Rate the race: 2017 Singapore Grand Prix

2017 Singapore Grand Prix

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What did you think of today’s race? Share your verdict on the Singapore Grand Prix.

Since 2008, F1 Fanatic has held polls on every F1 race to find out which fans thought of each round of the season.

Join in the latest poll and give your verdict on the race: 10 being the highest and 1 the lowest. Please vote based on how entertaining and exciting you thought the race was, not on how your preferred driver or team performed.

What were the best and worst moments of the race? What was the main thing you’ll remember about it? Rate the race out of ten and leave a comment below:

Poll result

This poll has now closed. The 2017 Singapore Grand Prix received an average rating of 6.4 out of 10 which is the lowest this race has received since 2013.

View more Rate the Race results:

See the results for past seasons here:

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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111 comments on “Rate the race: 2017 Singapore Grand Prix”

  1. Enjoyed the racing and strategy after turn 1. Did not appreciate only 12 cars finishing thanks to crashes, errors and mechanical issues.

  2. The best of Vettel on Saturday, followed by the worst on Sunday. Unquestionable pace, questionable special awareness.

  3. A bit boring-ish at times, but relatively decent overall.

    1. I was going to give it an average 5 but just couldn’t find anything beyond a big crash to justify even an average rating, settled for 4. The race was very processional with most place-changes being due to retirements or safety car serendipity. I was surprised to see so many people rating it highly, I guess the slippery conditions provided some suspense and unfortunately some fans may have just been happy to see LH leap to the front of the standings.

      1. +1, same here

  4. Best racing ever, the overtaking was amazing, so good.

  5. Awful, awful performance by ricciardo and bottas. There was only one driver left after the crash on track today, Hamilton.

    1. That was my take also later i hear that Ricciardo had an gear issue. Lewis did good an bit lucky escaping the melee twice :)

  6. Like watching paint dry.

    1. Blimey where do you get your paint from?

    2. Lol, exactly

    3. Lots of Ferrari paint will be drying (or crying) over the next two weeks lol

    4. Guessing your paint is red?

    5. While some may rate a race based on how their favorite driver/team did, I do not. After the first corner the race was largely processional and the result was never in doubt, thus I found it boring.

      1. I agree with you about the front of the pack but there was some amazing action in the midfield.

        1. Action in the midfield? Where?

          1. Kvyat ran off the road at one stage, all by himself. Amazing!

          2. Magnussen had some phenomenal passes through some of the tightest sections of the course. Kvyat threw in a good few moves before he threw it in the barriers too.

            Magnussens pass through the tunnel I could just watch over and over.

            On the whole, as a two hour street race, 75% of the race I zoned out, but tbh 25% interesting racing is more than your average Grand Prix, even if the interest wasn’t at the front this time.

            Shame about Ricciardos gearbox issues though

          3. Actually that bit on Ricciardo’s gearbox is why he is a top driver: because he managed to complete the race with a good result when the car had a potentially race threatening problem. There is a small percentage of problems that the driver has an influence over, and by changing the way you drive can make the difference between completing the task set (in this case to race to the finish line) and not completing the task. Beating Hamilton was never going to happen, but he stayed ahead of Bottas.

  7. Michael Brown (@)
    17th September 2017, 14:56

    It could have been more exciting with the top 3 not retiring, but we got decent battles in the midfield. It’s a shame we were robbed of more battles with Hulkenberg and Magnussen retiring.

    1. Well said @mbr-9 – I think with Vettel, a great starting raikkonen (and Hamilton!), and fast Verstappen on a damp track the race could have been stellar, but as it was it was good enough, and at moments tense (partly because I didn’t know about Ricciardo’s gearbox, I guess) race with some good fights in the midfield, so 8/10.

  8. 7/10. Championship over.

    1. oh boo hoo. My word, I can’t believe some F1 fans. I mean how can you be a fan of a sport when you throw a strop after every race. The exact same thing could happen to Hamilton in the next 6 races and Vettel could win the championship by over 100 points. There’s everything still to play for. Honestly, some people really need to calm down and stop with these kind of comments because they are just meaningless. Its likely Hamilton will win his 4th Championship, but one DNF or a bad result and it’s almost all equal again.

      1. 28 points difference. With Nico last year it was similar at some point, when Lewis was ahead. However, the Mercedes looked very strong in race trim here today. They will be the better car in the races to come, and Bottas is nowhere near Hamilton.

