Vettel moves to brink of Rankings and championship glory following Singapore win
The Castrol EDGE Rankings mirrored the 2011 Formula 1 World Championship at Singapore as victory carried Sebastian Vettel to the brink of early victory in both disciplines
A characteristically dominant performance under the lights of Singapore saw Vettel do everything but seal the 2011 F1 drivers' crown.
Jenson Button is the only man still with a mathematical chance of taking the title following his second-place finish on the weekend, but in reality only disaster will prevent Vettel from taking his second straight title.
In the Rankings victory is even closer: Vettel need only qualify once more this year to build an unassailable points lead over Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber in second.
The Australian is currently just over 10,000 points behind Vettel, and would need the German to sit out as he took pole position, race victory and set the fastest lap in all of the last five contests in order to overhaul him.
While such a scenario is unlikely at best, Webber can take comfort from re-taking second spot in the Rankings.
The Australian had lost the runner-up berth to Fernando Alonso after a crash at Monza, but his podium at Singapore was enough to demote the Ferrari man back into third in the Rankings.
Across in the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Tony Stewart recorded his second straight victory to take an early lead in a Chase in which heavy favourite Jimmie Johnson has so far failed to sparkle.
With a sense of timing so critical to Chase success, Stewart's 100 per cent record thus far puts him seven points clear at the top of the standings, and has seen him improve six places to 23rd in the Rankings.
Johnson meanwhile finished 18th at Loudon and now sits 10th in the Chase standings, his lowest ever position in the season's decisive stage.
He also slipped to 12th in the Rankings, slipping behind fellow Sprint Cup drivers Carl Edwards (10) and Kyle Busch (11) and in danger from Kevin Harvick (14) - a situation that would have seemed impossible a year ago when he was fifth, well clear of his closest NASCAR challenger Denny Hamlin.
To see the full Castrol Rankings and the latest positions in the Race for 2011, please visit www.castroldriverrankings.com.
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