Alonso happy but wants improvements for Suzuka

Formula One championship leader Fernando Alonso was happy with his third-place finish at the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday despite seeing his advantage cut to 29 points over race winner Sebastian Vettel

Vettel inherited the race lead from pole sitter Lewis Hamilton after the Briton retired with a gearbox failure and the German held off the other McLaren of Jenson Button and Alonso's Ferrari to reignite his hopes of a third straight title.

Alonso has made a habit of converting poor qualifying positions into big points this season to forge ahead of the field and the double world champion was able to draw on his experience to achieve another strong result in Singapore.

"It was the best I could hope for as we were not very competitive this weekend in terms of pace," Alonso told reporters after recording his 81st podium in Formula One, putting him third on the all-time list in that category.

"But we qualified well, which was the best part of the weekend. If you are stuck at the rear of the race then you have a lot of problems," he added.

"It was a very positive weekend. We only lost points to one of our major contenders which is good considering we are not quick enough."

Looking ahead to the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka on October 7, Alonso is hoping for an improved performance in qualifying to stay ahead of his rivals with just six rounds remaining in the 20-race season.

"It's a little bit difficult to predict as it has been a year of ups and downs for all the teams. Here we (Ferrari) could only qualify fifth and 13th which is not what we are hoping for," he said.

"We need to do better at Suzuka, it is similar to Silverstone where we did well, so we're hoping for an improved performance."

BRAZILIAN BATTLE

Alonso's team mate Felipe Massa continues to be the subject of speculation concerning his future at the Italian team and the Brazilian had an eventful race, dropping from 13th to last on the first lap before fighting back to finish eighth.

His battle with fellow Brazilian Bruno Senna after the second safety car restart was a highlight of the race but Massa was unhappy with his compatriot, who almost pushed him into the barriers at Turn 13.

"I think that was really not nice because I was already alongside and he pushed over to my car and wedged me into the wall," Massa said.

"Fortunately nothing happened to my car and I'm a little bit more calm now."

Massa was forced to pit on the first lap but a patient drive enabled him to score valuable points in his quest to hold on to his seat.

"It was a puncture because someone touched me," Massa added. "It's unfortunate but the car today was fantastic.

"I was so happy with the car and the pace and how I was driving today. Even starting 13th, it was a race where we could have finished in the top five with both cars.

"I'm happy with my race but not with what happened at the first corner, but it's true that starting near the back it's more likely this can happen."

Source: Reuters Sports

Räikkönen confirms: The liberties Lotus give is an important factor

Kimi Räikkönen confirmed that he enjoys working in Lotus-team partly because the team gives him certain liberties

Räikkönen hasn't had as many sponsor-duties in Lotus as the other top teams demand from their drivers.

- I have been satisfied with what we have done with this team. It's a good place for me to work, I get quite a lot of liberties etc. That's why I have liked it here, Räikkönen told MTV3 in Singapore.

Räikkönen will continue in Lotus next season also. According to Kimi it isn't up to money to continue in F1 anymore.

- A lot of things are significant. Of course you should get paid for the work you do. But this isn't such a luxury-thing that one is here only for the money. Of course there are many different things in contracts and there's so much more in F1 than just driving, Kimi said.

Räikkönen hasn't yet made any long-term plans for his F1-career.

- I don't have any reason to decide today what I'm going to do in two or three years time. I drive as long as it feels good. If it doesn't feel good when I wake up tomorrow, then I don't have to come here. I can for example go home. I decide myself what I do. I'm sure there are drivers who impose themself here if someone doesn't feel like driving anymore, Räikkönen states.

Source: MTV3
Courtesy: Nicole

Singapore GP: Vettel Wins, Hamilton Retires

Sebastian Vettel was handed the win in a timed Singapore GP and second in the Championship when Lewis Hamilton's gearbox failed

Leading from pole position, Hamilton held a steady 1.5 to 2 second advantage over Vettel through the first round of pit stops.

Appearing to be comfortably maintain his lead, the McLaren suddenly slowed down on lap 23, forcing Hamilton to park it. The Brit's race engineer confirming it was a "gearbox failure" and that the team already knew about it.

Hamilton's demise put Vettel up into P1 with the Red Bull racer holding a three second advantage over Jenson Button while Pastor Maldonado and Fernando Alonso raced for the final podium position.

The Safety Car spiced things up when on lap 33 Narain Karthikeyan put his HRT into the wall.

The drivers dived into the pits with Alonso winning his battle against Maldonado to move up to third while the Williams driver came out a dismal P10. A lap later, while behind the Safety Car, Maldonado was told he had a hydraulic problem and must retire. He did.

Restarting on lap 39 it wasn't long before the race was again behind the Safety Car as Michael Schumacher slammed into the back of Jean-Eric Vergne as the Toro Rosso and Sergio Perez braked for the corner.

Bunched up again the race resumed on lap 43 with Vettel staying ahead of Button and Alonso. The 2011 Singapore GP winner slowly begun to etch out a lead over Button who in turn pulled away from Alonso.

The trio maintained position as they raced to the finish line, which was determined by the two hour mark instead of the number of laps, with Vettel taking his second Singapore victory by 8.3s over Button. Alonso was a further six seconds back.

Paul di Resta secured his best-ever result ahead of Nico Rosberg and Kimi Raikkonen.

