Hamilton vows to fight for title after Rosberg steals championship lead with Singapore win

Lewis Hamilton vowed to keep fighting after losing his championship lead to Nico Rosberg after his victory at the Singapore Grand Prix.


Hamilton, who has been off colour all weekend at the Marina Bay street circuit, is now eight points behind his sole championship rival after he crossed the line only in third.

“Definitely not a great weekend but big congratulations to Nico, he drove fantastically all weekend.

“This weekend has been a tricky one for me but I’m just happy to get on the podium and get some points for the team. The brakes were way overheating so I had to slow down. Once I did my second or third stop we managed to sort it out.

“It’s a lot different to when I was here last year, but I’m still in the fight and I’m going to give it everything I’ve got.”

A decision by Hamilton's Mercedes team to pit him for a third time saw the world champion move back ahead of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and seal the final spot on the podium to salvage the day's work.

Hamilton was hoping luck would be on his side after he qualified third - seven tenths of a second slower than Rosberg - at a street circuit where it is virtually impossible to overtake.

But the Stevenage-born racer endured a disappointing night as he failed to make an impression on either Rosberg or Ricciardo in the opening phase of the race before a mistake on lap 33 enabled Raikkonen to pass him.

Hamilton was hampered by a brake problem which he was urged to manage by his Mercedes team from the outset of the race. But Rosberg, in the sister car, was also told to nurse a similar issue. Unlike Hamilton, it did not seem to affect his overall pace.