Hulkenburg has a puncture! All action!

Lap 49Perez makes a move on Hulkenburg and he's lost his front wing! Can he continue?

Lap 48Vettel and Button's times are very similar though and the German's lead is still about one and a half seconds.

Lap 48Button's flying! The Englishman sets another fastest lap with a 1:52.625. He's got a little over 15 minutes to make a pass on Vettel.

Lap 47Vettel had set the fastest lap on the previous circuit but now Button goes fastest.

Lap 45Vettel's lead to Button is around 1.9s, with Alonso a further 4.2s adrift.

Lap 45Massa has got past Senna and now he's sizing up Ricciardo in eighth.

Lap 44It's been a superb race Di Resta, whose best ever finish in F1 is sixth. The Scot is right on the back of Alonso and looking to earn a podium place.

Lap 43WHOA! Massa is trying his best to get past Senna and he's suddenly fishtailing and somehow, somehow manages to avoid the barrier and the Brazilian, with both men coming out seemingly unscathed.

Lap 43TOP 10 UPDATE: 1 Vettel 2 Button 3 Alonso 4 Di Resta 5 Rosberg 6 Grosjean 7 Raikkonen 8 Ricciardo 9 Senna 10 Massa

Lap 43Vettel backs up the pack before sprinting away and we've got around 30 minutes of racing left.

Lap 42Safety car is in this lap

Lap 41A number of cars, including Webber and Hulkenburg, have come in for another pit stop while the safety car's out.

Lap 40This almost definitely means that we won't be able to see out the full 61 laps, instead we'll be reaching the two-hour deadline at around 3pm.

Lap 40The pair seem amicable enough as Schumacher apologises for that silly error. That means that there's another safety car.

Lap 39It's Schumacher who smacks into the back of Vergne. Both men are out of their cars and seem OK.

Lap 39BIG CRASH!

Lap 38RESUMPTION! Button almost collides with Vettel but manages to just squeeze out of a stupid accident. The German is away clean enough though and once again leads the GP.

Lap 38We'll be back racing at full pelt very shortly. Can Button get the jump on Vettel?

Lap 37Maldonado finally makes it back to the garage and that's his race over.

Lap 36The safety car is still out as stewards help clear up debris from Karthikeyan's bump with the barrier.

Lap 36TOP 10 UPDATE: 1 Vettel 2 Button 3 Alonso 4 Di Resta 5 Webber 6 Hulkenburg 7 Perez 8 Rosberg 9 Grosjean 10 Vergne

Lap 35MALDONADO HAS TO RETIRE BECAUSE OF A HYDRAULIC PROBLEM!

Lap 35Maldonado's now on his fourth different set of tyres and is back in 10th.

Lap 34Amid all the carnage, Alonso has passed Maldonado and now sits third.

Lap 34Vettel and Button come into the pit together and the Red Bull stop isn't as quick.

Lap 33It's HRT's Karthikeyan who's out and we've got our first safety car of the race!

Lap 33CRASH!

Lap 33There's a top battle going on between Alonso and Maldonado. The latter is currently ahead but Alonso's all over the back of him!

Lap 32And just as I say that, Button seems to stumble. He's now 4.3s adrift of the German.

Lap 32It's strange how Vettel and Button have been so nip-and-tuck with their lap times. Still nothing to separate the pair and three-second gap. Who will blink first for their second pit stop?

Lap 30Ooh! Maldonado and Alonso both come in and it's not a good stop for the former but he just stays ahead of the Spaniard.

Lap 29The top four are separated by around eight seconds, with Di Resta a further ten back and Rosberg another 12 adrift.

Lap 29There is a second stop for Webber though and the Aussie resumes in 11th.

Lap 28Button can't seem to eat away at Vettel's advantage too much. He's currently within three seconds and could pit soon.

Lap 27TOP 10 UPDATE: 1 Vettel 2 Button 3 Maldonado 4 Alonso 5 Di Resta 6 Webber 7 Rosberg 8 Grosjean 9 Schumacher 10 Raikkonen

Lap 26So it's Vettel now leading the Grand Prix, with Button around 3.4s behind the Red Bull.

