Sebastian Vettel demonstrated his vast supremacy yesterday when he won the Singapore Grand Prix to move within a point of becoming the youngest double world champion in Formula One history.

The 24-year-old , the defending champion, drove from pole position to the chequered flag in flawless style in his Red Bull car.

He won the floodlit 61-lap night race at the Marina Bay street circuit by a controlled 1.7 seconds.

Briton Jenson Button finished second in his McLaren to keep the title race just about alive with five races remaining. Australian Mark Webber in the second Red Bull finished third.

Vettel now requires just a solitary point to claim his second title in succession and can only be beaten to the title if Button wins all five of the remaining races while the German fails to score a further point.

With the next race the Japanese Grand Prix (October 7-9), there is every chance the peerless Vettel will seal his triumph – and make history – at the Suzuka circuit.

“Obviously, I am very pleased with the result and the car was great for me all the way through. I pulled away easily at the start and had a good gap, but the safety car was not in our plans,” said Vettel.

“I was lucky again to have a good re-start and I was soon back in the rhythm and I had a huge gap again, even with the traffic. I was in control at the end and it is a great feeling to win this race... I love the track here and it’s such a challenge.

“As to the championship? Ah, well, I guess I have another chance at the next race.”

Fernando Alonso, who needed to finish on the podium to keep his own challenge for the drivers’ title alive, came home fourth ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the second McLaren.

The Englishman produced a typically spectacular drive including five pit-stops, a collision and a charge from 16th through the field.

Another Briton, Paul di Resta, came home sixth for Force India, his best result to date in his rookie season in Formula One, ahead of Germans Nico Rosberg in seventh for Mercedes and Adrian Sutil in the second Force India.

Felipe Massa, of Ferrari, who was the victim of a collision with Hamilton in the early stages of an incident-filled contest, came home ninth.

Mexican Sergio Perez, whose collision with Michael Schumacher saw the German eliminated from the race, finished 10th.

It was Vettel’s ninth win this season and the 19th of his career. His Singapore triumph in sweltering humidity was heralded by an explosion of dazzling fireworks over the brightly-lit cityscape.

Vettel won in one hour, 59 minutes and 6.757 seconds, a time that signalled the longest and most arduous race of the year. He, Button and Webber stood still, dripping with sweat on the podium at the end.

Vettel pulled clear from his 11th pole position with apparent ease to take control early on, leaving the rest to scrap for places in a flurry of action into Turn One, Sheares Corner.

And he hardly looked back from there.

Grand Prix result

1. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) - 1hr 59mins 06.757secs
2. Jenson Button (McLaren) at 1.737 seconds
3. Mark Webber (Red Bull) - 29.279
4. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) - 55.449
5. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) - 1:07.766
6. Paul di Resta (Force India) - 1:51.067
7. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) - 1 lap
8. Adrian Sutil (Force India) - 1 lap
9. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) - 1 lap
10. Sergio Perez (Sauber) - 1 lap
11. Pastor Maldonado (Williams) - 1 lap
12. Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso) - 1 lap
13. Rubens Barrichello (Williams) - 1 lap
14. Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) - 2 laps
15. Bruno Senna (Lotus-Renault) - 2 laps
16. Heikki Kovalainen (Team Lotus) - 2 laps
17. Vitaly Petrov (Lotus-Renault) - 2 laps
18. Jerome D’Ambrosio (Virgin) - 2 laps
19. Daniel Ricciardo (Hispania) - 4 laps
20. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Hispania) - 4 laps
21. Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso) - 5 laps

Fastest lap: Jenson Button – 1:48.454 (lap 54).
Next race: Japan Grand Prix (Suzuka), October 9.

Drivers standings
1. Vettel (GER) 309 points, 2. Button (GBR) 185, 3. Alonso (ESP) 184, 4. Webber (AUS) 182, 5. Hamilton (GBR) 168, 6. Massa (BRA) 84, 7. Rosberg (GER) 62, 8. Schumacher (GER) 52, 9. Petrov (RUS) 34, 10. Heidfeld (GER) 34; 11. Sutil (GER) 28, 12. Kobayashi (JPN) 27, 13. Di Resta (GBR) 20, 14. Alguersuari (ESP) 16, 15. Buemi (SUI) 13, 16. Perez (MEX) 9, 17. Barrichello (BRA) 4, 18. Senna (BRA) 2, 19. Maldonado (VEN) 1.

Constructors
1. Red Bull 491 points, 2. McLaren 353, 3. Ferrari 268, 4. Mercedes GP 114, 5. Lotus-Renault 70, 6. Force India 48, 7. Sauber 36, 8. Toro Rosso 29, 9. Williams F1 5.

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