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Hamilton wins in Singapore as Vettel crashes out from pole

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Lewis Hamilton took a huge stride toward his fourth Formula One title on Sunday by winning an incident-packed Singapore Grand Prix after Ferrari title rival Sebastian Vettel crashed out at the start. The Mercedes driver now has a 28-point cushion over the German with six of the 20 races remaining. Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, who also emerged from the opening lap carnage unscathed, was second for the third year in a row with Finland's Valtteri Bottas completing the podium for Mercedes. "God blessed me today for sure," said Hamilton, who set a lap record on his way to a third win in a row, as he spoke from the podium on a night where everything fell into his lap. "I came here today really thinking it was about damage limitation, and we've come out ahead. So I'm very grateful," he said later. "To come to a track that was potentially our weakest circuit, and come away with a win like this and those points, it's really such a fortunate scenario... so I definitely have a skip in my step." The Briton cashed in after Vettel, Ferrari team mate Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull's front row contender Max Verstappen smashed into each other as they raced off the wet starting grid and into the first corner. Raikkonen had made a storming start from fourth, Vettel a less impressive one from pole position while Verstappen went for the middle ground and was caught in a Ferrari sandwich as they converged. The stewards summoned all three and decided no driver was predominantly to blame. BITTER BLOW The first race to be hit by rain in the decade that Singapore has hosted Formula One had started in treacherous conditions, puddles gleaming in the floodlights, after a formation lap behind the safety car. With Hamilton starting fifth, everything looked set for Vettel to retake the overall lead that he had surrendered only two weeks earlier at Monza in Italy. And then it all went wrong, the collision with Raikkonen punching a hole in the side of Vettel's car before he spun into the wall at turn three. "It's bitter but it's done," said the German, a four times Singapore GP winner, whose retirement ended a run of 18 successive points finishes and left him with a mountain to climb. "Championship-wise it's a big step forward," recognized Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff. "The quickest car and the quickest driver were out within a minute into the race and that can happen all the time.

The Ferrari GTC4Lusso T ditches the V12 and AWD for a turbo V8 and rear drive

Ferrari continues to turbocharge its lineup with the latest addition – the GTC4Lusso T. This car has the same body as the four-seat GTC4Lusso, but features a turbocharged V8 and sends power only to the rear wheels, a recipe that might just make the gorgeous, elongated hatchback even better to drive. Aside from the addition of the T badge, the majority of the updates were made under the car's body. Gone is the beastly naturally aspirated 6.3-liter V12, and in its place is a twin-turbocharged 3.9-liter V8. The new engine is similar to the one found in the California T, but it has been revised to make a little more power: The 3.9-liter in the GTC4Lusso T puts out 602 horsepower and 560 pound-feet of torque. That's a 78-hp decrease from the GTC4Lusso's V12 motor, but 46 lb-ft more. View 17 Photos While some will see the decrease in power as a downgrade, which it kind of is, the GTC4Lusso T is rear-wheel-drive only and, according to Ferrari, lighter. Much of that weight savings comes from removing the trick all-wheel-drive gearbox that sits in front of the V12 GTC4Lusso's engine, and its absence also shifts the vehicle's weight bias towards the rear, with a 46:54 split. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Ferrari claims the GTC4Lusso T's turbocharged V8 has been engineered for everyday driving with modular torque delivery and a muted exhaust note at low speeds. The vehicle's dynamic systems have also been updated with the 4WS (rear-wheel steering) and Side Slip Control (SSC3) now more responsive to steering wheel inputs. No performance figures for the turbocharged V8 model have been released, but the GTC4Lusso T should manage to get close to the GTC4Lusso's 0-to-62 mph time of 3.4 seconds, but have a lower top speed than the V12 model, which tops out at 208 mph. Already missing the naturally aspirated V12 and all-wheel drive? Don't fret, as a Ferrari spokesperson confirmed that the automaker will continue to sell the GTC4Lusso alongside the GTC4Lusso T. The new model will make its world debut at next week's Paris Motor Show. Related Video: Related Gallery 2017 Ferrari GTC4Lusso T News Source: FerrariImage Credit: Live photos copyright 2016 Drew Phillips / Autoblog Paris Motor Show Ferrari Coupe Hatchback Wagon Performance Supercars 2016 paris motor show

2016 Japanese Grand Prix | Hamilton faces the beginning of the end

We're told the Japanese mamushi viper haunts the undergrowth around Suzuka. If the pit viper attended the weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, it avoided human visitors but it put a nasty bite on Lewis Hamilton's championship hopes. The Briton, lined up second on the grid next to Mercedes-AMG Petronas teammate Nico Rosberg, flubbed his start. By the end of Turn 1 Hamilton was in eighth. Hamilton didn't suffer alone. The beginning of the race was a melee; many of the leaders got caught out either by the damp track or by having to swerve around slow starters. Only Mercedes' Nico Rosberg and Red Bull's Max Verstappen took off clean. The German rolled up another lights-to-flag victory despite the pass-happy race happening behind him. Rosberg was as unbothered by the Dutchman in second place as he was by the official Formula 1 camera feed. Verstappen didn't have much work to do until the final ten laps of the race. Thanks to the Mercedes team's strategy – or Ferrari waiting too long to pit – Hamilton got up to third on Lap 36 of 53. Unable to make a DRS-enabled pass on Verstappen down the front straight toward the end of the race, the Mercedes driver took a creative line through Spoon corner. Closing in down the back straight, Hamilton jinked inside to try a pass through the final chicane. Verstappen moved over in the braking zone while Hamilton was still behind him, closing the door on the move. Hamilton protested over his team radio, but seemed resigned to a third place finish after the incident – he didn't try any more passes in the final laps. The Ferrari duo of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen crossed the line fourth and fifth, respectively, in recovery drives after penalties. The scuderia tried an aggressive final stint after Hamilton successfully undercut Vettel in the pits. Ferrari put Vettel on the soft-compound Pirellis so he could hunt the Mercedes, but after a few laps of close pursuit the tires gave up and Vettel fell back. Daniel Ricciardo couldn't get comfortable in his Red Bull the entire weekend. The Aussie finished where he started, in sixth place. Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg followed the Red Bull home in two-up formation for Force India, Williams doing the same in the final two points-paying positions with Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas. Rosberg's 23rd career victory – his ninth of the season and first ever in Japan – puts him 33 points ahead of Hamilton in the Driver's Championship with four races left.