Formula One highlights: Singapore Grand Prix 2010 – Part 1
The one and only night race of the Formula One calendar promised to be an exciting affair. Fernando Alonso found himself in back to back pole positions, while Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel only managed to set the second fastest
time despite the fact that his car was expected to blaze through the streets of Singapore. The two McLarens featuring Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button were pretty much in contention in 3rd and 4th. Championship leader, Mark Webber, was below par as he started
at the tail end of the top 5.
Felipe Massa was set to start from the back of the grid after dropping out of qualifying due to engine issues. Nico Hulkenberg had been penalized 5 grid positions for changing his gearbox and had to start from 17th.
The forecast 20 minutes prior to the warm up lap said the air temperate would be around 30 degrees Celsius. Conditions were hot and mostly cloudy. It appeared to be a dry race till the chequered flag.
With 10 minutes to go, Jaime Alguersuari faced some problems and did not make his way out. The Toro Rosso was going to start from the pit lane.
As the warm up lap began, Martin Whitmarsh (McLaren team principal) believed that brake wear would be a crucial factor in the race after observing some cars spitting brake dust during qualifying.
The five red lights illuminated and when they went out, the race was officially underway.
Alonso got off cleanly and was leading into turn 1. Vettel was second – a sight that had the Red Bull team breathing a collective sigh of relief after their starting woes in the last few races. Most prominently, the top 5 drivers
stayed in the same position.
The end of the first lap saw Heidfeld as the first retirement for Singapore – disappointing for the BMW Sauber driver in his comeback race for 2010. Massa directed his Ferrari right for the pit lane – it seemed to be a strategic
move and the Brazilian looked to complete the race on the new set of hard tyres.
The next lap saw another driver pulling out - this time in the form of Force India’s Liuzzi - due to suspension damage. The incident set the safety car in motion. The effective safety regulations might have just played into Massa’s
favour as he had already pitted and could easily stay in touch with the rest of the pack ahead.
Mark Webber dived into the pits along with the second half of the grid. However, the Australian was the only driver from the top 10 not to stay out on track – a gamble on the part of Red Bull?
The safety car and the rush in the pit lane had everybody confused. It was hard to judge where the cars were in respect to track position. To top things off, Nick Heidfeld appeared to be back from the dead! The BMW Sauber still
appeared to have a heartbeat after visiting the pits twice – What was going on?
Later on replays confirmed Heidfeld involved in an incident with Liuzzi. As predicted, Felipe Massa had greatly benefited from the safety car spell. The Ferrari was up to 15th without making a single overtaking manoeuvre.
Moments later, Jarno Trulli appeared to be in a spot of bother and was seen limping around the track with a punctured tyre. Mark Webber got past Kobayashi and was effectively positioned 9th on the track.
Lap 8 saw a tangle between Hulkenberg and Petrov. As both cars went off the racing line, the door was open for Adrian Sutil to capitalize and gain two spots without much trouble.
At the front, Fernando Alonso was slowly spreading his wings with a 1.3 second lead over second placed Sebastian Vettel.
Timo Glock was running in an impressive 11th, just a spot shy of the point scoring barrier – Could Virgin Racing, marred by reliability issues and shunted to the bottom end of the table, finally shed its mediocrity curse
and manage to score its first point since its inauguration?
Stay tuned…
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