Sebastian Vettel benefits from a mechanical failure suffered by Lewis Hamilton to win back-to-back races in Singapore. Two Safety Cars meant the race couldn't meet its 61-lap criteria as the two hour mark meant three laps had to be cut off. It is the first time since 1991 that a dry race was unable to complete its full set of laps. The German now moves into second in the overall standings, Kimi Raikkonen remains third by finishing sixth. Jenson Button finished second with championship leader, Fernando Alonso, claiming another podium place.
Vettel started on the offensive from the start by moving straight into second place. Button had also gained a place, into third, in a relatively clean getaway. The only incidents saw Vitaly Petrov lose a front wing courtesy of contact with his teammate whilst Felipe Massa suffered a puncture. Both drivers were able to continue but came out at the back.
A rather quiet beginning saw both Red Bull cars pit earlier than most but it didn't harm either driver despite Mark Webber coming out in 20th and Vettel 12th. Hamilton did pit on lap-13 but only came out in fourth and Vettel had managed to overtake Raikkonen to put himself behind the McLaren.
Ten laps later and a comfortable looking race for Hamilton ended abruptly due to a mechanical failure, this gave Vettel the lead and he never looked back. The first Safety Car came on lap-33 when Narain Karthikeyan crashed into a barrier. Pastor Maldonado also had to retire two laps with a hydraulics problem, ended a rather decent weekend in disappointment for the Venezuelan, his ninth DNF.
The Safety Car came in on lap-39 with Button and Alonso taking their places behind Vettel. Button almost crashed into the back of the Red Bull during Vettel's attempt of slowing the pack back down after initially looking like speeding up. Webber had also managed to overtake Nico Hulkenberg after the Safety Car had left the track.
The Safety Car wasn't off the track for more than lap before it was deployed once again. This was because Michael Schumacher failed to brake and slow down enough before crashing into the back of Jean Eric-Vergne, taking both cars out. Many took advantage of the second Safety Car by pitting, but it almost ended in tears for Petrov who had to park the car outside the pits after his mechanics failed to tighten a wheel nut. He was wheeled back into the pits and was fortunately allowed to carry on.
The second Safety Car came in on lap-43 and there was almost another one deployed when Massa and Bruno Senna contacted. Luckily, both drivers just about managed to keep control of their cars with the Brazilian taking ninth.
Just behind the points, there was a real battle between Webber, Hulkenberg, Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi. It ended in tears when Perez and Hulkenberg initially contacted but were able to continue despite the Sauber losing his wing plate. But a lap later, lap-50, Hulkenberg would suffer a puncture at the hands of Kobayashi who suffered front wing damage, both drivers were able to make it back to the pits and carry on.
During that time, it had been announced that the race wouldn't be able to be completed by the two hour mark and the clock began to count down. With just over seven and a half minutes left, Webber had managed to overtake Senna to gain the final point. The final lap, lap-58, saw Bruno Senna lose all power and also had to retire along with Petrov. Race result:
1.Vettel (Red Bull), 2.Button (McLaren), 3.Alonso (Ferrari), 4.Di Resta (Force India), 5.Rosberg (Mercedes), 6.Raikkonen (Lotus), 7.Grosjean (Lotus), 8.Massa (Ferrari), 9.Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), 10.Webber (Red Bull), 11.Perez (Sauber), 12.Glock (Marussia), 13.Kobayashi (Sauber), 14.Hulkenberg (Force India), 15.Kovalainen (Caterham), 16.Pic (Marussia), 17.De La Rosa (HRT) DNF: Hamilton (McLaren), Karthikeyan (HRT), Maldonado (Williams), Schumacher (Mercedes), Vergne (Toro Rosso), Senna (Williams), Petrov (Caterham)
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