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SINGAPORE — Britain's Lewis Hamilton eased to victory from pole position at the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday as the Mercedes driver extended his championship lead over Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel to 40 points with six rounds remaining.

Hamilton held off a mid-race challenge from Red Bull's Max Verstappen to register a record-equalling fourth triumph at the floodlit Marina Bay Street Circuit track, while Vettel finished third to slip further behind in the title race.

"Great job everyone, what a weekend... keep pushing, keep pushing, we've got this," Hamilton told his team over the radio soon after crossing the line at the end of the 61st lap.

Hamilton's 69th overall victory was his seventh of the season and it was built on the foundations of a stunning qualifying lap on Saturday, when he stormed to pole in a car deemed inferior to the Ferraris and Red Bulls on this circuit.

For Vettel and Ferrari it was another disappointing weekend after the car showed plenty of pace through all three practice sessions, the German's cause not helped by a questionable strategy and a poor pitstop.

Hamilton won this race from the third row a year ago when Vettel, Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen collided before Turn One, but there was no repeat of such drama this time after the drivers got off to a clean start at the head of the field.

There has, however, been a safety car period in every race in Singapore since it joined Formula One in 2008 and it was deployed on the opening lap after Sergio Perez pushed his Force India team mate Esteban Ocon into a wall after Turn Three.

"Sorry guys there was no room," Perez told his team over the radio.

Vettel got past Verstappen before the safety car emerged and slotted in behind Hamilton, but his race unravelled when the German pitted first on the 14th lap but got stuck in traffic and overtaken by the Dutchman when he made his stop for fresh tyres.

Back markers

Hamilton was cruising up front but suffered a mini-crisis on the 38th lap when he got stuck in a queue of tail-enders, which allowed Verstappen to get right up behind him.

The Dutchman had a look up the inside as Hamilton struggled to pass the back markers but the Briton just stayed ahead and was able to pull clear all the way to the chequered flag once he had a clear track ahead of him.

"It definitely got a little bit interesting towards the end with the back markers as you could already feel the draft from the cars when you were five and six seconds behind," Hamilton added.

"And you can't really see the blue flags [telling back markers to move aside], they are quite dark."

Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas held off a prolonged late challenge from Raikkonen in the other Ferrari to claim fourth place, the pair finishing just ahead of Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, who was closing on them in the final laps.

McLaren's Fernando Alonso came home in seventh, with Renault's Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg claiming eighth and 10th respectively, either side of Sauber's Charles Leclerc.

"Overall we had a very strong package, both Kimi and myself looked very competitive throughout practice, but in the end, the race result, we finished third and fifth," Vettel said.

"Like yesterday, not where the speed of our car belongs."

SINGAPORE — Lewis Hamilton tightened his grip on securing a fifth Formula One world title by coming from nowhere to claim a stunning pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix in his Mercedes on Saturday.

The Briton, 30 points clear of closest rival Sebastian Vettel with seven rounds remaining, lapped the Marina Bay Street Circuit in 1:36.015 to claim a record-extending 79th pole position, 0.319 seconds ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

The Ferrari pairing of Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen had set the pace for most of the weekend, but the German could manage only third place, more than half a second down, and will start alongside Mercedes's Valtteri Bottas.

"That lap felt like magic. I don't really know where it came from," Hamilton said in an interview.

"It was just perfectly to the limit. It felt like one of the best laps I can remember feeling," the Briton added, describing the 23-turn floodlit circuit as "Monaco on steroids".

Hamilton's time was three-and-a-half seconds quicker than Vettel's pole position a year ago and should he make a clean start on a circuit where he has won three times before, the Briton is highly likely to extend his championship lead.

Verstappen also sprang something of a surprise to finish just behind Hamilton, narrowly missing out on becoming the youngest ever pole-sitter in Formula One.

The 20-year-old was delighted. "Honestly, this feels like a victory. To be second is unbelievable," Verstappen said. "We just have to make sure we have a clean start and then everything is possible."

