Team Lotus and Renault Sport F1 have confirmed that their existing engine deal is to be extended for a further year, taking it to the end of 2013, which will also be the end of the V8 engine era in the sport. Both parties aim to continue working together when the new engine regulations (V6 turbo, read about it here) come into force.

Renault Sport F1, which currently also provides engines to champs Red Bull and Lotus Renault GP, and Red Bull Technology will also provide the Malaysian owned squad with KERS systems for the first time for the duration of the agreement. The current T128 does not have the power boost system.

“They are both passionate, dedicated teams of people with whom we have a growing relationship that is creating a number of exciting opportunities for us for the future. They share our vision for where we want to take our team, and we are very proud to have their power pushing us forward,” said Team Lotus boss Tony Fernandes.

“Not only will we be able to build on everything we have learnt through working with Renault and Red Bull Technology in 2011, but we will now have the added benefit of KERS for next year, which really is a major step forward for our team. We have done the very best job we can this year but without that extra power we are always competing on a different level to the teams ahead, so to give our drivers that boost is a key element of helping us catch the cars ahead, and compete with them when we do so,” he added.

Reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel has collected yet another win in the 2011 Formula 1 World Championship, bringing him even closer to his second world title. The Red Bull ace who has been having a phenomenal season this year was the first driver to cross the finish line under the beautiful night sky at the Singapore GP.

The German who started the 61-lap race around the breathtaking Marina Bay street circuit from pole position finished the race ahead of fellow World Champion Jenson Button from McLaren and team mate Mark Webber. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was fourth while fifth was taken up by Lewis Hamilton of McLaren. Force India’s Paul di Resta was sixth. Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg was seventh followed by Adrian Sutil from Force India, Felipe Massa from Ferrari and Sauber’s Sergio Perez in tenth.

Lotus Renault struggled today as Bruno Senna and Vitaly Petrov only managed 15th and 17th respectively. Both drivers sandwiched Team Lotus’ Heikki Kovalainen as team mate Jarno Trulli joined Michael Schumacher and Timo Glock in the retirement’s list.

As soon as the start lights went off, all drivers charged to Turn 1 and everyone managed to keep their noses clean with no drama whatsoever. Vettel enjoyed a good start while Webber dropped to fourth from second. McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton had better starts as he dropped down to seventh after starting from fourth. Just moments after the start, the night race picked up its first casualty as Daniel Ricciardo broke his front wing. Nevertheless the HRT driver pitted and continued racing.

By Lap 6, Vettel was running in first and increasing his lead from Button, Alonso, Webber, Massa, Rosberg, Hamilton, Schumacher and the two Force India drivers Adrian Sutil and di Resta. Soon drivers started to make their first scheduled stops and the race moved on with minor yellow flags and few incidents including a retirement by Virgin’s Timo Glock when he spun into the barriers at Turn 18.

Moments after both Hamilton and Massa made their stops, both drivers suffered from contact as Hamilton tried to make a move on Massa. That incident resulted in a broken front wing for Hamilton and a rear puncture for Massa. Both drivers had to pit again and that easily dropped them down the grid. A while later, Hamilton received a drive through penalty from the race stewards which pushed him back further.

As Vettel crossed the line on Lap 29, it was Button, Webber, Alonso, di Resta, Sutil, Rosberg, Perez, Schumacher and Hamilton who made up the top ten. A lap later, just when you thought the Safety Car would not be deployed this time around, Schumacher’s Mercedes racer ‘flew’ into the air after his front left tyre came into contact with Sergio Perez’ right rear tyre. The Sauber driver managed to continue racing but Schumacher crashed into the barriers and the SLS was deployed.

After the Safety Car was pulled back in at about Lap 33, Vettel managed to maintain his lead ahead of Button, Webber, Alonso, di Resta, Rosberg, Sutil, Hamilton, Perez and Massa. The Safety Car benefited drivers such as Hamilton who was placed right back into the top eight following his accident and his subsequent penalty. The champion gave a good show as he was carrying out some hair raising overtaking moves.

With five laps remaining, Vettel’s gap against Button was reducing as the latter was able to set faster lap times and the former had to deal with back markers. With three laps to go, the gap was 3.7 seconds but with one lap remaining the gap increased to 5.6 seconds as Button lost a lot time negotiating traffic. The Brit couldn’t do much and Vettel who drove a smooth and clean race crossed the finish line in first.

In the championship standings, Vettel now has 309 points while Jenson Button is second with 185 points, just one point ahead of Fernando Alonso. Red Bull is 491 points strong while McLaren lies second with 353 points and Ferrari in third with 268 points. You can safely expected Vettel and Red Bull to clinch both titles this season but the battle still remains for second place in the Driver’s Championship between Button and Alonso. More will be revealed on 9th October at the Japanese GP.

Click here for the full results.