Singapore Grand Prix: Hamilton Finishes Third and Moves 7 Points Clear in Championship Race

September 28, 2008 by CLDsport

Sunday, 28th September 2008, the date of the first ever night race in Formula 1 history. With such a build-up, it would have been a travesty if the race itself proved to be non-eventful. Thankfully for all concerned, there was to be no disappointment.

Title contenders Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa started alongside each other on the front row, with the Brazilian edging it in qualifying.

The well discussed first corner was negotiated well, with all drivers getting through - despite a few close calls from those behind the first few rows. With the knowledge that the first lap was always going to be the best chance of out manoeuvring, chances were few and far between.

Massa was looking impressive in the early stage, opening up a relatively comfortable lead over second placed Hamilton. As he pitted under safety car conditions, the Ferrari team’s pit equipment gave the driver a green light to exit before the refuelling hose had been detached. As he pulled away he ripped the hose away from the equipment, and dragged it behind him down the pit lane - after knocking one of his own mechanics over in the process.

The Brazilian then had to pull over at the end of the pit lane and wait for his mechanics to sprint down to him to remove the hose. To make matters worse, he then received a drive-through penalty for the dangerous pit-lane exit. Race over.

It was left to Hamilton, and the McLaren team to score as many points as possible. Despite dropping behind Webber and Coulthard when most teams pitted under the safety car, Hamilton finished 3rd gaining 6 points and move 7 points clear of the unfortunate Massa.

It was Alonso, however, that won the race - despite starting from 15th after problems in qualifying on Saturday. His team put him on a short first stint, and the former double world champion managed to negotiate his way up to 11th.

Nelson Piquet’s spectacular crash on lap 15 that resulted in the safety car being deployed played greatly into the Spaniard’s hands. Alonso was the only car that did not have to stop for fuel and tyres and he suddenly found himself in 5th place. Rosberg and Kubica - who were ahead of Alonso - had to serve stop-go penalties (for pitting while the pit lane was closed).

The Spaniard showed great pace to open up a big enough gap to allow him to make his second stop and still come out in front - despite Trulli and Fishichella being on single stop strategies.

Nico Rosberg’s performance deserves credit, as he managed second place despite his stop-go penalty.

Ferrari’s day was made even worse on lap 57, when Raikkonen crashed into the wall at the chicane (turn 10) while running in 5th place. Ferrari’s failure to score any points results in McLaren jumping ahead of them in the race for the Constructors’ Championship. It’s fair to say that the Italian team will be feeling a little sore this evening.

It’s not the first time Ferrari’s pit-lane technology has hampered a race this season, and I’m sure the team will be investigating Massa’s incident. Something went badly wrong in Singapore today, and it’s lucky nobody was seriously injured.

Singapore Grand Prix Result:

1 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault one hour 5 minutes
2 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota 2.9 seconds behind
3 Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes +5.9secs
4 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota +8.1secs
5 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari +10.2secs
6. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber +11.101
7. David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault +16.387
8. Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams-Toyota +18.489
9. Jenson Button (GB) Honda +19.885
10. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes +26.902
11. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber +27.975
12. Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari +29.432
13. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari +35.107
14. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India-Ferrari +43.571
R15 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 57 laps completed
R Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 50 laps completed
R Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Ferrari 49 laps
R Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 29 laps
R Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Honda 14 laps
R Nelson Piquet Jr (Brz) Renault 13 laps