Vettel wins Singapore GP as Ferrari scores 1-2 finish

After an incident-filled race that saw three Safety Cars being deployed, Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel took the chequered flag at the Formula One Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2019 ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc. This is Vettel's fifth victory in Singapore and his first win since Belgium 2018. Ferrari's top two finish also marks the first time a team has finished 1-2 in Singapore. 

Starting third on the grid behind teammate Leclerc and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, Vettel did not have a simple path to victory on a circuit notoriously difficult to overtake on. With Leclerc getting a good start off the line, Vettel was immediately caught in a tight battle with Hamilton for second place. Through the early portion of the race, most of the action was taking place further down the field, especially with Renault's Daniel Ricciardo valiantly battling his way up the field (a breach of rules saw the stewards demote him to the back of the grid). 

However, the turning point for Vettel was on lap 19, when he was told to pit ahead of his teammate Leclerc (in Ferrari's bid to cover off Red Bull's Max Verstappen and undercut Hamilton). When Leclerc eventually made his pitstop on lap 21, he came back out onto the track just behind Vettel, prompting some frustrated calls on the radio to hs race engineers. 

As has become customary in Singapore, the Safety Car was deployed on lap 35, after a coming together between a Hass and a Williams. The Safety Car would be needed a further two more times, pushing the race precariously close to the two-hour time limit.

The multiple safety cars appeared to have worked to Vettel's favour, allowing him to nurse his tyres. Even with Leclerc furiously chasing Vettel, but on fading tyres, Vettel managed to maintain his lead at the front and crossed the line 2.641s ahead of Leclerc. Verstappen finished third to complete the Singapore podium. 

The 2019 edition of the Formula One Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix also set a new record for the second highest attendance in its 12-year history, overtaking the record set last year. The night race drew 268,000 sepctators to the Marina Bay Street Circuit over three action-packed days.