        Also, Ferrari looks incapable of dealing with the situation. They can’t handle the heat of a real championship battle. The pressure Marchionne puts on the team is ridiculous.

        I think championship over is a fair assesment.

    2. @mashiat Are you serious? Everything to play for. This just makes it more interesting or do you like one horse races?

      1. Championship over +1, prepare to be bored..

  9. So that’s it then..championship is over…might as well switch off till March next year.

    1. Yes, you’ll be able to enjoy the halo.

    2. What if Lewis scores a DNF and Seb gets 25 points? I think it’s too soon for such conclusions…

      1. Then at least ham loses the title because of a dnf. Just like last year.
        At least ham fans think….

  10. I don’t think Hamilton could have hoped for better. Victory with Vettel out, and Vettel might get a grid penalty for the next race.

    1. +1 …The FIA should do some talking…VET and VES have gotten away with some very questionable decisions that has put a lot of other drivers at risk. I look at RIC and see a model for so many drivers to follow – his desire to finish the race is strong and therefore he gets the maximum out his car over a race (as opposed to VES who is so obviously trying to get the maximum out of his car over a small portion of the race).

      1. I agree. VES got punished appropriately for his mistakes this year. 5s penalty for the RIC collishion and a few penalty points.

        I’d argue Vettels mistake was very similar today. Just trying to get a good position too quickly, while VES was already next to him.

        So Vettel should receive something similar for that, which I trust the stewards will take care of – as they also did at the Baku incident..

        1. Lol,
          VER drives for RBR, not FIArrari…
          Racing incident!

    2. Not with Pirro as a steward.

  11. 6/10. I expected a chaotic and very eventful race ala Monaco 2008 but it was rather boring regarding the circumstances. Ricciardo never challenged Hamilton and Bottas’s pretty comfortable third place was quite underwhelming too as the underdogs again failed to capitalise on their chances to get the podium.

  12. Nick (@theawesomefish)
    17th September 2017, 14:59

    Rated 5, can’t say I enjoyed it too much. Madness at the start which shook things up, but it was fairly processional after that, and devolved into yet another race where Hamilton led from the start and was totally unchallenged. Would have much preferred an actual scrap at the front.

  13. Race was generally a 6-8 based on action, love the clear evidence of ecstatic Hamilton and enraged Vettel fans in the stats (as of now 4% voting 1 and 10).

    1. @kimiraikkonen1207 That’s actually always the case regardless of who wins. I don’t think I have ever voted lower than 3 or higher than 9.

  14. Some nice battles in the first half, but after that, more or less processional. A decent 7 for me.

  15. Decent race. A lot drama on the start, some nice battles and superb drives from a few drivers.
    7.

  16. Absolute perfection. Absolute correction. This race outcome provides a much needed update to the season.

  17. After lap 1 it pretty much fell into a very long drawn out process of Watching Hamilton outpace Ricciardo followed by Ricciardo outpacing Bottas. Not much to enjoy as a fan, to be honest, and seems to have cemented the championship for Hamilton 4/10

    Also hugely disappointing to see Hulkenberg robbed of a podium opportunity.

  18. 1/10. Except mad max crazy crash against the Ferraris, nothing happen.

    1. Take of that red glasses. Ver did nothing wrong.

  19. 7/10, always enjoy watching the driving in these conditions. Phenomenal car control with back ends moving around and fronts lacking traction. Crazy start, and been a while since so few cars finished a race.

  20. Would’ve been a 6.5 if we could use decimals, but we can’t, so it’s a 7.

    Strategies were quite interesting (and the risky choice ending up paying — Carlos Sainz). Big boo for the untimely retirements and Magnussen and Hulk.

  21. 9. Spectacular first half – crashes, brave overtakes and unpredictable action, a bit slower in the second half unfortunately but still an excellent race.

    Shame for the championship of course but 6 races to go.

  22. A 7 for me…lots going on throughout the field…..Well done Jolyon on his first points…..Am sure Max was “ganged up” on at the start….think we all new Seb would lean on him…and that Max had nothing to lose, so he was going to get past him…didn’t realise Kimi would join in as well….well whatever the stewards say…Ferrari got the worst penalty…a loss of 25 points….still not a great F1 track though

  23. After the initial kaos it got a bit predictable, Merc found some unexpected speed and cruised to a win…5.

  24. Thought it was pretty good. Lack of action at the very front was a bit disappointing and losing four cars at Turn 1 (Alonso was pretty much out then) wasn’t good, but there was some great racing in the midfield, strategically it was interesting, some drivers put in excellent displays and it was nice getting to see a wet-ish race in Singapore for the first time.

