Sebastian Vettel reduced Fernando Alonso’s lead after he claimed his second victory of the season at the 2012 Singapore Grand Prix. Vettel inherited the lead from Lewis Hamilton who retired almost halfway into the race due to a gearbox failure.
Jenson Button couldn’t keep up with Vettel and had to settle for a second place finish ahead of Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari, while Paul Di Resta came home with a great result for his Force India team in fourth.
Nico Rosberg came from 10th on the grid to finish 5th in his Mercedes ahead both Lotuses of Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean who weren’t just fast enough to compete for higher position, and had to settle for 6th and 7th.
Alonso’s teammate Felipe Massa drove a fantastic race to 8th; the Brazilian came in contact with fellow countryman Bruno Senna on Turn 13, but that didn’t stop him from overtaking the Williams driver.
The safety car ruined Mark Webber’s chances of a better position as he finished the race down in 10th place behind Daniel Ricciardo’s Toro Rosso. Today’s race drops Lewis Hamilton back to fourth in the championship, 52 points behind leader Fernando Alonso.
Pos Driver Team Time 1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 2h00:26.144 2. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 8.959 3. Alonso Ferrari + 15.227 4. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 19.063 5. Rosberg Mercedes + 34.759 6. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault + 35.700 7. Grosjean Lotus-Renault + 36.600 8. Massa Ferrari + 42.800 9. Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 45.800 10. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 47.100 11. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 50.600 12. Glock Marussia-Cosworth + 1 lap 13. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap 14. Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap 15. Pic Marussia-Cosworth + 1 lap (*) 16. Kovalainen Caterham-Renault + 1 lap 17. De la Rosa HRT-Cosworth + 1 lap 18. Senna Williams-Renault + 2 laps 19. Petrov Caterham-Renault + 2 laps