Sebastian Vettel took his first victory in F1 for over a year, following an action packed Singapore GP.
The German had not won a race since the Belgian GP in 2018, but the Ferrari driver was able to take advantage of a good strategy to lead home a one-two for the prancing horse, ahead of Charles Leclerc.
Max Verstappen finished third for Red Bull, whilst a day of poor strategy calls saw Mercedes only able to take fourth and fifth place under the night lights of Singapore.
Tyre management at the start
The first stint of the race was about managing tyres, as the top six retained position from the start with Leclerc dictating the pace out at the front.
But whilst Lewis Hamilton continued to stick within DRS of Leclerc, third placed Vettel and Verstappen behind had opted to do the undercut 20 laps into the race, pitting onto hard tyres.
Despite Leclerc pitting a lap later, Vettel’s quick outlap allowed the German to take the lead from his team-mate, but the Monegasque was able to stay ahead of Verstappen.
But the trio were forced to fight their way through traffic whilst Hamilton opted to stay out for a few more laps, although by the time the Brit pitted he came out in fourth, behind Verstappen.
Three safety cars followed after George Russell hit the barrier after colliding with Romain Grosjean, Sergio Perez’s Racing Point broke down and Daniil Kvyat and Kimi Raikkonen collided.
However, Vettel was able to keep the race under control out in front to take victory ahead of a disgruntled Leclerc.
“I just don’t think its fair,” Leclerc said over the radio after losing out on the undercut to Vettel, despite completing the first one two of the season for Ferrari.
Verstappen holds nerve, Norris impresses
Verstappen had come under pressure at the end of the race from Hamilton, but was just able to secure the final place on the podium ahead of the Brit, as Mercedes failed to finish in the top three for the second time this season.
Valtteri Bottas finished a lonely fifth ahead of Alex Albon in sixth, whilst Lando Norris finished a very encouraging seventh for McLaren.
Pierre Gasly took an impressive eighth for Toro Rosso, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg and Antonio Giovinazzi who rounded off the points positions.