    Gave it an 8.

  25. 5: Damn shame, three world champions out on the first lap doesn’t make for a competitive race.
    Lewis got his miracle !

  26. Not much action after the start, shame that Ricciardo had that gearbox problem and couldn’t challenge Hamilton.

  27. This isn’t good for the championship. It’ll be hard for Seb to claw his way back from this now. 5/10

  28. 6/7 I plumped for a 7, but only just. It had potential that never materialised. Even with three safety cars, they were not able to inject some life into it. I guess this is par for the course with a street circuit. Singapore always seems to offer more potential, but I think that is just part of the allure/distraction with it being at night and in this instance, wet.

    I rounded it up to a 7 also due to the wet nature of the track. This added a bit more intrigue and something we have not seen at Singapore before. While this contributed to the drama on the first corner (although this was avoidable), the rain did not really impact much over the course of the race. In fact, it may have dampened (no pun intended) any potential on track action….

    1. Well… the rain did bring a SC that presumably wouldn’t have happened in dry conditions (Kyvat).

  29. I do not quite understand people who give the race a bad grad just because the championship fight seems very far gone now – after all, it was if anything Vettel throwing it away himself, a bit like a Hamilton in China 2007 moment – that’s fair I’d say so if he doesn’t win it, that’s okay. And if he does – well that will be a great story of how he managed to come back from today then!

  30. 8/10 A race that have water in the track and we don’t get red flag or Safety Car out of nowhere? Not even delayed start or SC start. And when Safety Car deployed it’s just clear the track of obstacles and the race resumed quickly? It’s been a long time since I can properly see drivers showcasing their ability in changing condition, and on that note Hamilton is in a league of his own today.

  31. Gave it a one. There was no race after the first turn. So I’ll rate it a one after the first turn.

  32. 2/10.
    It was pretty much over by T1, and effectively over by T4, a few interesting midfield battles, great defense by Sainz at times, litte else.

    Seb screwed up big time (in his defense I’d say he had no way of knowing Kimi was at the other side of Max so he might think he was leaving enough room). In a way, it was Kimi’s superb start that undid Ferrari’s race. Oh, the irony.

    And yes, it was the gift of the century, both championships are now over.

    Bring on 2018!!

  33. Last 30mins were boring at best rest of the race was exciting with some good overtakes being done on track.

  34. Race?
    Where ?

    Great if you are with Mercedes, poor for Red Bull or Ferrari.

    I am curious about Red Bull’s pace during the race, Ricciardo couldn’t get anywhere near Lewis during the race, both in the wet and when the track dried up.

    5 out of 10 if I am objective neutral

    9 out of 10 as a Lewis fan !

    1. RIC said some things to HAM right before the podium — it wasn’t really audible from my broadcast, but apparently (and that is after translation from the broadcaster), RIC had bad tires sets for the whole race.

      That sound like a somewhat not-adequate setup to be, but whatever.

      1. Thank

        That may explain it then.

  35. 4.

    Aside from some midfield action, which at best was sporadic, this was a phenomenally boring race.

  36. After the racing incident at the start (3 world champions and a fast youngster eliminated), the remainder of the “race” was a totally predictable procession. Mercedes win, Kvyat crashes. After counting out DNFs, Hamilton made up one place, Ricciardo lost one, Bottas still third. Perhaps a few good scraps in midfield, Palmer did well, Hulkenberg was unlucky. So, below average — a 4/10.

  37. I was thinking… Wow wet race, vettel, max, hamilton from the back here is his chance to shine wooho..

    What happened was… Two thirds of my expected entertainmentent ended on second straight, followed by Hamilton cruising to an easy win, Riciardo nursing a gearbox and Bottas struggling for pace. Alonso retired, well many retired.

    Gave it a five.

    1. @jureo But Hamilton did really shine. 2s faster than Bottas which is not a bad driver and 0.5-1s faster than the supposedly better Red Bull is not an easy feat.

      1. Oh he did drive briliantlly. But he did not shine from entertainment point of view.

  38. For me, a Hamilton fan, it was a GREAT RACE!!!!!

    10/10, no less.

    1. 2008 finale like rubbish win.

