Singapore Grand Prix: Sebastian Vettel played safe by not passing Fernando Alonso
Sebastian Vettel has claimed that he was trying to stay safe and did not want to risk his championship hopes by trying to overtake the Ferrari driver at the Singapore Grand Prix. Yes, it seems that everyone would agree with that. If Sebastian really tried
to make a move on Fernando, it would have risked his chances of scoring any points at all and might have also put him in some trouble from the stewards.
Vettel spent most of the 61 lap race behind the back of Fernando’s Ferrari. “I was pushing him [Alonso] as hard as I could to try and make him make a mistake because, obviously, it is difficult to overtake here. But it would have been too risky
and in the end we got away with second and good points”, Vettel told media persons.
The German driver believes that the most important thing for him was that his car remained quick and competitive during the whole weekend. But still, the Red Bulls seemed to be missing something in the qualifying session and one can believe that they were
missing the same bit during the race as well which made it difficult for Vettel to pass Alonso.
It looked to be a good decision to put Vettel in the pits at the same time as of Alonso. It effectively nullified the battle at the front of the pack and prevented him from putting a quick lap in order to get past. However, Vettel said that the decision
was made due to the unsafe state of the tires. “Towards the end of the first stint, the soft tires were pretty much at the end of their life and the car was sliding a lot. We came in on the same lap and unfortunately I made a little mistake but I think it
would have been close. But that is the story of the whole race”, he said.
Team Red Bull left Marina Bay satisfied as they now have a comfortable lead in the constructors’ standings but the drivers’ standings are still looking stuffy with top 5 drivers split by only 25 points. Meanwhile, Team McLaren didn’t look much stronger at
Singapore but they might still be able to take some advantage at the Japanese Grand Prix in two weeks time. Team Ferrari, however, is performing well. Their versatility might help them win the title but Red Bull look to be in better position currently.
Mark Webber is leading the championship with 202 points, just 11 points ahead of the Spaniard, while Lewis Hamilton has dropped to 3rd place after his retirement ahead of Vettel and Jenson Button, both in 4th and 5th places
respectively. It would be interesting to see what the teams come up with at Suzuka circuit as the season approaches its final four races.
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