F1: 5 talking points from dramatic 2017 Singapore Grand Prix

At the end of a long, wet and drama-filled race, Lewis Hamilton stood on the top step of the podium at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore. The grueling race win was his third consecutive and seventh overall of 2017. More importantly, it allows him to carry a healthy 28-point lead in the driver's championship to Malaysia, courtesy of Sebastian Vettel's crash on Lap 1.

Singapore was on the receiving end of heavy downpour just four hours prior to the race and that made the start very interesting. Teams had never driven a wet race at the circuit and to make matters worse they hadn't even had a wet practice session on Friday or Saturday.

Three safety car stints, only 11 drivers classifying at the end and a race that ran to the full limit of two hours, the Singapore Grand Prix had many takeaways. Here are the five biggest talking points from it:

Honorable Mention: Alonso in the wrong place at the wrong time

The new McLaren-Renault deal announced earlier in the weekend was a sigh of relief for Fernando Alonso, who could now move on to deciding his own future with the team.

On the basis of the practice sessions on Friday and Saturday, the team hoping for a double points finish wasn't too outlandish. Not to mention, the double world champion's tremendous start that saw him jump up to almost third before being hit by Max Verstappen, who was in turn hit by Kimi Raikkonen.

A dream start turns into a nightmare for @alo_oficial at the #SingaporeGP ? ?? ?#F1NightRace ?? pic.twitter.com/WnYcFF442t
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 17, 2017

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What if Alonso was a second early or late while angling into Turn 1? Could he have pulled off a podium? We will never know but one thing's for sure... the Honda engines came through for the team in Singapore, proven by Stoffel Vandoorne's strong seventh-place finish.

#5 Great weekend for Force India

The Mercedes powered cars weren't favored this weekend yet amidst the confusion of the race, Force India walked away from the weekend with both cars finishing in the points. Sergio Perez, whose contract with the team was confirmed for next year, finished fifth while the birthday boy Esteban Ocon brought the car home in 10th.

With only six races to go and a 65-point lead over the fifth-placed Williams Mercedes, the results from this weekend have only consolidated the team's fourth spot in the Constructors championship standings.

Despite the many run-ins between the Perez and Ocon, Force India have kept their driver line-up unchanged for next year on the back of a strong 2017 campaign.

#4 Spectacular weekend for Carlos Sainz

The repeated safety car call-ups, the indecision between which tire choice was most suitable and of course the Lap 1 crash helped some of the mid-tier teams make huge advances. The biggest winner of them all was Spaniard Carlos Sainz. He finished 4th, the career-best.

He's sure to go out and celebrate this result but that wasn't the only he had to smile about from this weekend. A by-product of the new deals for 2018 between Honda and Toro Rosso, and McLaren and Renault was the transfer of Sainz from Toro Rosso to Renault 'on loan'.

So while his current team goes agrees to a deal with an engine partner that hasn't shown reliability, Sainz will move on to a manufacturer team that has shown scope for growth.

#3 Daniel Ricciardo's Singapore connection remains strong

Since his move to Redbull Racing from their sister team Toro Rosso in 2015, Daniel Ricciardo has always finished on the podium at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. Including this year, in four races, the Australian has finished second the last three years and third in 2015.

This race couldn't have come at a better time for Ricciardo. He was coming off strong races in both Belgium (3rd) and Italy (4th after starting 16th).

The team incurred penalties in Monza knowing that the Singapore Grand Prix would have been a good outing for them. Although Ricciardo came away with a strong second, Verstappen was out of the race after his crash with the Ferrari's on Lap 1. The team would certainly feel they missed out a strong double finish.

#2 Ferrari huge losers from Lap 1 incident

Might have noticed that 'the lap 1 crash' has probably been mentioned on every slide so far. Before we speak further in detail, here's what went down:

Lights out under the lights = mayhem under the lights ???#SingaporeGP #F1NightRace #F1 pic.twitter.com/rQ8DCeTjET
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 17, 2017

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The stewards have decided to not take any action and call it a racing incident. Irrespective of who was at fault, this avoidable three-way crash ruined what could have been a strong race for both Ferrari and Red Bull. Both teams were expected to be far quicker than the Mercedes' and that's exactly what went down through the practice sessions and qualifying.

Either team could have had two drivers on the podium and together could have ensured the Mercedes don't finish higher than fifth. Instead, three of their four cars were out on the first lap and to rub salt in their wounds, the Mercedes finished with a strong 1-3 finish on a track that wasn't most suitable to their car.

#1 Sunday rains and some luck favors Hamilton and Mercedes

Going to bed on Saturday after qualifying, 'damage limitations' would have been decided as the strategy for Sunday in the Mercedes camp. Instead, 24 hours later, they had both their drivers on the podium. More importantly, their rival, Ferrari had both their drivers out of the race on lap 1.

At the end of the year, when we look at the 2017 calendar, the Singapore Grand Prix could prove to have been the turning point.

With six races to go, Hamilton is now 28 points clear of Vettel while in the Constructors, Mercedes are 102 points clear of Ferrari. Although six races is a lot of time, it's being able to win and win big at a track where they weren't favored that means a lot for both Mercedes and Hamilton.