Singapore Grand Prix (2013) RESULT

With Sebastian Vettel on pole once again in Singapore, can second place Rosberg in the Mercedes do anything to stop the German?

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel has won the last two races, in Belgium and Italy, to extend his lead in the drivers’ championship, and he started today’s Singapore Grand Prix in pole position.

And, just for a few seconds at the start of the race, it looked like Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes had got his fellow German’s measure as he swept past the Red Bull in the opening few yards.

But it was a short-lived lead as Rosberg went too deep going in to the first corner and Vettel swept by to re-take the lead, and kept it to the end in an imperious display of driving in what is now starting to look like an unbeatable Red Bull.

Behind Vettel was Fernando Alonso, who once more managed to turn poor qualifying in to a decent result, making his intentions clear at the start by sweeping from seventh on the grid to pass Grosjean, Webber and Hamilton.

Hamilton as also taken by Massa in the Ferrari, although he managed to grab his place back only to be forced to give it up after leaving the track confines to do it.

And really, that was about its, as the cars processed round the Singapore track, until Daniel Ricciardo managed to stuff his Toro Rosso in a barrier on lap 25, forcing the safety car out.

That saw many pit for the second time, although Vettel, Rosberg, Webber and Hamilton stayed out, but when the safety car pitted Vettel resumed his dominance and pulled away.

The safety car did mix the rest of the pack up, though, with Alonso making it to second place after Vettel’s last pit stop, many struggling to get to the end on tyres they grabbed under the safety car and others, like Hamilton and Rosberg in the Mercedes, and Webber in the Red Bull, flying through towards the end of the race.

For Rosberg and Hamilton that meant fourth and fifth places respectively, behind Vettel, Alonso and Raikkonen – whose bad back mended enough to go from thirteenth on the grid to third in the race – bt Webber went out on the last lap as his Red Bull’s oily bits gave up the ghost.

Jenson Button did manage to grab seventh for McLaren, with Perez taking eighth for a double points finish for the Woking team, and the top ten was completed by Nico Hulkenberg in the Sauber and Adrian Sutil in the Fore India.

But there’s seems little chance that anything can stop Sebastian Vettel from taking another world championship.