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Alonso wins his first GP in a year.
What an amazing race. Filled with such great-driving, great tatical approaches and most of all, such drama! As a spectator, I cannot think of a better race we’ve had this season, or will have. The two hours of excitment really asked a lot of the drivers, in F1’s first ever night race, and what a success that was. However, I don’t think too many races should be at night as it will lose its unique edge!
Congratulations to Fernando Alonso, who won the race in a physically daunting task. Much credit has to be given to Renault as they tried a different stratergy from everyone else, taking a risk hoping it would pay off, and it did so. The reason for his victory though, has to be because of Nelson Piquet’s crash into the barrier. Normally, I don’t like the fact of safety cars as it messes up the race and gets really boring, but today, it added to the spice. However, take nothing away from Alonso who was immense all weekend (bar qualifying due to fuel problems) and fully deserved his first grand prix victory for a year.
This was an unforgetable weekend for most, except for Ferrari that is. Unsurprisingly, Massa had an eventful pit-stop as he drove away with the fuel pump still stuck in his car. In fairness, he was right to go as the green light flashed on the semi-automatic stop system (other teams use a lollipop). Massa then got a drive through penalty for this and ended up having to take another pit-stop for more fuel. Kimi on the other hand looked strong throughout the race and was the fastest man out there at one point. However, after a milli-second of losing concentration, Kimi lost control of the car and smashed into the wall. No points for Ferrari.
Perhaps the best driver of the day (and my favourite driver), Nico Rosberg. The Williams man was forced to pit for fuel while the pit-lane was closed. This caused a “stop and go” penalty for him which only dropped him down to fourth place. Why this guy didn’t go to McLaren when he had the chance, I do not know! He finished in P2.
Hamilton will be happy with the outcome of this weekend knowing he can finished second to Massa in the remaining races and still be crowned World Champion. I have to give credit to his sensible driving this weekend as he took risks when he needed to (e.g. the pass move on DC in turn 7) and played it safe when he had to (not trying to overtake Rosberg at stupid times). Lewis gained six points from this weekend increasing his lead to 7 points while McLaren also overtook Ferrari in the Drivers Championship.
I can’t wait for the remaining races left of this years F1. Will Hamilton win it? Or will Massa take his glory away from him? Leave your thoughts.
Massa's sparks in the first ever night race.
The most eagerly anticipated race probably in the history of formula one had its qualifying session today. The Singapore street circuit looks phenomenal underneath the black sky with bright lights beaming down onto the track. The 24-corner track has both narrow and wide sections mixing up the Valencia and Monaco grand prix’s and great to watch for the fans. It also provides a new challenge for the teams as they have to alter their cars for the bumpy ground.
Felipe Massa took the night race’s first ever pole position with a simply outstanding lap. Hamilton did get provisional pole but in the dying moments, Massa had to deliver, and deliver he did. Hamilton did well after Q2 scares of just qualifying in 10th. The brief scare was an eye-opener to the leader of the current drivers championship as he only did one lap in Q1. To be honest, it looked like he only needed that one lap, anything more would of been a waste but in the end, he got on the front row of the grid.
Kimi will start tomorrow’s race in P3. He looked back to his old self after he had a scare in Q1 almost not qualifying. After that, he was consistently fast and almost had pole, something we haven’t been able to say for a while now. Vettel also looked very strong today which is understandable from the confidence he gained from the previous win in Monza. The youngest ever winner of an F1 grand prix almost got within the top four but starts in P7 behind Heikki, Kubica, and Nick Heidfeld.
Fernando Alonso, was the previous holder of the youngest ever winner and he would probably want to put today behind him as tragedy struck at the beginning of Q2. The Spaniard’s car stopped after the fuel wasn’t getting to the engine to make it run which they should fix by tomorrow. El Alonso was one of the big guns and could’ve fought through into the front of the grid as he was fast in practice all week. He starts in P15.
Overall, a good day in terms of entertainment. Many teams will be happy with their performances over the entire week and will look forward to tomorrow, where round one of the four races to the crown of the drivers championship will be decided. I was a little concerned about Hamilton’s body language in the post-qualifying interview as he didn’t look comfortable. Unfortunately, I couldn’t hear what he was saying because the idiots at ITV couldn’t position the mic correctly!
My Verdict: Tomorrow’s race will be great to watch but I’m not sure about the entire result. Part of me hopes for rain as it adds to the spice but if it does, the race have a boring safety car since rain in Singapore comes down heavily. Could there be an upset? Will Hamilton still be at the top of the drivers championship after tomorrow? Leave your thoughts!
