DHL Fastest Lap Award: 2015 FORMULA 1 SINGAPORE AIRLINES SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX

A surprise result under the floodlights of Singapore as Sebastian Vettel starting from pole position claimed the third win of the season for Scuderia Ferrari. Title favourites - the Silver Arrows - didn't even make it onto the podium this time. What's more, the fastest lap also went to another team, with Daniel Ricciardo posting the fastest time of the Grand Prix on Lap 52.

As early as qualifying, it became apparent that the weekend was turning into a straight fight between Vettel in the Ferrari and Ricciardo in the Red Bull. The Australian remained hot on the heels of the German, who eventually crossed the finish line only 1.478 seconds ahead. On the closing laps after the second safety car deployment, Ricciardo went flat out to catch Vettel. It was during this chase that he set the fastest lap. But it wasn't quite enough to mount an attack on the race leader.

"I think this was our best chance of a win and we got close, so we can be proud of what we did," said Ricciardo. "We have made the most of our opportunities here. As the laps were ticking down, we were starting to come alive, and I was able to lean on the tyres a bit more. Then I was frustrated to see the safety car come out, but I knew I still had to make one more stop so I had one more chance. But Seb seemed to have learned from the first stint and started easier than in the first one and was able to pull away later. I was able to close on him again, before we had another safety car. That was that really, because it's hard to overtake here. We got the fastest lap right at the end, and we can be proud of that."

DHL Formula 1 expert Christian Danner looks back on the race weekend in Singapore in this video. 

After Monaco and Hungary, this was Ricciardo's third fastest lap of the season. It puts him on level pegging with Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg, who has also driven three of the fastest laps in the 2015 campaign. Reigning champion Lewis Hamilton continues to lead the DHL Fastest Lap Award on a total of five.

The next chance to score a point towards the DHL Fastest Lap Award comes as early as next weekend at Suzuka which will be hosting the 2015 FORMULA 1 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX from 25th to 27th September 

The two back-to-back races in Singapore and Suzuka present the teams with a major logistical challenge. Even while the night race in Singapore was still in progress, work had already begun on dismantling the paddock. Which is understandable considering that approximately 35 tonnes of equipment per team has to be delivered to Japan within a matter of days, ready to be deployed on Wednesday or Thursday in preparation for the impending race weekend. 

As with all the races, you can again play the DHL Fastest Lap Game on Facebook and pick the driver who will set the fastest lap. Why not sign in now and join in!

Fastest race laps: 2015 FORMULA 1 SINGAPORE AIRLINES SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX

01 Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) 01:50.041 - on lap 52 
02 Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) 01:50.069 - on lap 53 
03 Pastor Maldonado (Lotus) 01:50.175 - on lap 57 
04 Max Verstappen (Toro Rosso) 01:50.298 - on lap 43 
05 Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) 01:50.341 - on lap 48 
06 Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso) 01:50.401 - on lap 43 
07 Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 01:50.934 - on lap 50 
08 Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull) 01:51.109 - on lap 36 
09 Jenson Button (McLaren) 01:51.167 - on lap 43 
10 Valtteri Bottas (Williams) 01:51.342 - on lap 49