Winners and losers from Singapore Grand Prix
It is always a spectacular scene when Formula One goes to Singapore, and last Sunday’s race didn’t disappoint at all.
Fernando Alonso took his fourth win of the season after produce a stunning drive in his Ferrari, and he now has Red Bull worried as he is the man to beat for the rest of the season.
When Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel brushed the wall on his final qualifying lap, it would prove costly, as Alonso took pole position and the win, as Vettel wasn’t able to find a way past on a tight track, and had to settle for second place.
Alonso moved up to second in the drivers’ standings, and trails championship leader Mark Webber by 11 points. Three wins in the last five races has given Alonso the momentum to take a third world crown, and after driving for nearly two hours at night without making an error, he is certainly the major winner to emerge from Singapore.
Red Bull will be quietly confident of claiming both the drivers’ and constructors’ championship in the remaining four races, as they know they should have won the race courtesy of Vettel thanks to having the quickest car. Whether it is Webber - who finished third in the race - or Vettel who delivers for them, Red Bull won’t mind at all, and they will be thinking they will be the major winners come the end of the season after securing valuable points.
Unfortunately, for Lewis Hamilton, he is the biggest loser from the race, as he picked up his second DNF in a row after colliding with Webber. Hamilton was at fault for his retirement in Italy - where he drove into Felipe Massa - but he wasn’t at fault for his latest non-finish. The McLaren driver has fallen 20 points behind and third in the standings. He will be disappointed as he had been the leading driver heading into the Italian Grand Prix, and has been on the wrong end of results at a critical time in the season.
Another loser from the race was Jenson Button. The reigning world champion was unable to match the pace of Alonso and Vettel at the front, and has a lot of work to do if he is to become the first British driver to win back-to-back championships.
Like his teammate Hamilton, Button would have been disappointed as well. Seeing Webber finish ahead of him could see him relinquish his crown at the end of the season as he is 25 points behind the Australian. Anything is still possible, but out of the five drivers in contention to become world champion this season, he has the hardest task.
Although he is not in the fight for the world title, Robert Kubica livened up proceedings towards the end of the grand prix. He had been running in sixth position, but suffered a puncture. Coming out of the pits in 13th place, he managed to overtake five drivers and finish in seventh. On a track where overtaking is extremely difficult, Kubica pulled off daring manoeuvres to show that he is a top-class driver. For his team Renault, in their eyes he is a winner.
Mercedes-Benz GP have not enjoyed their return to Formula One, and even with the seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher at the helm, their performances have been shocking. One slight positive for them has been how Nico Rosberg has consistently out-qualified and out-scored the German master. A solid fifth in Singapore for Rosberg, compared to Schumacher’s lowly 13th, is all they had to show for their efforts.
The losers from Singapore will be hoping to turn their fortunes around come the next race in Japan in two weeks’ time.
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