Tyre gamble

Vettel is also seeking a fifth world title and while he remains a huge threat in a very competitive car, the German was disappointed not to have been able to capitalise on the dominance Ferrari had over their rivals in practice.

"For us it was a bit of a messy qualifying," he said. "We had two laps [in the final qualifying session] and they were both not good enough."

Raikkonen ended in fifth place, almost eight tenths of a second behind Hamilton, the Finn lining up next to Daniel Ricciardo in the other Red Bull. Ricciardo was the only other driver to lap the 5.063 km track in lower than 1:37.000.

Force India's Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon will start seventh and ninth respectively, while Romain Grosjean is eighth on the grid for Haas with Nico Hulkenberg rounding out the top 10 in his Renault.

Hamilton admitted that Mercedes had been too conservative in their tyre choices for the race and after sneaking through the first phase of qualifying on the slower ultrasoft tyres, the Briton was unstoppable with the high-grip hypersofts on his car.

"I didn't have a wheelspin, I didn't have a snap anywhere, the car was just underneath me and I managed to maximise every corner... and I do feel like I got absolutely everything possible on that lap," Hamilton added.

Ferrari also gambled in the second phase of qualifying by using the more durable ultrasofts, which they would start on in Sunday's race, but the team aborted the plan when it was fairly obvious they would not advance to Q3.

"The race is a different story and things will not be the same tomorrow but we are, for sure, not happy with how it went today," a despondent Vettel said.

SINGAPORE — Lewis Hamilton may have tightened his grip on a fifth world title after extending his championship lead with a surprise victory in Monza two weeks ago, yet Mercedes are playing down the Briton’s chances of adding to that triumph in Singapore.

In the last three of his four Formula One title wins, Hamilton has returned from the annual summer break in brilliant form, reeling off a succession of victories in his dominant Mercedes to close the door on his title rivals.

However, while the Briton has finished second in Belgium and first in Italy since the season resumed in August, his car is seen as inferior to Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari and Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix should once again favour the German.

Second-placed Vettel slipped 30 points behind Hamilton after coming off the worst in a first-lap collision with the Briton in Monza and the 31-year-old knows he has little room for further mishaps with only seven rounds remaining.

The pair arrived in Singapore in a similar position a year ago, but the pole-sitting Vettel crashed into Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and teammate Kimi Raikkonen soon after the start, as Hamilton cruised to victory and never looked back. 

Vettel and Hamilton are the most successful drivers on the floodlit Marina Bay Street Circuit with seven wins between them but Mercedes chief Toto Wolff says the odds are stacked against the Briton matching the German’s four Singapore victories.

“Singapore has features that we’ve struggled with in the past. The short straights, the slow, tight corners and the bumpy surface all make [it] one of the trickiest tracks of the season for us,” the Austrian said in a team statement. 

Defending Vettel

“Last year, we started the race from the third row — and came home with a win and a third place. On paper, the track should favour the Ferraris, but the championship fight is so close that predictions are almost meaningless. 

“We’re in the middle of a monumental championship fight... every man and woman in the team is willing to push themselves to the limit; we will be fighting with everything we’ve got for these two championships.” 

Vettel, who will be joined by Sauber’s Charles Leclerc next season with Raikkonen heading the other way, has been criticised for losing points through over-aggressive driving but Wolff came out in defence of the German after his Monza spin.

“I’m not completely neutral, but for me Lewis is the best driver of recent years. Even so, I find the criticism of Sebastian not quite fair,” Wolff told Die Welt newspaper of Vettel, also a quadruple world champion.

“If possible to win, he has the ambition to do it with the necessary aggression. That requires a lot of courage and his way of driving sometimes leads to collisions.

“It could easily have been Lewis instead of Sebastian who spun [at Monza]. Then the whole grand prix would have been different.”

AMMAN — The 4th annual Lexus Tennis Festival gets under way in Amman on the weekend with an action packed week of activity featuring Patrick Mouratoglou — legendary coach and mentor of tennis champion Serena Williams — who will be attending the 2018 Festival at Dunes Club Amman.