  39. Exciting start boring race. I give it a 5 it was another boring procession after everything settled out. Lewis was never in any kind of fight at all. Due to Vettles stupidity he took himself out. It was another case of him panicking when he saw Max coming up, he tried to slam the door to hard and ended up taking out three cars in the process. He has only himself to blame at this point, he needed to stay ahead of Lewis not Max so he took a huge risk trying to block when it was not necessarily needed. F1 is starting to suffer from Schumacher syndrome, Lewis all the time every time it makes the races seem meaningless when no one else has a chance at all of being in first. Yeah a solid 5 for me.

  40. Brilliant unexpected 25 points for Ham, I couldn’t see him getting better than 5th place, thank you, thank you, thank you Vet :) Still only worth 6/10 tho.

    1. Yes. I did think it might just be possible for Hamilton to win the race, and I was expecting things like tyre changes and DRS to be critical to him winning, but I was completely wrong. As it turned out the start was crucial for Hamilton’s win, the most important reason being he just managed to avoid being collateral damage to Ferrari’s suicidal fear of being beaten by the guy 6th in the World Drivers’ Championship. If Verstappen had somehow managed to pass Vettel at the start and the order at the end of the race was Verstappen first, Vettel 2nd and Hamilton 5th then Vettel would be 5 points ahead of Hamilton. If the order at the end of the race was Vettel first and Hamilton 5th, then Vettel would be 12 points ahead of Hamilton, but instead he is now 28 points in arrears.
      So far this season Hamilton has 8 Pole Positions compared to Vettel’s 3. I’ve heard various comments suggesting the remaining races will favour the Mercedes car more than the Ferrari car, if so then Hamilton’s advantage in obtaining Pole Positions make it more likely he will get higher places at the end of those races than Vettel. Vettel now has a very steep hill to climb to overhaul Hamilton.

  41. A typical F1 lottery. What’s not to like? You’ve got to take the rough with the smooth. 8/10.

  42. 6/10. Three out of five top contenders out after the first lap kinda ruins it; it might’ve been okay for a short race like Monza, but for the top two to follow each other with a reasonable gap for two whole hours without nothing happening makes it a bit boring. The midfield action was solid with some nice overtaking.

  43. 8/10. Could have been 9 had the race not been already finished at the lastrestart.

    Was it me or it seemed like they did one lap in excess? Or the timing screen was rubbish (as it was throughout the race)

    1. @spoutnik, basically, the way it works is that the race finished on the lap after the two hour time limit has been reached. Because Hamilton crossed the line about ten seconds before the time limit ticked down to zero to start his 57th lap, that meant that the race finished on the 58th lap.

  44. ILuvSoundtracks (@)
    17th September 2017, 19:00

    6/10.

  45. 8/10

    Could have been a 7 but compared to some I have given 7 to this year, this race was better. An exciting start and some interesting battles mid field with a few good overtakes. Just a shame there was no real battle at the front despite all the safety cars.

    RBR were very disappointing considering their performance in qualifying. I also fear the championship may be as good as over.

    Merc have looked pretty solid since the summer break and remember it was one DNF that largely put paid to Hamilton’s chance last year. So the same could be true for Vettel in 2017. Funny how luck evens out.

  46. Should have said that without the later safety cars, Hamilton probably would have won by 15 seconds.

  47. Aside from the spectacular banging at the start, pretty boring. I was on my phone waiting for the first safety car to pull in and didn’t even realized they had started. Took me awhile to realize they were at racing speed thanks to the wet track, slow speeds and these god-awful sounding engines. Alonso losing P3 after another fantastic start was also a major letdown but with his luck this year, hardly surprising I guess. As he said in the interview, hopefully he uses up all his bad luck this year.

  48. What a bummer !

    Seriously Vettel put too much at risk and blew it. Both Ferraris out , nice

    Like Max said there was no need to defend and risk at the start , Max isn’t a championship contender, the only guys Vettel had to watch out for were the Mercs. Obviously he did not see Kimi coming up , that i think is where he made the mistake, assumed Max would move over but there was no space.

    I woke up early today to watch this and went right back to sleep after the crash. Results were as expected.

    Just hope luck plays a part on Hamilton on the coming races and Vettel can even it out, otherwise my next few months will be pretty dissapointing.

    1. @redbullf1, Hamilton had enough bad luck already. Headrest coming off in Baku (lost win), tyre issues in Q3 Hungary (looked good for pole and possible win otherwise), random setup issues at a few high downforce circuits (would have lost points anyway, but now really couldn’t race at all).

