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SINGAPORE. – Lewis Hamilton warned the Formula One championship was far from over after Ferrari’s first-lap disaster in Singapore put him in the driving seat for his fourth world title.

The Mercedes driver said he was expecting a strong response from Ferrari after both Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen went out after a crash at the first corner.

Hamilton had laboured in qualifying, starting from fifth, but he drove brilliantly in the wet and under lights to open up a potentially decisive 28-point lead over Vettel in the standings. The 32-year-old Briton has now won the last three races, but he said there was still a long way to go with six grands prix left in the season, starting with Malaysia next week.

“Honestly, I think it’s going to be very close in the next races,” he said, warning that Ferrari would be particularly strong in Japan and Brazil. “It’s hard to predict.”

Hamilton was one of only 12 drivers to finish the first wet race on the floodlit streets of Singapore, which started with a game-changing smash and saw three safety cars. Pole-sitter Vettel and third-placed Raikkonen sandwiched Red Bull’s Max Verstappen going into the first corner, resulting in a crash which took out all three and also ended the race of McLaren’s Fernando Alonso. – AFP.