Lap 25Hamilton's taken off his helmet and it looks like he's keeping his cool. No one's fault, just pure bad luck.

Lap 25McLaren will now be pinning their hopes on Button. Can he get up alongside Vettel?

Lap 24It's a purely mechanical issue and we can see from Vettel's on-board camera that smoke was pluming out of the back of the McLaren.

Lap 23Oh no! The Englishman is parked up in the middle of the circuit and that's his world championship hopes surely gone?

Lap 23HAMILTON'S LOST DRIVE! HE'S OUT! LOST HIS GEARS!

Lap 22Championship leader Alonso seems to be making a charge, taking a whole second out of Hamilton's lead there.

Lap 21The concentration levels required for this kind of race are just immense.

Lap 21Looks like Button is again starting to get some rhythm again, cutting the gap to Vettel to around 2.8s.

Lap 20Back to the front and Hamilton's lead back to Vettel is still around that 1.6s mark.

Lap 19Hulkenburg pits at last, as does Perez and the pair emerge 14th and 16th respectively.

Lap 18TOP 10 UPDATE: 1 Hamilton 2 Vettel 3 Button 4 Maldonado 5 Hulkenburg 6 Alonso 7 Perez 8 Di Resta 9 Webber 10 Rosberg

Lap 17Hulkenburg, who was the only man in the top 15 to start on soft tyres, is passed by Alonso.

Lap 16All the drivers in and around the points are now on the yellow-marked soft compound.

Lap 16So Hamilton is in front but the gap back to Vettel is only 1.2s.

Lap 16Almost a horrible crash at high speed as Maldonado fishtails when side-by-side with Hulkenburg. Never a dull moment with Pastor.

Lap 15Button pits from the lead and resumes in third. The stop wasn't as swift from McLaren but will the 2009 world champion be able to make his rubber last longer?

Lap 14So Button now leads from Grosjean but both men are yet to stop.

Lap 14It's very possible that Hamilton and Vettel will have to make three stops today while Button, if he keeps up this tyre management, might only need to make two.

Lap 13A little further down the field and Webber is putting plenty of pressure on Di Resta. Both have had a stop as Maldonado makes his stop.

Lap 13The Englishman comes out ahead of Vettel and into clean air. What will Button now do? Can he jump Hamilton on his stop?

Lap 12And yes, here comes Hamilton into the pit and the McLaren boys deliver a 2.9s stop. Impressive.

Lap 12Hamilton reports back to his team that he's got a "funny feeling" about the car. Hopefully all is OK but Button is now within three seconds of his teammate.

Lap 12Not yet but Alonso does come in for a change of tyres, coming out in 12th place and clean air.

Lap 11Will Hamilton now do the same?

Lap 11The German comes out in 12th place but is soon up to 11th as he passes Perez.

Lap 10Hamilton isn't pulling away though as Vettel pits from second.

Lap 10Button's last lap was almost two seconds quicker than Vettel! Surely the reigning two-time world champion will have to come in like teammate Webber soon?

Lap 9The times are changing a bit at the front as Hamilton moves two seconds clear of Vettel and Button gets within six seconds. Looks like the McLarens may have better pace over the course of the race.

Lap 9Senna passes Kovalainen for 17th as Webber is the first of the big guns to pit. He puts on a set of the harder, yellow-marked tyres.

Lap 8Looks like Button is finding his feet as he cuts the lead to Hamilton to 6.3s.

Lap 8Since coming in Massa is now by far the fastest on track with his new tyres. The Brazilian is told by his engineer Rob Smedley to take advantage of this and get back into the race.

Lap 7Pressure is being applied by Raikkonen on Schumacher for the final points-scoring 10th place. Can the Finn get past?

Lap 7The stewards announce that there will be no further action on certain cars who cut corners in the opening lap. The officials have deemed that they were taking avoiding action.

Lap 6Vettel's just coming back at Hamilton a little here. The lead was 1.8s but Vettel's pulled it back to 1.5s.

