Hamilton Breezes to Win in Singapore F1 Grand Prix

As the 2009 Formula One season comes to its final few races, the number of drivers who have a chance at the championship shrinks. Every error is magnified, and every driver’s loss is a gain for another. Every moment of every race has dramatic potential.

The Singapore Formula One Grand Prix was a race full of drama, dreams nearly realized and then dashed, and second chances for some who had thought their dreams were escaping.

The drama started before the race began. Recently fired Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr. told the FIA that he had been ordered to crash during the 2008 Singapore F1 Grand Prix to help Fernando Alonso, who went on to win the race because of the resulting caution period.

Renault was given a suspended two-year ban from F1—really no penalty at all—and ordered to pay the costs of the FIA investigation. Also Team Prinicpal Flavio Briatore and engineering director Pat Symonds were banned from all involvement with Formula One racing for life. Fernando Alonso was absolved of all involvement in the crash.

Considering that a crash involves enormous risk to drivers, track personnel and fans, the basic-non-penalty brought outrage from many quarters. Many suspect that the FIA, a French organization, favored Renault, a French team, and also feared losing another big-budget manufacturer’s team, after Hondas left last season and BMW after this one (though the BMW team has been purchased and could still race in 2010.)

In any case, the ruling is what it is; the furor over the incident and its aftermath has lasted for weeks and will last many more. FIA President Max Mosley should step down at the end of this season, and perhaps Formula One will develop in a healthier direction.

Hamilton Start to Finish

For McLaren driver and defending World Champion Lewis Hamilton, the race was an easy win. Hamilton started from the pole and kept the lead throughout the race, surrendering it only briefly as pit stops cycled through. Only a few drivers could match his speed, and none could get close enough to challenge.

“It was very, very tough race I think I can probably speak for all of us, conditions made it very tough but generally the race was pretty straightforward for me” Hamilton said after the race. “I was never seriously under a lot of pressure. I felt for myself it was a nicely controlled race.

“I did have a little bit of pressure for Nico and the cars behind at the beginning they seemed to be very quick through the first sector but I was looking after my tires and I think it paid dividends in the end.”

Early in the race, the team reported to Hamilton that he might have problems with his KERS system. The car had been rebuilt before practice because of electrical problems, and the crew thought some issues might remain.

"I had no problems in the car with the KERS but the team came across on the radio and said was possibly a fault," Hamilton explained. "It was still working at that point I had to disable it and reengage it it worked after that. It was quite a few switch changes but it worked fine after that it was never a problem after that."

Hamilton drove flawlessly and his McLaren preformed faultlessly. Others were not so lucky.

Red Bull’s Demise

Both Red Bull drivers, Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, were in the hunt for championship points and both qualified well, Vettel in second and Webber in fourth.

Vettel was 26 points behind championship leader Jenson Button, while Webber was 38.5 back. Both needed exceptional finishes in every remaining race to have a chance, and both needed Jenson Button to perform poorly, which, in fact, he had been doing, after his early string of six wins in seven races.

Both Red Bull drivers came to Singapore with their seasons on the line.

Sebastian Vettel lost a place on the start but didn’t let that faze him; he followed patiently behind Hamilton and Williams driver Nico Rosberg, waiting for a chance. His patience was rewarded, as Rosberg, who had been driving an amazing race, overcooked it coming out of the pits on lap 19. Rosberg ran wide and crossed the pit lane line, earning himself a drive-through penalty and ruining an excellent effort.

Webber made a bad start and was lucky to hold fourth. The on lap seven, Webber went off the track to pass Renault driver Fernando Alonso, and was penalized two spots.

On lap 24, Adrian Sutil spun, trying too hard to pass Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari, and came to rest with his nose in the path of BWM driver Nick Heidfeld. The resulting accident sidelined both cars, and brought out the safety car.
Sutil was fined $20, 00 after the race, which did nothing to assuage the pain of Nick Heidfeld; this was Heidfeld’s first retirement in 35 starts.

After the restart and Rosberg’s penalty, Vettel was right behind Hamilton, pressing him on every lap. Meanwhile, teammate Mark Webber was struggling along in eighth. Vettel kept up the pressure until he pitted on lap 39. He got caught speeding down pit lane, earning himself a drive-through penalty, badly hurting his chances in the race and in the championship. He compounded his problems by straddling a curb, breaking some fins off his rear diffuser.

