SEBASTIAN VETTEL kept moving inexorably towards a fourth world championship with a double hat trick at the Singapore Grand Prix.

It was his third victory in three years under the lights of the Marina Bay Street Circuit, and also a third straight win this season after recent triumphs in Belgium and Italy.

As his nearest title rival, Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, finished second, the gap at the top widened to 60 points, while Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen - Alonso's teammate next year - is 98 points adrift and as good as gone.As for Lewis Hamilton, the Briton could only finish fifth behind his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg.

For a matter of seconds - and it was only seconds - Vettel lost his grip on the race. It happened at the first corner, as Rosberg forced him to give way going into turn one. Millions of neutrals desperate for the season to last a little longer, no doubt cheered the move. The joy was only fleeting, as Rosberg's momentum forced him to cut the corner and allowed Vettel to sweep back into the lead.

The German then blazed away into the distance, at least until lap 25 when Daniel Ricciardo made an astonishing error and ploughed the nose of his Toro Rosso into the barrier at turn 18. It was the cue for the ninth safety car appearance in six grands prix on this track, and briefly jeopardised Vettel's cruise to the line. But when the safety car exited after five laps, the championship leader blasted back out into the night, opening up a 30-second gap on Alonso before he had to come in to pit. The procession towards the line was uneventful.

"The start was quite hairy," said Vettel, who was booed again on the podium. "I kept the inside clear, but Nico went in too deep [into turn one]. I was able to get the place back, which was crucial because we had good pace, but then we had the safety car. After that again we had the pace, and the car was incredible. It was a pleasure to drive around this crazy track."

The closing laps threw up some entertainment as the majority of those who had pitted under the safety car saw their tyres fall away rapidly. It allowed Webber, Rosberg and Hamilton in particular to scythe their way through on fresher rubber.