Organised from September 14- 21 by the Tennis Academy Amman (TTA) Jordan’s leading tennis training institute, in collaboration with Markazia Lexus, TTA held a press conference on Wednesday announcing the festival which will feature local tournaments open to all age groups, High School Music and Telematch competitions, and a Family Tennis Day hosted by Mouratoglou. 

“I am very excited to come to Jordan to participate in the festival. It is an opportunity for me to discover this beautiful country and spend time with the kids and share with them my passion for the game of Tennis,” Mouratoglou said in a statement made available to the media.

Born in France, Mouratoglou is considered one of the most successful coaches in the history of the game and the founder of the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy, home to one of the best junior tennis players in the world.

Mouratoglou has guided Williams since June 2012 to multiple Grand Slam championships including three Wimbledon titles, three US Open titles, two French Open titles, and two Australian Open titles. He coached her to an Olympic Gold medal and three consecutive end-of-year championship titles.

Mouratoglou has devoted his career to help athletes accomplish their goals and coached several players to the world’s top ten, including Grigor Dimitrov and Marcos Baghdatis. He is currently mentoring Stefaons Tsitsipas who is ranked No. 15 in the world and is considered the youngest player ranked in the top 20 by ATP.

In his first visit to the Hashemite Kingdom, Mouratoglou will be the guest of honour during the 8-day Tennis Festival. In 2017, the guest of honour was Toni Nadal, legendary coach, uncle, and mentor of World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, while in 2016 the guest of honour was Moroccan Karim Alami, who retired in 2002. As a junior, he reached World No. 2 in Singles and World No. 1 in doubles. In 2015, the festival featured an exhibition match between top international players former World  No. 13 Jarkko Nieminen and Tunisian tennis star Malek Jaziri, and hosted legendary multiple Grand Slam champion Mary Pierce.

The TAA was established with a mission to build champions both on and off the court, with the firm belief that tennis builds character, teaches perseverance, and has the power to mould a whole new generation of athletes the kingdom and the region can be proud of.

Five years after embarking on its mission, the academy now has an impressive group of young players showing the promise, the dedication, the character and the talent to reach their highest potential. 

“It is with this understanding and the continued support of our partners, our sponsors and our players, that we have worked to build long-lasting partnerships with the best coaches, academies and players in the world so that when the time comes, we can lean on their wealth of expertise to take our players to the highest levels of the game,” said Academy founder and Director Khalid Naffa.

“In that spirit, we are thrilled to welcome Mr Mouratoglou, to Jordan, to the academy, and to the festival!” Naffa added.

This year, TTA has partnered with Emirates Airline a sponsor of the 2018 Tennis Festival. This is the first time Emirates sponsors a sports event in Jordan and the first time the airline sponsors a sports academy in the region.

“We see our partnership with the Tennis Academy Amman as an opportunity to connect with tennis fans in Jordan. This association will allow us to play an important role by bringing fans of tennis closer to what they love and to create unique opportunities and experiences with tennis legends and athletes. Together, we will help develop and nurture the necessary skills needed to turn young players into world-class athletes,” said Sultan Al Riyami, manager to Jordan and West Bank for Emirates Airline.

AMMAN — The third week of the Jordan Professional Football League kicks off on Thursday, as teams gear up for three consecutive weeks of matches before the league halts for regional matches and national team camp.

Jazira and Shabab Urdun top the standings for now as newcomers Salt are fourth after Faisali while Aqaba, who managed to hold on to their spot in the league last season, are fifth. Wihdat are 7th while Hussein and Ahli are at the bottom.

The league will stop after Week 5 allowing the September 18 match of Jazira versus the Iraqi Air Force in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup, which was twice won by Faisali and once by Shabab Urdun. 

Ramtha will also host Tunisia’s Etoile Sportive Du Sahel in the return leg of the Arab Clubs Championship on September 28 as they seek to make up for their 3-1 defeat in the first leg. Last year, Faisali finished runner-up to Tunisia’s Tarajji in the Arab Championship after an impressive performance,  which included two wins over Egyptian veterans Ahli. 

