Formula One Highlights: Singapore Grand Prix 2010 – Part 2
While Timo Glock was on his hunt for glory, things were getting tighter on the tail end of the top ten. Rubens Barrichello, Michael Schumacher and Mark Webber were close in 7th, 8th and 9threspectively.
Webber’s Red Bull was performing uncharacteristically as he was running close to 2 seconds a lap slower than the front runners.
Lap 10 saw Felipe Massa all over the back of Hulkenberg but the Williams car was doing a fine job guarding the racing line as the Ferrari continued to struggle to find a way past. Perhaps things were soon getting back in balance
as the lack of relative performance of the Virgin was becoming evident by the lap - there was a 7 car queue behind Timo Glock and it looked to be a matter of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’ he would have to say goodbye to his fortuitous 11thplace.
Mark Webber was effectively 11.2 seconds behind the leaders. However the Australian, unfazed by the time difference, appeared to be a man on the move after successfully pulling off an overtaking maneuver on Michael Schumacher.
The Championship leader was up in 8th as a result.
Meanwhile, Alonso was running at an impressive pace at the front, opening some breathing space between himself and the second placed Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel. Mark Webber continued his charge and was trying to find a way past
Rubens Barrichello’s Williams.
Timo Glock was still running in 11th, holding that queue of cars behind him at the end of lap 13. The Virgin driver was demonstrating some great defensive driving to keep out much faster cars behind.
At the front, Alonso was over 20 seconds ahead of Mark Webber and was lapping close to 2 seconds a lap quicker. Ideally, the front runners would require a gap of around 28 seconds to pit and come out ahead of the eight placed Red
Bull. While the Red Bulls continued to be the centre of attention, Vettel was able to set the fastest time for lap 15. The youngster mentioned on the radio that he wasn’t pushing at all - could it mean some untapped pace was yet to be exhibited by both Red
Bulls?
The front picture looked as such: Hamilton was 4.2 seconds behind Vettel in 3rd while Button was a trailing a further 5 seconds behind his team mate. Timo Glock after an impressive show had to give in to the Force India’s
sheer performance - Adrian Sutil was the first to breach the Virgin wall with Hulkenberg looking to capitalize further.
Lap 17 saw Glock drop to 13 as Hulkenberg went past. The Virgin was slowly heading down the order. Meanwhile, Webber continued to be lapped by over 2 seconds by the lead duo – perhaps a show of the Red Bull’s sheer patience as
it was scheduled to go the entire race length on its current set of hard Bridgestones. Perhaps the Virgin was experiencing some problems as the car slowed down and subsequently allowed the queue of cars through. Glock had dropped down to 17th at
the end of lap 18.
Things were going all rosy for the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard’s gap over Webber was large enough for him to pit and still come out ahead. Perhaps it was time for Webber to set his sights for the more gettable target
in the form of the two McLaren cars, particularly Button’s.
In the middle of the field, Massa and Hulkenberg were having a close battle for the 12th and 13th place while Massa’s team mate was able to set the fastest S2 time, stretching his lead to 3.2 seconds over
2nd placed Vettel. The apparent injection in pace perhaps suggested Ferrari’s urgency before the set of pit stops. In Formula One, cars are often seen putting in fast laps before heading into the pits – Would the front running Ferrari blink first?
Was there any pit lane drama in store at the night race?
Stay tuned to find out…
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