The order now was Hamilton, Glock, Alonso, Barrichello, Kovaalinen, Button, with Vettel in seventh and Webber still in eighth.

On lap 45, Webber pitted for a brake inspection. On lap 46, Webber’s right front brake disc exploded and he spun into the wall, ending his day and dashing his championship dreams.

Meanwhile the Red Bull team radioed to Vettel, “We’re still racing for fourth or fifth. Stay focused; we’re still racing.”

The Brawn drivers came alive in their final stints; apparently the cars liked the softer compound Option tires. But in the final five laps, both Brawns developed brake problems, and had to slow. Ross Brawn himself radioed Jenson Button, saying, “Ease off … hold on to what you’ve got.”

Vettel stuck it out, driving his heart out, and did indeed finish fourth, one spot ahead of Jenson Button and two ahead of Rubens Barrichello. However, he only gained one point on Button; Vettel needs to finish first or second in the remaining there races, while button would have to finish seventh, eighth, or out of the points, and with Brawn seemingly getting their pace back, the outlook for Red Bull looks grim.

Toro Rosso’s Broken Brakes

Toro Roosso drivers Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Algusuari had no championship hopes, no dreams of finishing on the podium; the most they hoped for were steady performances and to be running at the finish. Unfortunately for them, even that was more than they got.

After spending much of the race circulating twelfth and seventeenth, Buemi and Alsersuari were called in by their team shortly after Mark Webber’s brakes exploded.

The Toro Rosso (Red Bull in Italian) is basically a red Bull chassis with a Ferrari engine; both teams use Brembo brakes, and all the teams using Brembo brakes were having wear and overheating problems. Toro Rosso opted to retire both cars rather than risk crashing.

When Some Lose, Some Win

Disaster for some can be opportunity for others, and at Singapore, this was definitely the case.
Toyota driver Timo Glock, no doubt spurred on by rumors that he would be dropped by the team at the end of the season, put in a career-saving drive, showing that he was a worthwhile investment.

Glock qualified in seventh, moved up two places on the start, took over fourth on lap five, and stayed in the top four for the rest of the race. His second-place finish is the best of his career. Glock benefitted mightily from the mishaps of Vettel and Rosberg. Instead of fighting to hold fourth, Glock finished the race circulating safely behind the leaders, several seconds ahead of third-place finisher Fernando Alonso.

“It was a really good race for me,” Timo Glock said. “I messed up in the first corner, so I had to attack quite a lot, but then I had a good first stint. I knew I could not go the pace from the first two, three guys so I just settled down to my pace, got concentrated and just saw what I could do with my car to keep it one hundred percent.

“Before I came here to Singapore, I knew last year we were good here. I think, here, the driver can make a difference. I just pushed as hard as possible.”

He went on, "I lost the view of where the other guys are, so after I changed to the Option tires I pushed quite a lot. My team did not say to me where I am, and suddenly they said, ‘You are safe for P2’ [finishing in second place] and I was really surprised and just brought it home at the end.”

Alonso also benefited greatly from the errors of others. He spent much of the race in fifth, far behind the lead three of Hamilton, Rosberg, and Vettel. Attrition thinned the field ahead of him, and he earned a podium finish with having to pass anyone on track. After his tainted 2008 win here, a podium he actually earned must have been very sweet indeed.

"It is fantastic, the result is great for us—to be on our first podium of the season,” said Fernando Alonso.

"First lap it was a little bit stressful. I went into Turn Seven side by Side with Mark [Webber]. We both ran wide and over the curb and then Timo took the benefit there and overtook me. Because of the battle with Webber I think I lost the position to Timo and then I finished the race behind him, but I am not really complaining. 

"We didn’t have the pace all weekend to be on the podium, and we have the podium, so, much better than we expected."

