Singapore - In what has become another predictably one-sided Formula One championship, even the uncertainty of which Mercedes driver would win a race seems to have been taken away from us.
Already on seven wins this season and with his team-mate and chief rival Nico Rosberg severely winded after a mechanical failure in Monza two weeks ago, Lewis Hamilton seems inexorably headed to wear another F1 championship crown at the end of this season to sit atop his newly-blonde head.
Should Lewis be the victor in this Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix under floodlights, the British driver would match greats like Sebastian Vettel and Ayrton Senna on 41 wins. Only two drivers have ever won more F1 races: Alain Prost (51) and Michael Schumacher (91).
At Monza Hamilton increased his lead from 28 to 53 points and will win his third championship, to go with his titles in 2008 and 2014, even if he finishes second behind Rosberg in all remaining seven races.
Rosberg, for his part, plans to throw caution to the wind after his engine expired almost within sight of the Monza finish line while he was running in third place – the Mercedes team’s first engine retirement of the season.
“Now I approach the final seven races with the attitude that there’s nothing to lose. It’s maximum attack and I won’t be giving up the fight, no way,” said the German.
Singapore’s tricky Marina Bay street circuit demands extreme concentration, and a Mercedes hitting the barriers presents possibly the only hope for teams like Ferrari and Williams to sneak a victory. The Marina Bay layout makes overtaking difficult, often resulting in unsuccessful passing attempts leaving debris on the track and resulting in safety car appearances.
Every running of the race has featured at least one safety car, with a total of 10 deployments since the inaugural Singapore GP in 2008.
Star Motoring