Championship rival Nico Rosberg was forced to start from the pit lane with an electronics problem before the same issue led to his retirement after 14 laps.
And Hamilton's unanswered 25-point haul means he now leads his Mercedes team-mate by three points heading into the last five races.
That represents quite a turnaround for Hamilton who was as many as 29 points behind Rosberg after the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa just four weeks ago.
There, the rivalry between Hamilton and Rosberg, which had been threatening to erupt all season, finally came to the boil as the pair collided at Les Combes.
A poor start by pole-sitter Rosberg had given Hamilton the lead by the first corner - but, on the second lap, Rosberg was able to close back up and tried to overtake Hamilton on the outside.
The move did not come off and, as Hamilton turned into the left-handed part of the chicane, his left rear tyre was caught and punctured by Rosberg's front wing.
Damage to the wing cost Rosberg any chance of victory - but he was still able to battle back up to the second place behind Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo. Hamilton, meanwhile, was forced to retire for a third time this year.
By contrast, Rosberg - up until this weekend - had only retired once, in Silverstone, and so the luck at least appears to have now started to even itself out.
Still, though, the season is not fully reflected in the points totals. For, while Hamilton has seven race wins, Rosberg has only four and yet it remains almost neck-and-neck.
But, rather than dumb luck, the issue appears to be with the points system and the differential between first and second place.
Currently 25 and 18 points respectively, finishing runner-up in a Grand Prix is worth 72% of the total points that the winner receives.
While favourable in comparison with the system used between 2003 and 2009 when the scores were 10 and eight, the use of 10 and six points between 1991 and 2002 best rewarded race wins.
In a campaign dominated by two men, this differential has become even more relevant especially as Rosberg has finished second on five occasions when Hamilton has won the race and the opposite has only happened twice.
Yes, it is important that consistency is rewarded - but, given that the top 10 all score, this would not be negated even if the value of a Grand Prix victory was increased back to where it once was.
It would not be difficult to implement either. The 15 points currently awarded for third place is 60% of the 25 points for a win - ie. the equivalent of six and 10 - and so should be used for second place instead.
Twelve points should go to third instead of fourth, 10 points to fourth instead of fifth and so on until the last four point-scorers are awarded four, three, two and one - rather than six, four, two and one.
If the above plan was implemented, Hamilton would be leading Rosberg by 229 points to 215 - still not a particularly big lead but one which is more reflective of the season as a whole.
Instead, the FIA stubbornly stands by its decision to keep the championship open until the last race in Abu Dhabi where double points will be awarded.
Of course, leaving the championship undecided until the season finale will add excitement to the proceedings.
But it is impossible to get rid of the feeling that the climax is a manufactured gimmick in a panicked response to the dominance in recent years of Sebastian Vettel.
One thing is for sure - the German will not be retaining his title for a fifth consecutive time this year.
Nevertheless, the absence of a competitive Rosberg in Singapore meant compatriot Vettel made it onto the podium in his Red Bull for only the third time this season.
That compares poorly to his team-mate Ricciardo who finished third yesterday for his seventh top-three placing, including three race wins.
And that third place was enough to keep the Aussie comfortably clear of the pack as the best of the rest behind Hamilton and Rosberg.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso is fourth in the standings, having finished fourth in Singapore, ahead of Vettel and Williams' impressive Finn Valtteri Bottas who failed to score for just the second time all season.
In the Constructors' Championship, Mercedes still have a 174-point lead over Red Bull and could win that title at the next race in Suzuka on 5 October.
Williams remain ahead of Ferrari in third place - though the gap down to nine points - and, in another tight battle, Force India are fifth ahead of McLaren by just six points.
Meanwhile, right at the back of the grid, Marussia are steadfastly holding onto ninth place ahead of the pointless Sauber and Caterham, thanks to Jules Bianchi's glorious two points at Monaco.
Where next then? Well, a week after Suzuka, F1 visits the Winter Olympic resort of Sochi in Russia for the first time before a three-week gap ahead of the United States Grand Prix in Austin.
The Texan circuit is the first part of another double-header, the second of which is in Sao Paulo in Brazil - before what will surely be a decider in the United Arab Emirates.
After all, even with the momentum now firmly behind the Englishman, surely neither Hamilton nor Rosberg will be more than 50 points clear by then.
As Hamilton admits himself, it really is still all to play for.
