2016 F1 Round 15 Singapore GP, Rosberg Holds Off Ricciardo to Win by 0.488 Seconds

Nico Rosberg won the 2016 Singapore Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, completing 61 laps in 1 hour 55 minutes 48.950 seconds. Daniel Ricciardo kept cutting the gap in the closing stages and finished just 0.488 seconds behind, with Lewis Hamilton third.

Archive image of the podium after the 2016 Singapore Grand Prix

Rosberg retained the lead from pole, with Ricciardo, Hamilton and Kimi Räikkönen following him into Turn 1. Max Verstappen made a slow start, while Carlos Sainz and Nico Hülkenberg collided, sending Hülkenberg’s car into the pit wall and bringing out the Safety Car.

After racing resumed, Rosberg continued to control the front of the field. Hamilton struggled with brake temperatures and could not put Ricciardo under pressure. Räikkönen passed Hamilton on lap 33 to move into third for a time.

Mercedes brought Hamilton in for supersoft tyres on lap 45, and Ferrari responded with ultrasofts on the following lap. Hamilton gained time by stopping earlier and retook third, with Räikkönen eventually finishing fourth.

Ricciardo stopped for supersofts on lap 47 and began chasing Rosberg, who remained on old soft tyres. With the size of his lead and traffic affecting the decision, Rosberg did not stop again and had to make his tyres and brakes last to the finish.

Ricciardo was at one stage closing by several seconds a lap and was still gaining on the final tour. Rosberg held his position to take his eighth win of the season by less than half a second, as Red Bull could not turn its late pace into an overtaking move.

Sebastian Vettel, who had qualified last, recovered to fifth, ahead of Verstappen in sixth and Fernando Alonso in seventh. Sergio Pérez, Daniil Kvyat and Kevin Magnussen took the remaining points, while Romain Grosjean was unable to start because of a brake problem.

The victory took Rosberg to 273 points and restored his championship lead, eight points ahead of Hamilton. Ricciardo’s determined pursuit for Red Bull and Vettel’s recovery over the race distance for Ferrari also helped keep the night race tense until the finish.