Lewis Hamilton is relishing a return to the tough conditions the drivers will experience around the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore this weekend as he looks to wrestle back control of the Formula One title race from Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.

Lewis Hamilton leads Nico Rosberg by two points with seven rounds remaining but his seemingly unstoppable charge towards a fourth world crown has stalled in the last two races, allowing the German to close the gap at the top of the standings.

Rosberg had surged to a 43-point lead over his British rival at the start of the season before Hamilton won six of seven races to seize the momentum going into Formula One’s traditional summer break with a healthy 19-point cushion.

In the two races since the season reconvened, Hamilton did well to surge through the field from the back of the grid to finish third in Belgium but endured a miserable start from pole at Monza as Rosberg romped to a second straight triumph.

A second-place finish in Italy was not a total disaster but Hamilton had dominated practice and qualifying and would have been expected to convert his superiority into a 50th Formula One victory.

“I don’t know really what happened at the start... I did everything normal,” Hamilton told reporters.

“The procedure was done exactly how I was supposed to do it but unfortunately the wheels were spinning from the get-go.”

Hamilton, however, is one of only three men to win in Singapore since the inaugural grand prix in 2008, while Rosberg has struggled to come to grips with the tight, floodlit, 23-turn street circuit, managing just a single podium in eight visits.

“Next up is Singapore, which is always a great event. The race is a challenge with the heat and humidity... but it’s a street circuit, which I love,” said Hamilton, who won the race in 2009 and 2014.

As Singapore citizens have been advised to exercise extra vigilance due to the recent outbreak of the Zika virus in the city-state, Mercedes will need to be equally as wary of their Red Bull and Ferrari rivals on a track that nullifies the German team’s power advantage.

Last year, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel won his fourth Singapore Grand Prix ahead of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo as Hamilton retired and Rosberg limped to a fourth-place finish, and Mercedes will be keen to avoid a repeat performance.

“This is a Red Bull track and we weren’t so strong there last year,” Rosberg added.

“But I have faith in the team and the belief in myself is as high as ever.”

Singapore Grand Prix statistics

Lap distance: 5.065km.
Total distance: 308.828km (61 laps).
Race lap record: One minute 50.041 seconds – Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) Red Bull, 2015.
2015 pole: Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Ferrari 1:43.885.
2015 winner: Vettel.

■ The F1 race was the first to be held entirely at night.

■ Only three drivers, all world champions, have won at the Marina Bay circuit. Fernando Alonso (2008, 2010), Vettel (2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015), Hamilton (2009, 2014).

■ The race is the longest on the calendar in terms of time taken to complete, ranging from between one hour and 56 minutes to the time limit of two hours.

■ The winner in Singapore has been champion at the end of the season in four of the last five years.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.