FORMULA ONE 2014
| Date | TV | Pole position | Fastest lap | Winner | |
| 16 March | Sky | Australian Grand Prix | Hamilton | Rosberg | Rosberg |
| 30 March | BBC | Malaysian Grand Prix | Hamilton | Hamilton | Hamilton |
| 6 April | Sky | Bahrain Grand Prix | Rosberg | Rosberg | Hamilton |
| 20 April | Sky | Chinese Grand Prix | Hamilton | Rosberg | Hamilton |
| 11 May | BBC | Spanish Grand Prix | Hamilton | Vettel | Hamilton |
| 25 May | Sky | Monaco Grand Prix | Rosberg | Räikkönen | Rosberg |
| 8 June | BBC | Canadian Grand Prix | Rosberg | Massa | Ricciardo |
| 22 June | Sky | Austrian Grand Prix | Massa | Perez | Rosberg |
| 6 July | BBC | British Grand Prix | Rosberg | Hamilton | Hamilton |
| 20 July | Sky | German Grand Prix | Rosberg | Hamilton | Rosberg |
| 27 July | Sky | Hungarian Grand Prix | Rosberg | Rosberg | Ricciardo |
| 24 August | BBC | Belgian Grand Prix | Rosberg | Rosberg | Ricciardo |
| 7 September | BBC | Italian Grand Prix | Hamilton | Hamilton | Hamilton |
| 21 September | Sky | Singapore Grand Prix | Hamilton | Hamilton | Hamilton |
| 5 October | BBC | Japanese Grand Prix | |||
| 12 October | BBC | Russian Grand Prix | |||
| 2 November | Sky | United States Grand Prix | |||
| 9 November | Sky | Brazilian Grand Prix | |||
| 23 November | BBC | Abu Dhabi Grand Prix |
STANDINGS
Drivers' Championship
| P | Driver | Team | Points |
| 01 | Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) | Mercedes | 241 (7 wins) |
| 02 | Nico Rosberg (Ger) | Mercedes | 238 (4 wins) |
| 03 | Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) | Red Bull-Renault | 181 (3 win) |
| 04 | Fernando Alonso (Spa) | Ferrari | 133 |
| 05 | Sebastian Vettel (Ger) | Red Bull-Renault | 124 |
| 06 | Valtteri Bottas (Fin) | Williams-Mercedes | 122 |
| 07 | Jenson Button (Gbr) | McLaren-Mercedes | 72 |
| 08 | Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) | Force India-Mercedes | 72 |
| 09 | Felipe Massa (Brz) | Williams-Mercedes | 65 |
| 10 | Sergio Pérez (Mex) | Force India-Mercedes | 45 |
| 11 | Kimi Räikkönen (Fin) | Ferrari | 45 |
| 12 | *Kevin Magnussen (Den) | McLaren-Mercedes | 39 |
| 13 | Jean-Eric Vergne (Fra) | Toro-Rosso-Renault | 19 |
| 14 | Romain Grosjean (Fra) | Lotus-Renault | 8 |
| 15 | *Daniil Kyvat (Rus) | Toro-Rosso-Renault | 8 |
| 16 | Jules Bianchi (Fra) | Marussia-Ferrari | 2 |
| 17 | Adrian Sutil (Ger) | Sauber-Ferrari | 0 |
| 18 | *Marcus Ericsson (Swe) | Caterham-Renault | 0 |
| 19 | Pastor Maldonado (Ven) | Lotus-Renault | 0 |
| 20 | Esteban Gutiérrez (Mex) | Sauber-Ferrari | 0 |
| 21 | Max Chilton (Gbr) | Marussia-Ferrari | 0 |
| 22 | Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) | Caterham-Renault | 0 |
Constructors' Championship
| P | Team | Points |
| 01 | Mercedes | 479 (11 wins) |
| 02 | Red Bull-Renault | 305 (3 wins) |
| 03 | Williams-Mercedes | 187 |
| 04 | Ferrari | 178 |
| 05 | Force India-Mercedes | 117 |
| 06 | McLaren-Mercedes | 111 |
| 07 | Toro Rosso-Renault | 27 |
| 08 | Lotus-Renault | 8 |
| 09 | Marussia-Ferrari | 2 |
| 10 | Sauber-Ferrari | 0 |
| 11 | Caterham-Renault | 0 |
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