Lewis Hamilton secured a victory against the odds as he won the Singapore Grand Prix on a track that was expected to suit the Ferrari’s above all else. And yet for all the apparent ease in which Hamilton claimed his 69th race win Ferrari’s supposed superior chassis and engine was AWOL on race day. Hamilton’s win also demonstrated that the drive to develop a faster car doesn’t necessarily equate to more horsepower. In the case of the Mercedes F1 W09 it’s also about understanding the car and how to make it work better race by race.

The grueling 61 lap race “Monaco on steroids” as Hamilton refers to the Singapore Grand Prix, was in truth rather processional. But there was a bit of interest and entertainment in the midfield. As there always is. The start was marred by a collision between Force India teammates, Sergio Perez, and Sebastian Ocon. Three turns into the race Ocon was out having been accidentally-on-purpose rammed into the wall by Perez. Vettel, who had started third managed to slip into second just as the yellow flags were waved. The safety car was deployed but when the race resumed Hamilton sped away and built a comfortable gap. The race descended into a procession between the top three, Hamilton controlled his pace until the first round of pitstops. He upped the pace a few laps before he was due to pit to prevent an early stopping Vettel from undercutting into the lead, doing so all but secured victory. Vettel’s attempts to undercut Hamilton was thwarted by traffic, the irony being that Verstappen was able to undercut the Ferrari driver. And from there on in Hamilton had the race to himself. Sebastian Vettel seemed down on pace on a track that has suited the Ferrari in the past and was expected to do so again. Specifically at the Singapore Grand Prix Mercedes has performed poorly over the last 4 years. Meanwhile, Sergio Perez was involved in another incident. battling with the slower Williams for position Perez grew increasingly frustrated at not being able to pass Sirotkin. By lap 33 Perez managed to find a way past. Side by side Perez deliberately turned his vehicle into the path of Sirotkin’s Williams. Both cars survived Perez’s attempted kamikaze overtake, Perez should have been black-flagged but instead was given a drive-through penalty. He qualified 7th and ended the race in 16th. Meanwhile, Hamilton built up a comfortable enough margin over Verstappen who momentarily threated the for the lead of the Singapore Grand Prix when Hamilton encountered heavy traffic. But it was just a split second of a threat. Ferrari should have won the Singapore Grand Prix, they have the faster car and one of the fastest drivers who is a 4-times F1 champion. However, all the stats and careful preparation cannot calculate the Hamilton factor. The Hamilton factor is part human, part machine and no algorithm based metric can defeat it. Race Results: Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore