Allison: Lewis turns into a machine at this time of year

His team, like his fans, are clearly in awe of their star driver who without doubt made the difference at Marina Bay Circuit, Mercedes technical chief James Allison made no bones about it when he said after the race, "Lewis got the job done, but we've given him the car to do that, and that's a huge source of pride for us."

And added, "Lewis turns into a machine at this time of year, and he lifts his performance to a level that's superb to watch."

With regards to the race, Allison said, "It was a very nervous race for us. All the way through, a safety car could have snatched a well-earned lead from us at any point."

"There's been a slow improvement of our performance in that regard. In the last sector at Budapest, we were strong. Last year, we were dreadful in that sector. We've been chipping away at it over the past 12 months."

Hamilton now heads to the Russian Grand Prix, one of six rounds remaining, with a 40-points lead over Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel, while Mercedes lead the constructors' championship by 25 points over the reds.