      Hamilton has been lucky that Vettel has been performing poorly (Spain, Canada, Silverstone, Spa, Baku, Singapore), but that doesn’t really count as luck of course.

      1. Well said, all good points and true, I hope Hamilton does not suffer any mechanical/electrical/structural problems in future races so he can do his thing and also not be punted into the scenery by erratic rivals.

        1. @patrickl you’re saying that setup issues are bad luck? that’s stretching a bit now. Ferrari had also tyre issues on monza if you’re including that. if you count those as bad luck. then surely you should also count Silverstone as bad luck for Vettel because his tyre disintegrated and in Canada his wing was swiped by an aggressive max. Meanwhile, Bottas was sacrificed in spain which Vettel would have won if it was a straight fight.

          1. No, I’m saying that a car that has random setup issues is bad luck in the sense that it’s not the drivers fault.

            Only Raikkonen had a tyre issue in Q3. That indeed is also bad luck, but not for Vettel. Bottas also had those, but again not relevant.

            Vettel’s tyre disintegrating was a chain of events starting with a poor Q3, below average start, poor recovery, bad call to try and undercut and then finally driving too long and with too much kerb cutting on that tyre. Which he all did himself. Actually he keeps doing that and still does not learn.

            Vettel also messing up his start in Canada was what cause him to get into the fray with Verstappen and Bottas. Then not backing out when he was clearly behind both Verstappen and Bottas at the corner entry is also his own fault.

            Vettel got played in Spain. Plain and simple. That’s not bad luck. Raikkonen was sacrificed to save Vettel in Hungary as well.

          2. @siegfreyco Sorry, forgto to tag you, see above

    2. We already had a world championship won through ‘luck’ last year, we don’t want another.

      Here’s to both contenders having reliable cars and no silly penalties til the end. If they crash those cars (as Vettel did on Sunday) then it’s on them.

      1. @offdutyrockstar

        Yes I too wish the same – reliable cars, good respectful battle for the championship,

        But there is no way in hell for Vettel to catch up to Hamilton in the next 6 races that is why I said so. Next set of tracks favor the Mercs more as they are high speed circuits. Hoping for the best.

  49. I voted 2. Maybe in hindsight should’ve voted 3 tho.

  50. Fair amount of interest in the tire strategies and mid-pack fights. I expected a parade in the top runners and that’s what we got, only the names were changed. As much as I hate full course cautions these today made sure that there was not much coulda, woulda, shoulda second guessing. The best man/car left standing after lap one won.

    All in all an entertaining race.

  51. 5. Boring. Hoped for more racing with all the safety cars. Red Bulls unable to challenge led to a disappointing outcome.

  52. 5/10 Bad advert for Singapore

  53. I gave it a 4.

    Start was chaotic and exciting, but too many good drivers were knocked out permanently, so there was little drama afterward. For the first time this season, we had 6 cars that were closely competitive, plus Alonso. Could have been a cracker of a race. Instead, the only car that could have competed with Lewis was crippled, ie Ricciardo, and so we ended up getting a procession at the front. The midfield fights created some entertainment, but with about 20 laps left I got bored and turned off.

  54. I find it amusing that at the time of writing, 4% think this race was equivalent to the greatest F1 race they’ve ever seen (10/10) while 7% presumably think it was the most boring, processional, predictable race they’ve ever seen (1/10). Guess some people only care who wins.

    I voted a fairly generous 6/10. Most of the excitement was over after the first 10 seconds. A bit unfortunate since it would have been great to see the former champions and RB drivers all in the mix in those conditions.

  55. The first race in a while where the ending was boring. Singapore couldn’t have done a better job with the venue.
    Can’t help but feel robbed of Alonso’s best and probably last chance to genuinely score big for McHonda.

  56. 3… Was there. After the start and the collision, the rest race was boring…

  57. Didn’t rate it much, got to watch it this morning, disappointed at the first corner incident.
    Was hoping for Dan to have a go at Lewis but even after SC the gaps just opened up.
    Whether the RB had box problems or tyre issues it made for a static top 3. No idea what was going on with Bottas?
    Lewis did a good job and got the points.

    Was hoping for a bit more.

