Formula One Highlights: Singapore Grand Prix 2010 – Part 3
This feature continues with the action from the 22nd lap. Michael Schumacher found himself 6 seconds behind Mark Webber as Kamui Kobayashi was making ground on the German. The Sauber was a mere 1.1 seconds behind. Meanwhile,
Webber was told on the radio to have a go at Barrichello. The Red Bull race engineer further added that the Australian was effectively racing Hamilton for third place – the prospect of seeing the two title contenders head to head was a mouthwatering one!
Fernando Alonso however was dictating pace, setting another fastest lap. The gap at the front was consistently hovering around the 3 second mark. Webber, obviously striving to make up some ground on Barrichello, had a little moment
as he locked his rear tyres – Whitmarsh’s prophecy at the start of the race was soon becoming a reality; car brakes were taking a beating. Barrichello held on, for the lap at least.
Lap 24 saw Vettel set his personal fastest lap, a good tenth quicker than Alonso on the run. The gap remained over 3 however. At the same time, Hamilton’s race radio came to life as he was told wirelessly to improve his lap times
by around 3 tenths per lap. Perhaps the McLaren team had finally registered the threat of Mark Webber on a pit-less race strategy.
However, the robustness of the softer compound tyres seemed to be obvious on the Singapore race track – none of the front runners had seen the pits with nearly half the race gone.
At the back of the grid, Nick Heidfeld was looking to get past Glock. Be it the top ten point scoring positions or anywhere on track, each and every position was hard fought for, something the Virgin driver could vouch for since
the start of the race. Despite Hamilton asked to up his pace, Mark Webber was still lapping quicker – A sign of impending pit stops?
Elsewhere, the lead duo was lapping in the 1 minute 51 second region while the best both McLarens could manage was a 2 second slower, 1 minute 53 second. Whether the striking performance was down to tyre issues or traffic, it was
hard to say.
Yellow flags were on track as the race struck to lap 28. Webber was in hot pursuit of Barrichello. However, this time around, the McLaren’s lapped faster than Webber by over a second.
McLaren fans all round had their hearts in their mouths seeing their top running driver, Lewis Hamilton enter pit lane – the tension, the added tension! Where would the car join the track? Where was Mark Webber in respect?
As the McLaren made its way from the pit lane to rejoin the race, a section of the crowd erupted in approval. Unfortunately for Hamilton, it was from the Red Bull end. The Briton came out behind Mark Webber – Red Bull’s decision
for an early stop for Webber had been validated.
The next lap saw both front men, Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel, into the pits at the same time. After relatively uneventful stops, the race order remained the same; Ferrari ahead of the Red Bull. Perhaps the worst was over
for Alonso, who looked to drive a steady, mistake-free race from thereon in. As far as Vettel was concerned, it was plain that if the Red Bull wanted to make a race out of it, it had to do it on track. Elsewhere, Jenson Button pitted too, and rejoined in eighth
position.
The German Red Bull driver, perhaps taking note of the effective predicament and the stakes involved, responded by setting the quickest second sector and third sector time on his out lap. He was 1.2 seconds behind Alonso – could
Vettel remain close enough for the entire stint of the race to pull off an overtaking maneuver before the end of the 61st lap? Singapore was bracing itself for an exciting finish - irrespective of the concluding order at the end of the night, the
championship standings were bound to face a huge makeover.
Stay tuned…
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