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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.

Geely chairman is now the single biggest investor in Daimler

Li Shufu, the chairman and main owner of Chinese carmaker Geely, has built a stake of 9.69 percent in Daimler AG, the German carmaker said in a regulatory filing on Friday. The stake, worth nearly $9 billion at the current valuation for Daimler shares, makes Li the biggest single shareholder in the maker of Mercedes-Benz cars, trucks and vans headquartered in the German city of Stuttgart. A Daimler spokesman called the stake purchase a private investment by Li. "We are delighted, with Li Shufu, to have won over another long-term investor who is convinced of Daimler's innovative prowess, strategy and future potential," the spokesman said in response to a request for comment. "Daimler knows and respects Li Shufu as a Chinese entrepreneur of particular competence and forward thinking." Li's stake purchase makes him the top shareholder in Daimler ahead of the Kuwait Investment Authority, which owned 6.8 percent as of Sept. 30, according to Thomson Reuters data. Earlier this month, the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag reported that the Chinese industry giant was seeking to become Daimler's biggest shareholder, likely exceeding the 6.8-percent stake of the Kuwait Investment Authority. The paper said Daimler had reportedly turned down Geely's $4.5 billion offer for a 5-percent stake via a discounted share placement, saying that Geely could buy shares in the open market. Institutional investors currently own 70.7 percent of Daimler, and the company already has strong ties to Chinese automakers BAIC and BYD. Bild am Sonntag said the move was intended as a strategic alliance against Apple, Google and Amazon on autonomous and connected cars. And Reuters reported that Daimler wants to have bespoke "robo taxis" on the road quicker than Google's Waymo, and views Geely as a strong partner for that. Geely conversely is interested in Daimler's electric car battery technology, and sources quoted by the German paper say there are plans to establish joint electric car manufacturing in Wuhan, China, to meet China's smog-reducing quotas. Geely is developing the Lynk & Co. brand of electric and hybrid cars. Geely owns Volvo, which has enjoyed a renaissance under the arrangement, as well as the maker of London's black cabs. In December, it bought a stake in AB Volvo, the maker of Volvo trucks.

Max Verstappen wins rain-soaked German Grand Prix

HOCKENHEIM, Germany — Max Verstappen won a chaotic and rain-soaked German Grand Prix on Sunday as championship leader Lewis Hamilton finished 11th and his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas crashed near the end. Verstappen kept his composure on a treacherous track to clinch his second victory this season and seventh of his Red Bull career, topping a surprise podium ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel — who started from last — and Toro Rosso driver Daniil Kvyat. "It was amazing to win, it was really tricky out there, you had to be focused," Verstappen said. "It was about trying to not make too many mistakes. You learn over the years. I'm very happy with the result." Following this week's crushing heatwave, wet weather caused Hockenheimring havoc as drivers took up to six pit stops for new tires and several crashed at the same spot where a section of tarmac was notoriously slippery. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was in contention for a podium, despite starting from 10th, but crashed after switching for quicker tires and slid off the track, over the gravel and into the barriers. Remarkably, Hamilton had the same mishap moments later, mangling his front wing after losing control at the same corner. He came in for a new wing and tires, but it took Mercedes by surprise and a painfully long stop cost him any chance of victory. For Vettel it was a remarkable turnaround, and almost the opposite to last year — when he crashed near the end after leading the race from pole position and Hamilton won, having qualified only 14th. "It was a lot of fun, it was very tough to read what the smartest move was in the conditions," Vettel said. "I stayed tidy in the whole race. Congratulations to Max, he was superb." The red-clothed Ferrari mechanics and engineers mobbed the four-time F1 champion, doubtless relieved after the team's botched qualifying on Saturday. Vettel could not even get out on track to set a time and Leclerc's qualifying bid was undone late in the session, forcing him to start 10th. For Kvyat it was a third career podium but, above all, a point proved. The 25-year-old Russian driver was ruthlessly replaced at Red Bull by Verstappen after just four races of the 2016 season, and could not even get a seat in F1 last year. "Amazing to be back on the podium," Kvyat said. "The race was crazy. Incredible roller-coaster, like my whole career." The track was drenched by the time the race started. For safety reasons, a safety car was deployed.