  58. geoffgroom44 (@)
    18th September 2017, 10:05

    Unless I am mistaken there were effectively 4 ‘starts’ in this race (1 + 3 safety cars), an unusually higher number of ‘race incidents’, tricky wet track conditions, in the dark/floodlit, humid.Just watching so many cars ‘twitching’ in the slippery conditions was almost like watching ice skating.
    Some noticeable performances from drivers not in the top 5 and some intriguing strategy shifts.

    A pity the Ferrari ‘two man tackle’ on Max went wrong as it could have been a very different race and Ferrari did themselves no good service with their ‘Max blaming tweet’. As far as I know, in the non-Ferrari world, nr.2 does not have to move over to let nr. 4 through like some form of gentlemanly butler,but Vettels move across showed that the Scuderia felt threatened by Max.

    I am guessing,therefore, that when others describe such a race as ‘boring’, this is really just the codeword used to say ‘dammit, it was Hammertime again’.
    A masterful performance from Lewis. Stretching his tyres to 30 laps while everyone else is busy changing their wellies and always staying in control after each safety car.
    As a Hamfan I would like to give it 10, but in an attempt at fairness I’ll give it 8.

  59. Voted it a solid 8 since you cant expect too many overtakes in Singapore anyways. First lap crash gave midfield a good chance to score points. Sainz really stood out for me and so did Hulkenberg. Unlucky for him, had to retire and missed out on his first podium opportunity again. Hamilton made the max of the situation and Ricciardo/Bottas showwed they are not championship material to me. Hopefully season gets more interesting than boring from hereon.
    PS: Maximum comments from people who have rated it low. 45% people have rated it 7-8.

    1. @architjain07 it would be unfair to other circuits though if you are rating based on your expectations and not the actual race itseld only.

      1. @siegfreyco – Then Monaco should always be a dud since it never has any overtakes! Everything is decided either by pole or pit stops! yet it is the most watched/hyped up race. You cant expect Singapore to have 50 overtakes but the events that did unfold at the race did make it entertaining to me!

        1. @siegfreyco i am not saying it should be based on overtakes. I’m just saying it should be based on how you have enjoyed it like how you said in your reply that the events that did unfold at the race did make it entertaining to me

          1. @architjain07
            sorry. tagged myself hahaha

    2. Agree about Bottas, not about Ricciardo tho. RIC is really good. He needs a top car and he’ll do better than BOT. Those divebombs he performed more times than any other driver on the grid are not easy by any means. He may not be really ALO, HAM, VET, VER material, but it’s very close… together with Rosberg.

      1. @mg1982 – Totally agree that’s why RIC needs the best car on the grid to win the championship! ALO, HAM and even VER have and can win the championship with the second best cars too! RIC can only be a champion like ROS when he has the best car and his teammate carries a lot of bad luck throughout the season.

  60. I gave it a 7, because it was entertaining and we saw a few good drives, but like most races this season all the incidents proved to be far more entertaining (or frustrating) than the actual racing.

  61. I gave the race a 6.

    Before this weekend I thought the race would be quite processional with the order unlikely to significantly change after the first lap, however the inevitable safety car might spice things up.

    When it started to rain before the race I got my hopes up that we could be in for a classic. There was high drama at the start with Vettel’s move across the track resulting in Vettel, Raikkonen, Verstappen and eventually Alonso having to retire, although it must be noted that the wet conditions did not directly contribute to the crash at the start, If all the main drivers involved had made the same starts in the dry, most importantly Vettel’s move to the left, then the end result would have been the same and they would still have crashed out.

    After the race restarted after the first safety car period it seemed to settle into the sort of race I initially predicted it would despite the rain, however the wet track allowed Hamilton to turn around the practice form which had the Mercedes as the third best car this weekend to take another victory.

    Overall the rain didn’t seem to enliven the race as I hoped, if it had been dry and the crash at the start had still happened then Ricciardo would probably have been quicker than Hamilton so we may have been treated to Ricciardo chasing down Hamilton for the victory.

    This has not been a good result for the battle for the driver’s title between Vettel and Hamilton. After qualifying it seemed all set for Vettel to retake the lead in the championship, and overall for it to go down to the final race, instead Hamilton increased his points lead so the gap is now more than a race win.

    With how competitive Mercedes and Ferrari are compared to each other, the only realistic hope for Vettel in the championship fight now is for Hamilton to suffer a DNF or a race where he finishes well down the order, but you just have to look at what happened to Hamilton last year to see that something like that it is not out of the question, so F1 could still yet head to Abu Dhabi at the end of the season for another title decider.

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