Six cars retired for various reasons during the race, while the Renault ran strong. Alonso commented on this: “The team has been fantastic all season the mechanics and everyone in the factory did the maximum sometimes we did get some good results, sometimes we  have been a little but unlucky. But finally, this podium, in this particular moment, after what happened from Monza to here …

"We are a team that has been through a difficult time. Now we put that behind us and we just concentrate on the remaining races. And I dedicate this podium to Flavio [Briatore] because he is part of the success we had today.”

Brawn the Biggest Winners

Finally, the biggest winners of them all: Brawn GP drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello.

Barrichello qualified fifth, and drove a steady, uneventful race. He didn’t have brake issues until the end, when he was far enough ahead of Kovalainnen and far enough behind Button that it really didn’t matter.

Button made a complete hash of qualifying, not even reaching the final qualifying sessions. He spent most of the race back in the pack and out of the points; it seemed all his adversaries would shrink his lead. But attrition, penalties, and the miraculous transformation of his Brawn from a mutt to a greyhound with the addition of Option tires, gave Button a near-lock on the championship with three races left.

Barrichello almost caught him at the end; for Button, it was lucky that the Brawn’s brakes went off, or he might have lost fourth place to his teammate.

With a fifteen point lead over Barrichello and only three races left, all Button need do is finish with in four places of Barrichello in each of the three remaining races and the world will have a new driving champion. And as much as he can thank his own talent, Ross Brawn’s (and Honda’s) chassis, and Mercedes’ excellent engine, he can thanks the errors of Niko Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel as well.

Three to Go

There are only three races left in the 2009 Formula One Grand Prix season: the Japanese Grand Prix at the beautiful Suzuka circuit, The Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo, and finally the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on the exotic Yas Marina circuit.

Suzuka is a bizarre, beautiful seventeen-turn figure-eight circuit which has just finished renovations. F1 has not raced on it since 2006 so no one knows how the track surface, but the course is extremely demanding; the Brawns should do well with their handling ability.

Sao Paulo is bumpy, challenging, and the high heat and humidity do not favor the Brawns. Perhaps, as at hot, humid Singapore, the Brawns will find a decent setup; perhaps they will not come alive until the final stint on options. The course features a very twisty, low-speed section and an open, high-speed section. McLaren might do better here.

The Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi is a wholly artificial circuit, and has never seen a race. It was not officially completed until September 27 of this year. The twenty-turn course will not give the drivers much chance to rest. The race at Abu Dhabi will start at dusk and finish in the dark; hopefully the low-angled sun will not interfere with drivers’ visibility.  This will be another hot and humid venue; traditionally, Brawn has not done well in warm weather, but the team might have learned a trick or two.

In any case, nobody but Rubens Barrichello has any real chance to challenge Buttons for the driving Championship. Barring catastrophic accidents, Brawn GP will win the Constructors’ Championship, and one of the Brawn drivers will be World Driving Champion.

The 2009 Formula 1 Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix starts at 1:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Sunday, October 4. For tickets and travel information please visit the Formula1.com Web site.

 

2009 Formula 1 Singtel Singapore Grand Prix
Pos	No	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Pts
1	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	61	1:56:06.337	1	10
2	10	Timo Glock	Toyota	61	+9.6 secs	6	8
3	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault	61	+16.6 secs	5	6
4	15	Sebastian Vettel	RBR-Renault	61	+20.2 secs	2	5
5	22	Jenson Button	Brawn-Mercedes	61	+30.0 secs	11	4
6	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn-Mercedes	61	+31.8 secs	9	3
7	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	61	+36.1 secs	8	2
8	5	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	61	+55.0 secs	7	1
9	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota	61	+56.0 secs	10
10	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	61	+58.8 secs	12
11	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	61	+59.7 secs	3
12	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	61	+73.0 secs	14
13	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Ferrari	61	+79.8 secs	17
14	21	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India-Mercedes	61	+93.5 secs	19
Ret	11	Jaime Alguersuari	STR-Ferrari	47	+14 Laps	16
Ret	12	Sebastien Buemi	STR-Ferrari	47	+14 Laps	13
Ret	14	Mark Webber	RBR-Renault	45	+16 Laps	4
Ret	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Mercedes	23	+38 Laps	15
Ret	6	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	19	+42 Laps	20
Ret	8	Romain Grosjean	Renault	3	+58 Laps	18