• The Final Stint - Singapore Grand Prix

Hamilton back in the driving seat

© Sutton Images

Enlarge

Two races is a long time in Formula One. After dropping 29 points behind Nico Rosberg after their collision at Spa four weeks ago, Lewis Hamilton remarkably leads the world championship again after his team-mate's retirement in Singapore. It's the sort of turnaround in fortunes Mercedes was at pains to remind Hamilton could still happen after Belgium, and it did so in dramatic circumstances in Singapore. With drama up and down as well as on and off the track in Singapore, ESPNF1 looks at the main taking points from the weekend.

Hamilton back to his brilliant best

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg left Singapore in contrasting moods © Getty Images

Enlarge

Related Links

• Race:
• Singapore Grand Prix

For all the conspiracy theories we've had to deal with this season, the championship fight was always going to take another twist thanks to Mercedes' dodgy reliability record. Thankfully, from the point of view of keeping the championship open, it happened to Rosberg and brought the Mercedes drivers back to a virtual dead heat with five races to go. Rosberg's issues meant he never had the chance to challenge Hamilton into the first corner but the Brit was flawless all weekend; recovering from a first-corner mistake to take a fine pole on Saturday, before a blistering post-safety car stint meant he only needed a routine pass on Sebastian Vettel for his seventh win of the season and fifth hat-trick - pole, fastest lap and victory - of his career. This season has been all about momentum and it's shifted monumentally once again; Hamilton had it after Australia, Rosberg wrestled it back in Monaco and his team-mate seemed to take three or four races to find his groove again. Belgium was supposed to be a hammer blow to the Brit's title chances but in has actually revitalised him, with two victories in two races.

Rosberg, by contrast, has looked slightly lost since Belgium. His demeanour in Monza was one of simmering frustration and, though he's played down his championship lead when possible this season, his post-retirement reaction was utterly downbeat - a contrast to Hamilton's calm, philosophical reactions to similar issues. The reason for this is the timing. 'Abu Double' is looming larger and larger every weekend, but it is likely Mercedes will be in a battle for first and second at that race, meaning every point still counts. When Hamilton has had the momentum this season, he's been untouchable - with four straight wins at the start of the year and two back-to-back now. This has to be Rosberg's biggest concern; Hamilton has his mojo back. His overtake of Vettel was textbook Hamilton; passing the world champion in the narrowest of gaps - to the frustration of the world champion - when his tyres meant another driver might have waited a few more corners to make a safer pass. The Brit is in title-winning form on track - it's just a shame we've been robbed of seeing a straight fight between the Mercedes drivers in three consecutive races. NS

Three not a magic number

© Sutton Images

Enlarge

After so many years of talking about three-car teams, it's odd that Formula One appears to have been caught off guard by the possibility of it happening next year. Talk to Bernie Ecclestone and he'll tell you it will be necessary for teams to field another car to make up the numbers on the grid in 2015. Should the number of cars fall below 20 - i.e. two teams fold over the winter - then a clause in the team's agreement with Ecclestone will force them to run an extra car in order to make up a grid that will keep the race promoters happy. However, simple maths tells you that nine times three equals 27, which would be an unprecedented number of cars in modern F1. Several issues arise, not least the very basic task of fitting all the cars into the limited garage space at some circuits. Then there's the added cost. If two-car teams are expected to fold because of the amount they currently spend, what hope do small three-car teams have (especially when they find themselves regularly out of the top ten because the better-funded teams are quicker)? Force India's Vijay Mallya has gone on the record saying he would expect the extra cost - quoted at £20-25 million by Mercedes' boss Toto Wolff - to be covered by the commercial rights holder. But that's a substantially bigger spend each year for F1's shareholders. If only there was a simple solution … such as helping the small teams survive by changing the current distribution of F1's revenues.LE

Radio silence or radio nonsense?

The first race without the use of team radio to "coach" the drivers saw no penalties, but it also highlighted a lot of grey areas. Sense prevailed in postponing the proposed full ban - which included management of the car's various systems - but quite what constitutes driver coaching is still open to debate. Teams are allowed to give information about certain aspects of driving, such as changing brake balance, as long as it does not relate to a particular corner. However, what if a radio message was issued on the straight leading up to a corner, could that be a form of code for a brake balance change at that point (or two corners later, for example) rather than a global change? After the race McLaren boss Eric Boullier questioned Red Bull's radio messages to Daniel Ricciardo telling him to stay off the exit kerbs at certain corners. Red Bull argued it was doing so in order to manage a battery issue on the car, but how could one prove it wasn't purely aimed at a faster lap time? In the Ricciardo case the FIA was probably right to give Red Bull the benefit of the doubt, but things might not be so clear cut in the future. What's more drivers are still coached in detail with the use of telemetry when they get back to the garage between practice runs, making the whole rule seem rather pointless. LE

Vergne lays down a marker

© Sutton Images

Enlarge

For 51 laps of the Singapore Grand Prix, the only real mark Jean-Eric Vergne had made on proceedings was giving FOM a bounty of replay opportunities after twice falling foul of the FIA and receiving time penalties with some balls-to-the-wall overtaking moves. He later admitted those penalties and a mistake in qualifying served as his motivation - though the looming F1 abyss the Frenchman is staring into probably helped too. Toro Rosso's decision to elevate Max Verstappen for 2015 has left Vergne in the cold and he is driving for his F1 future. He picked a great moment to step up to the plate in Singapore.

With a train of cars forming behind Valtteri Bottas and no real action happening other than Hamilton's brief exploits in regaining the lead, Vergne - on fresh rubber like the Brit - suddenly came alive and became the star of the closing minutes. Running 12th with nine laps remaining, Vergne gained six positions with some passing moves we've been more used to seeing this year from his old Toro Rosso team-mate Daniel Ricciardo. He was on fire; calmly passing Nico Hulkenberg before his breathtaking move on Kimi Raikkonen. The fact he had fresh rubber helped but the move on Raikkonen, as late as you could possibly leave it on the brakes, was the move of a man with nothing left to lose. It would be a shame to lose a talent like Vergne from F1 without seeing him given a second chance and he has now impressed in Hungary and Singapore. A competitive race seat for 2015 may not be open to him but, if Vergne can find some financial backing the likes of Sauber may be very interested in keeping his F1 career alive. NS

Special Singapore

Dodging low branches and trying not to trip over electrical cables is an occupational hazard of watching trackside at the Singapore Grand Prix, but it's well worth it. There's something about darkness falling and the lights flashing over the bodywork of a Formula One car that is truly magical. Combined with the brutality of the forces that can be observed when watching up close, should put visiting Singapore on race weekend firmly at the top of any F1 fan's bucket list. The cameras do a good job of picking up the spectacle, but add the smell of burnt rubber as a Caterham locks up into Turn 14 and the mechanical grind as a Ferrari paws for grip through Turn 8 and you have a true multi-sensory experience. Some races are special and Singapore is definitely one of them. LE

© Getty Images

Enlarge

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.