The national team will also regroup to play Albania on October 10 and World Cup runner up Croatia on October 15. Jordan was held 0-0 by Oman on Tuesday and lost to Lebanon 1-0 earlier this week as the team’s coach, Jamal Abu Abed, was relieved of his duty by the Jordan Football Association (JFA), as the team gears up for the Asian Cup — the continent’s most important football event. The team beat Cyprus 3-0 earlier in this summer.

The 2018-2019 football season agenda kicked off in August when league champs Wihdat beat Jordan Cup champs Jazira in the 36th Jordan Super Cup — the first major competition on the annual football calendar.

Last season, Wihdat won the league for a record 16th time. Jazira lost two competition finals conceding the 35th Jordan Super Cup to Faisali and the JFA Shield final to Wihdat. Jazira also finished runner-up in the league, but made club history by winning the 38th Jordan Cup final after they last won the Jordan Cup in 1984.

All four major golf championships this year were won by players without equipment contracts, an unusual situation but one that reflects an era when club and ball manufacturers increasingly focus on signing only the biggest names in the sport.

Nike’s exit from the golf equipment business two years ago set off a “free-for-all” that ushered in an era of free agency that is still shaking itself out, according to one insider.

Keith Sbarbaro, senior vice-president of tour operations for TaylorMade, said equipment companies did not have unlimited budgets to sign everyone they wanted.

Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka and Francesco Molinari were among players contracted to use Nike equipment when the company decided to leave the golf stage.

Woods and McIlroy subsequently became contracted TaylorMade players, but Koepka and Molinari did not.

Without the benefit of a crystal ball, TaylorMade had no way of knowing that Koepka (US Open and PGA Championship) and Molinari (British Open) would carry off three majors in 2018.

Even if they had known, they would not necessarily have had the budget to add them to a crowded stable that includes Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose, Jon Rahm and Jason Day. 

Molinari remains uncontracted, a free agent even though he used 12 TaylorMade clubs, along with a Bettinardi putter and a Titleist ball for his Carnoustie triumph.

Koepka, meanwhile, used clubs of four different manufacturers in his 2018 major championship wins, including TaylorMade’s M3 driver and Mizuno irons. Mixing and matching has certainly not hurt his game.

Patrick Reed, who left Nike in 2013, also used a variety of clubs to win the Masters in April, a Ping driver and mainly Callaway irons.

Free agents

“You had all four major winners being free agents. I don’t think you’ll see that again,” Sbarbaro told Reuters.

“They are high ranked players. They are not going to have small deals. They got great deals with Nike and they’re not bothered trying to find a bit of club money.”

Sbarbaro said Nike’s exit set off a mad scramble from rival club makers to sign the most marketable players.

The superstars were wooed by multiple manufacturers, the others not so much.

“When Nike exited it was a free for all. Most [people] didn’t see it coming,” Sbarbaro said.

“It opened up for all these Nike guys to play whatever they wanted.

“Rory’s parents’ house looked like a golf warehouse. Tiger’s house too.”

When the dust settled TaylorMade had the two biggest names in the game, with McIlroy’s deal worth a reported $100 million over 10 years.

“We’ve got Rory, Tiger [etc]. You would love to have every player in the top 10. We just can’t have them all. Us golf companies don’t have endless pockets.”

Middle tier

Sbarbaro said the days were gone when so-called journeymen enjoyed lucrative equipment contracts.

“The middle tier is getting hurt a bit,” he said.

“It’s got even more separated. The big guys are more important than ever. There’s more value at the top.”

He said a prominent social media presence is important, an area where McIlroy excels with 3.17 million Twitter followers.

“His social media side. We didn’t have anyone like him, Rory. He touches so many people.”

But good old-fashioned television remains the biggest factor in determining a player’s worth. 

“Our top four players get over 90 per cent of our TV time,” Sbarbaro added. “What percentage is Tiger getting on his own?

“Back in the day Tiger [before signing for TaylorMade] was getting more TV time on his own than our whole staff.

“The beauty of it is when Tiger is on TV that’s when most people are watching.”