Alonso comes out on top

Alonso clinched victory in the Singapore Grand Prix by just 0.2 seconds from Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel to move within 11 points of title frontrunner Mark Webber who finished third.

But for the second successive race Hamilton's day culminated in retirement after a collision with Webber on lap 36 as he tried to claim a podium spot.

Hamilton has dropped to 20 points adrift, with Vettel 21 and Jenson Button dropping to fifth in the standings, 25 points behind the Australian.

The first half of the 61-lap race was relatively routine and Webber's early move for tyres had allowed him to move up to third by lap 32 - after he had initially dropped to 11th - ahead of Hamilton and Button, with Alonso and Vettel in a league of their own out in front.

Coming out of turn five and heading up Raffles Boulevard, Hamilton made his move on Webber and had his nose in front as they approached turn seven.

Webber, though, had the inside line, and as they turned in at the same time the duo collided, with Hamilton coming off worse. Within seconds he was pulling on to the run-off area at turn eight, his fury obvious as he threw his steering wheel out of the car.

The stewards immediately called an investigation, followed a few minutes later by a second when Michael Schumacher ran into the Sauber of German compatriot Nick Heidfeld, forcing him into retirement. As for Schumacher, with a damaged front wing, he limped back to the pits with sparks flying as the nose of his Brackley-built Mercedes dragged along the floor.

As both were racing incidents, no action was taken, leaving Webber in particular to claim a crucial third and retain his championship lead, with a resurgent Alonso now his nearest pursuer.

Button could do nothing about Webber in the closing stages and had to settle for fourth with Nico Rosberg fifth in his Mercedes, followed by the Grove-built Williams of Rubens Barrichello and Robert Kubica after a late charge in his Enstone-built Renault.