Lap 5Hamilton is around 1.6s ahead of Vettel but Button is being dropped at 6.6s behind the leader.

Lap 5TOP 10 UPDATE: 1 Hamilton 2 Vettel 3 Button 4 Maldonado 5 Alonso 6 Di Resta 7 Webber 8 Grosjean 9 Rosberg 10 Schumacher

Lap 4Further back and Raikkonen has got ahead of Hulkenburg for 11th place and Senna has made his way into the top 20.

Lap 3Alonso had a stinker of a start but showed his world-class skill to hold off challenges from behind before retaking fifth place from Di Resta.

Lap 3Replays show that Maldonado got a great start in second but was suffering from understeer in the opening couple of corners that let Vettel and Button through.

Lap 2The Brazilian suffered a left-rear puncture and will now surely struggle to gain any points today.

Lap 2Massa's had a shocker and is down in last and limps into the pits.

Lap 1Hardly any contact to speak of although the two Caterhams have come together! Friendly fire!

Lap 1So it's Hamilton, Button and Vettel at the front.

Lap 1Alonso was nearly passed by Di Resta but he's back in front.

Lap 1No crash on the opening corner as Button also passes Maldonado.

Lap 1Hamilton holds his lead but Vettel has Maldonado.

STARTFive red lights illuminate, then go out and WE ARE AWAY IN SINGAPORE!

1.00pmFORMATION LAP: The majority of drivers seem to be on the red-marked super-soft tyres that have proved to be much quicker this weekend.

12.59pmIf Hamilton does get away cleanly and go on to win then Alonso will need to try and get up there to ensure his championship lead isn't cut by too much. The Spaniard is currently 37 points clear at the top.

12.57pmPrediction time and I can't look past Hamilton, who is around 8/11 for the win. Vettel from third is at the 4/1 mark, while if you fancy Maldonado to upset the odds you can get 18/1!

12.56pmWill Hamilton be able to get away cleanly from Maldonado, who he has had plenty of run-ins with in the past. Perhaps most notably at Valencia earlier this year, where the Venezuelan swiped Hamilton out of the race.

12.55pmJust five minutes until the off then!

12.53pmThe aerial shots from above Singapore are quite mesmerising. We see a floodlit golf course and the Marina Bay Sands hotel and it's remarkable infinity pool.

12.51pmSauber's Perez says that he is hopeful of picking up "good points" from 14th.

12.50pmCeleb spot as Katy Perry is shown to be enjoying the grid.

12.49pmWhat a legend Jackie Stewart is! The veteran Scot is on the grid in full tartan trousers and cap. Quality.

12.48pmThe biggest names in F1, Ecclestone, Stewart et al, are now to observe a minute's silence in memory of 'The Prof'.

12.46pmA small period of silence is followed by a song from some young local girls who are standing atop the podium.

12.45pmThe drivers and staff from the teams are now honouring the late Professor Sid Watkins, who passed away last week.

12.43pmButton, starting from fourth, says that "all is OK" and that he is looking forward to this "very special race" under the floodlights.

12.41pmWe're unsure how many pit stops the team will be taking this afternoon. One seems out of the question as this is the longest race on the calendar, two or three is more likely.

12.40pmRosberg reveals that temperatures inside the cockpit go well above 50 degrees! That's insane.

12.38pmForce India's Hulkenburg admits to Sky Sports F1 that yesterday didn't go to plan. The German starts from 11th, with teammate Di Resta five places ahead.

12.37pmSelected others that are further back are Raikkonen (12th) and Massa (13th).

12.35pmGRID: 1 Hamilton 2 Maldonado 3 Vettel 4 Button 5 Alonso 6 Di Resta 7 Webber 8 Grosjean 9 Schumacher 10 Rosberg

12.34pmFirst things first, let's remind ourselves how the grid looks today.

12.30pmAllo allo! Should be a cracking race at what is arguably the most spectacular F1 venue this afternoon.
ID:46584: cacheID:46584:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:31792:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Singapore Grand Prix
Read Next:
Live Commentary: Singapore GP quali - as it happened
>
rhs 2.0


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!