(CNN) -- The F1 title race may have taken a potentially decisive twist Sunday as Lewis Hamilton took ruthless advantage of the misfortune which befell Mercedes teammate and bitter rival Nico Rosberg to win under the Singapore floodlights and leapfrog him in the standings. 

Rosberg, who led by a commanding 22 points coming into the 14th round of the championship, was left stranded in the pit lane after failing to move off his second spot on the grid for the formation lap and later retired as the electrical malfunction could not be remedied. 

Hamilton, who has won two straight races after claiming the Italian Grand Prix earlier this month, has taken a three-point advantage over Rosberg, with five races remaining. 

He was made to work for his victory by four-time reigning champion Sebastian Vettel, who took the lead after Hamilton pitted for fresh tires in the closing stages, but could not hold off the charging Briton, who eventually won by over 13 seconds. 

It was his seventh win of the season with Vettel and his Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo completing the podium. 

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and his former teammate Felipe Massa, now with Williams, claimed fourth and fifth. 

Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne, who is set to be replaced at Toro Rosso by 16-year-old Dutchman Max Verstappen next year, finished sixth, holding off a fast-finishing Mexican Sergio Perez of Force India. 

Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari, Nico Hulkenberg for Force India and McLaren's Kevin Magnussen completed the points scoring on the Marina Bay street circuit. 
How many races remain?
with five races remaining. 