As Lewis Hamilton took a fourth Singapore Grand Prix at Marina Bay last weekend, a feeling of deja-vu is now descending upon this year’s world championship.
As the teams, fans and drivers alike prepared for the weekend, many anticipated it to be a Ferrari slam-dunk win guaranteed, avenging last year’s catastrophe for the team.
Instead, just like 12 months ago, the team in red leave the race knowing that their hope of a drivers’ championship this decade will most likely remain vacant.
Even after Hamilton’s storming pole position on Saturday, many still expected Sebastian Vettel to finish ahead of the British driver, whether it be at the start, via strategy, or simply having the faster car to overtake in.
Yet with six races to go, Hamilton’s win in Singapore leaves him with one hand on the title, perhaps with him even taking it before the season finale in Abu Dhabi again.
With neither Red Bull and Ferrari’s drivers taking the fight to Hamilton during qualifying, when the lights went out on Sunday evening, the start was the closest the two title protagonists came to each other all race.
As Hamilton led the field away from pole, Max Verstappen had to relinquish second place to Vettel into turn seven, the extra Ferrari horsepower proving too much for the under-powered Red Bull.
Vettel then had his main target directly in front of him, and appeared to have a much faster car. He stayed within 1.5 seconds of him for the first 11-12 laps, as Hamilton intentionally nursed the hypersoft tyres until he could push at the end of the stint.
And after an apparent radio miscommunication from Ferrari, they pitted the German onto ultra soft tyres on lap 14, feeding him out just behind Sergio Perez in the Force India.
Whilst the traffic didn’t affect the track position of Hamilton, who came in one lap later, it meant Vettel emerged behind Verstappen, surrendering second place as well.
Although Verstappen kept Hamilton in range throughout the remainder of the race, and even nearly passing him when they encountered backmarkers, the Brit ended up finishing nearly nine seconds ahead of the Dutchman.
Vettel remained in third, and in doing so lost a further 10 points in the title race on a track where he was expected to dominate. He is now 40 points behind Hamilton with just six races remaining.
Valtteri Bottas finished a distant fourth, followed by Kimi Raikkonen and Daniel Ricciardo, meaning Mercedes increased their lead in the constructors’ championship to 37 points.
A race that has often proved decisive in title battles in the past, this one has a big resemblance to last year’s.
Vettel and Ferrari leave the circuit knowing this weekend could prove the stimulus for a Mercedes double at the end of the season once more.
joeharbert 