Lewis wins Singapore GP but Button true victor

Lewis Hamilton may have won yesterday's Singapore Grand Prix, which thankfully went off without any apparent controversy a la last year's Crashgate, but the British driver with most to be happy about was Jenson Button. The Brawn driver took fifth place having started the race in 11th on the grid, an achievement in itself on a tight city circuit such as Singapore's, but his greatest joy will have come from finishing ahead of team mate and world championship rival Rubens Barrichello, who came sixth.

The pair are separated by 15 points with just three races to go in the season, and are practically confirmed as one and two in the championship - third-placed Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull would need to win every race and see Button pick up just four points in Japan, Brazil and Abu Dhabi to displace the Briton. The race now is to see which of the Brawn drivers, who have both been promised equal assistance by the team, can seize the crown.

"I came away with a result which doesn't look so good on paper, but it's almost like a victory to win these points," Button said. "I gained one point on Rubens and lost one point on Sebastian [Vettel] so all in all it is almost the perfect race. I'll go to Japan tomorrow feeling very positive and looking forward to the next race. Psychologically, you will have to ask Rubens. Factually, it means that I have won more points. I have a 15-point lead instead of 14 points. Rubens can still beat me, for sure, but this result has taken a lot of weight off my shoulders, so it is a good finish."

For Hamilton, yesterday's win, his second in the last five races and 11th in his short career, in addition to a second place in Valencia in August, means he has picked up 28 points in the second half of the season to date. [Had he not spun off at Italy a fortnight ago he would have had 36 points from a possible 50.] Hamilton's McLaren team had a miserable start to the season, but they will take great encouragement from the finish to the 2009 championship into next year.

An interesting footnote to the Crashgate saga that has been convulsing Formula 1 was the presence of Fernando Alonso on the podium in third spot, after Red Bull's Vettel was penalised for speeding in the pit lane. Alonso's Renault team have just lost their principal and chief engineer over the chicanery that saw the Spaniard win last year's event, and the driver dedicated his ride to the departed Flavio Briatore. Timo Glock's Toyota was a surprise second. ·