Lewis Hamilton forced to retire while in lead, and vettel takes advantage

The Singapore Grand Prix, the only Formula One night race, once again lived up to its reputation as a harsh, difficult, event.

There was plenty of drama again, starting with Lewis Hamilton being forced to retire due to a mechanical failure after leading for the first third of the race.

This let Sebastian Vettel vault into first place, which is where he finished. Jenson button followed in second, and Fernando Alonso came in third.

For the second year running, Michael Schumacher crashed himself out of the race, and this time took out young driver Jean-Eric Vergne’s car as well.

Narain Karthikeyan also found himself crashing out of the race, after crashing into the wall during a turn.

Embattled driver Felipe Massa found himself in trouble quickly, and found himself dead last very early on. However, he fought hard and managed to salvage his race by finding himself in a top ten finish.

Photo above: Red Bull Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany celebrates at the parc ferme after winning the Singapore F1 Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore September 23, 2012.
 REUTERS/Michael Caronna