Sebastian Vettel dedicated his second Singapore Grand Prix victory to Professor Sid Watkins who passed away earlier this month.
Watkins has done so much for the safety of the sport and he was honoured with a minute’s silence before the start of the race.
Vettel dedicated his win in what he described as “the toughest race of the year” to the 84-year-old former neurosurgeon.
“I think it’s one of the toughest races of the year to be honest,” said the Red Bull driver. “It’s very long – we did the full two hours – the circuit is a killer, there’s so many bumps, there’s no space for mistakes and the race just seems to go on forever. Obviously we benefitted a little bit from Lewis’ failure, which I could see a couple of laps before that he lost oil.
“Generally we had a very strong pace all weekend and a good start which got us in to second and in the hunt. The pace was there, so I’m just incredibly happy and proud because this is such a tough race.
“So, proud to win it and I’d like to dedicate it to one very special man; Mr Sid Watkins, who passed away. He will be remembered for sure, I think he’s one of the biggest reasons why we can go out on a circuit like this, enjoy ourselves and be reasonably safe. He pushed the boundaries in terms of safety for all of us, so a big thank you.”
