Fernando Alonso took his Ferrari from pole to checkered in the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, leading every lap, setting fastest lap, and moving to second in championship points.
“This win means a lot,” Alonzo told the post-race press conference. “Coming from Monza we knew that that was a unique layout, so we wanted to confirm in a normal track—even if Singapore is still a very special layout as well—but with more downforce that the car is performing well.
“Singapore physically is maybe the toughest race of the season. Two hours with this humidity in a street circuit with no time to breathe, 24, 25 corners, so it was tough to drive.
“This win means a lot to keep in the fight in the championship. We know there are still four races to go but it seems we can be competitive on any track.”
Alonso’s Ferrari was the dominant car on the track from the start of the race. Alonso made a strong start, cutting sharply in front of Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull to gain position into Turn 1, opened a gap, and was never threatened until the final few laps, when Vettel got within a few tenths, but never close enough to set up a pass.
Vettel drove a good race, making only one small error—staying in second gear in a pit stop—but the Red Bull simply wasn’t fast enough for Alonso’s Ferrari. Vettel was advised to take care of the Red Bull’s brakes early in the race, but later on when Vettel went flat out, he still couldn’t catch the Ferrari.
Vettel seemed resigned to his second-place finish at the post-race press conference. “I tried to push [Alonso] as hard as I could into a mistake. He didn’t do a major mistake—as he said it is difficult to overtake here and it would have been too risky, so in the end we got away with second, good points.
“In the end it is good to get good points for the team. It helps us a lot in the Constructors’ Championship and in the Drivers’ Championship everything is still very much open.”
Alonso took the lead at the start, and the field made it around without incident for the first two laps.
A collision between Sauber’s Nic Heidfeld and Force India’s Vitantonio Liuzzi on lap three, brought out the safety car. Ferrari’s Felipe Massa, who had started from the back, came in for tires, along with Red Bull’s Mark Webber. Much of the back half of the field pitted, but none of the front.
Webber rejoined the field in 11th, behind the top 10, which had yet to stop for tires; theoretically Webber was in a very good position. If he kept close, he could take the lead when the leaders pitted under green.
Webber didn’t count on Alonso being so fast; by the time the leaders pitted to replace their worn tires on lap 29, Alonso had enough of a gap to rejoin just ahead of Webber, retaining the lead.
Behind the leaders, Kamui Kobayashi was having an eventful run. He hipchecked Michael Schumacher into the tire barrier on lap 28, and on lap 32 jammed himself into the barrier at Turn 18, where he was rammed by Bruno Senna. This brought out the safety car again.
“This win means a lot,” Alonzo told the post-race press conference. “Coming from Monza we knew that that was a unique layout, so we wanted to confirm in a normal track—even if Singapore is still a very special layout as well—but with more downforce that the car is performing well.
“Singapore physically is maybe the toughest race of the season. Two hours with this humidity in a street circuit with no time to breathe, 24, 25 corners, so it was tough to drive.
“This win means a lot to keep in the fight in the championship. We know there are still four races to go but it seems we can be competitive on any track.”
Alonso’s Ferrari was the dominant car on the track from the start of the race. Alonso made a strong start, cutting sharply in front of Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull to gain position into Turn 1, opened a gap, and was never threatened until the final few laps, when Vettel got within a few tenths, but never close enough to set up a pass.
Vettel drove a good race, making only one small error—staying in second gear in a pit stop—but the Red Bull simply wasn’t fast enough for Alonso’s Ferrari. Vettel was advised to take care of the Red Bull’s brakes early in the race, but later on when Vettel went flat out, he still couldn’t catch the Ferrari.
Vettel seemed resigned to his second-place finish at the post-race press conference. “I tried to push [Alonso] as hard as I could into a mistake. He didn’t do a major mistake—as he said it is difficult to overtake here and it would have been too risky, so in the end we got away with second, good points.
“In the end it is good to get good points for the team. It helps us a lot in the Constructors’ Championship and in the Drivers’ Championship everything is still very much open.”
Early Incident Affects Strategy
Alonso took the lead at the start, and the field made it around without incident for the first two laps.
A collision between Sauber’s Nic Heidfeld and Force India’s Vitantonio Liuzzi on lap three, brought out the safety car. Ferrari’s Felipe Massa, who had started from the back, came in for tires, along with Red Bull’s Mark Webber. Much of the back half of the field pitted, but none of the front.
Webber rejoined the field in 11th, behind the top 10, which had yet to stop for tires; theoretically Webber was in a very good position. If he kept close, he could take the lead when the leaders pitted under green.
Webber didn’t count on Alonso being so fast; by the time the leaders pitted to replace their worn tires on lap 29, Alonso had enough of a gap to rejoin just ahead of Webber, retaining the lead.
Behind the leaders, Kamui Kobayashi was having an eventful run. He hipchecked Michael Schumacher into the tire barrier on lap 28, and on lap 32 jammed himself into the barrier at Turn 18, where he was rammed by Bruno Senna. This brought out the safety car again.
