Fernando Alonso turned in an absolutely masterful performance in winning the Grand Prix of Singapore today. Not since Michael Schumacher at Hungary in 2004 has any driver scored an F1 “hat trick” (pole position, win and fastest lap) while leading every lap of a GP.

The Spaniard nonethelesd was pressured throughout by Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, who closed markedly over the final two laps but could not bring the gap down below a close 0.9s.

Mark Webber finished third – surviving a mid-race shunt that eliminated McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton – to boost his World Championship lead to 11 points over Alonso with four races remaining. Webber leads with 202 points and Alonso is second with 191.

This was a fair and square win, and Alonso’s 25th career victory puts him level on the all-time list with Niki Lauda and Jim Clark.

AFP: Alonso edges Vettel as championship heatts up.