Sebastian Vettel dominated the Japanese Grand Prix, failing to come under pressure at any point during the race as he scampered away at the front.
The Red Bull driver looks poised to secure his third title after Fernando Alonso failed to finish the race thanks to a first lap incident which saw himself and Nico Rosberg retire.
The incident resulted in a safety car as several cars suffered damage, though most managed to rejoin the race. Alonso’s Ferrari though was beyond repair, helping Vettel to close in on the lead of the championship.
Felipe Massa drove brilliantly to return to the podium for the first time in 36 races, his last at the 2010 Korean GP.
Meanwhile it was a first podium for home favourite Kamui Kobayashi who came under immense pressure from Jenson Button in the closing laps but managed to hold on to finish 0.5 seconds ahead.
Lewis Hamilton completed the top five, whilst Kimi Raikkonen, Nico Hulkenberg, Pastor Maldonado, Mark Webber and Daniel Ricciardo completed the points scoring positions.
For a full race report, check out our live commentary here.
2012 Singapore GP Results: (* denotes 20-second time penalty)
| Pos | Driver | Team | Gap | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 25 | |
| 02. | F. Massa | Ferrari | +20.6 | 18 |
| 03. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | +24.5 | 15 |
| 04. | J. Button | McLaren | +25.0 | 12 |
| 05. | L. Hamilton | McLaren | +46.4 | 10 |
| 06. | K. Raikkonen | Lotus | +50.4 | 8 |
| 07. | N. Hulkenberg | Force India | +51.1 | 6 |
| 08. | P. Maldonado | Williams | +52.3 | 4 |
| 09. | M. Webber | Red Bull | +54.6 | 2 |
| 10. | D. Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | +1:06.9 | 1 |
| 11. | M Schumacher | Mercedes | +1:07.7 | |
| 12. | P. di Resta | Force India | +1:23.4 | |
| 13. | J. Vergne | Toro Rosso | +1:28.6 | |
| 14. | B. Senna | Williams | +1:28.7 | |
| 15. | H. Kovalainen | Caterham | +1 lap | |
| 16. | T. Glock | Marussia | +1 lap | |
| 17. | V. Petrov | Caterham | +1 lap | |
| 18. | P. de la Rosa | HRT | +1 lap | |
| 19. | R. Grosjean | Lotus | +2 laps | |
| 20. | C. Pic | Marussia | +16 laps | |
| 21. | N. Karthikeyan | HRT | +21 laps | |
| 22. | S. Perez | Sauber | +35 laps | |
| 23. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | +53 laps | |
| 24. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | +53 laps |
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