Results
01. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 2h00:26.144
02. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 8.959
03. Alonso Ferrari + 15.227
04. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 19.063
05. Rosberg Mercedes + 34.759
06. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault + 35.700
07. Grosjean Lotus-Renault + 36.600
08. Massa Ferrari + 42.800
09. Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 45.800
10. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 47.100
11. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 50.600
12. Glock Marussia-Cosworth + 1 lap
13. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
14. Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
15. Pic Marussia-Cosworth + 1 lap
16. Kovalainen Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
17. De la Rosa HRT-Cosworth + 1 lap
18. Senna Williams-Renault + 2 laps
19. Petrov Caterham-Renault + 2 laps

Did Not Finish
Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 41
Schumacher Mercedes 41
Maldonado Williams-Renault 41
Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 33
Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 25

Source: Planet-F1

Video: BBC Singapore GP - Lewis Hamilton 'really happy' with pole

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton says he is "really happy" to continue his recent strong qualifying form by claiming pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix.

The result is Hamilton's third pole in the last four races, while his team-mate Jenson Button ended the session in fourth place on the grid.

Button admits he has struggled to put together a fast lap so far at the Marina Bay track, but hopes for better in Sunday's race.



Source: SixtySixBucks

Qualifying: Hamilton Secures Singapore Pole

Lewis Hamilton claimed a dominant pole position in Singapore where he'll be joined by Pastor Maldonado on the front row of the grid

Despite Sebastian Vettel having been quickest in all three practice sessions, the German was not able to make it count when it mattered most. He'll be joined on the second row by Jenson Button while Fernando Alonso and Paul di Resta make up the third row ahead of Mark Webber and Romain Grosjean.

Qualifying Report
It was dry in Singapore with an ambient temperature of 28C and the track at 30C with very high humidity. Teams all strapped on the Soft (prime) tyre to do multiple laps.

Romain Grosjean set the fastest early time with a 1:50.733, edged down by Pastor Maldonado with a 1:49.976, before Fernando Alonso took over at the top with a 1:49.511. Maldonado hadn't finished, though, and came back with a 1:49.494.

Many of the drivers were finding the edge of adhesion, Perez missed the chicane at Turn 10, Nico Rosberg rallycrossed across the kerbs at Turn 10, Raikkonen went on into the escape road at Turn 7, Lewis Hamilton tried to set a fast lap but locked up the fronts and missed Turn 1. Bruno Senna was flirting with the barrier again after stopping in practice having hit it yesterday.

Nico Rosberg edged the top time down to 1:49.463, Alonso reduced it to 1:49.391. When Lewis Hamilton finally got a clear lap in it was amazingly quick, a 1:48.285 with Jenson Button slotting into P2 behind.

Mark Webber took P2 and then Sebastian Vettel took P2 off him, falling short of Hamilton's time by just 0.002 of a second. The Lotus team's lack of confidence of getting out of Q1 was evidenced by their early switch to the red-walled Super Soft tyres that had been 1.5 seconds quicker in practice

This took Raikkonen to the P1 time of 1:48.169, then succeeded by DiResta and Grosjean. Running into the final three minutes the new teams occupied the bottom five places but with the star of Monza close to the danger zone. 17.Perez, 18,Petrov, 19.Vergne, 20. Kovalainen.

Perez jumped up to P7, and when the perennial Q1 drop-out Jean-Eric Vergne elevated himself to P15 it was Kamui Kobayashi - troubled with oversteer - who was left in P18. He couldn't improve.

So out went: 18.Kobayashi, 19.Petrov, 20.Kovalainen, 21.Glock, 22.Pic, 23.Karthikeyan, 24.De la Rosa.

Petrov had beaten Kovalainen with his hastily rebuilt Caterham - severely mangled in FP3 - and Narain Karthikyean had outqualified Pedro de la Rosa by almost a second. What was most interesting, though, was the progress of the Marussia team, with Timo Glock now just two tenths behind the Caterham of Heikki Kovalainen.

Breathing slightly easier in the pitlane was Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali, having seen Felipe Massa's time slide to P16.

Qualifying 2
With reports that the stewards were looking at impeding from Timo Glock and Mark Webber, the green light came on again for Q2.

Romain Grosjean was out early and dealt what looked like a hefty blow to the wall at Turn 14. He was able to return to the pits. Team-mate Raikkonen was soon on the board with a 1:48.261, followed by Alonso with a 1:48.058.

This was all put into perspective by a masterful lap from Sebastian Vettel, a 1:46.791 - and yes, still on the same tyres. If that wasn't impressive enough, Hamilton went even quicker with a 1:46.665.

Bruno Senns ended his involvement in Q2 with a hefty whack of the barrier with his familiar right rear wheel but was able to limp back to the pits to retire from the session. Grosjean had been able to continue, though.

As each timed session developed, the track rubbered in, but with much bigger gaps between the front runners than almost any qualifying session this year. Running into the last four minutes the danger positions were: 7.Rosberg, 8.Maldonado, 9.Massa, 10.DiResta, 11.Schumacher, 12.Hulkenberg, 13.Perez, 14.Ricciardo, 15.Vergne, 16.Grosjean (no time), 17.Senna (stopped)

Grosjean produced a wild ride to claim P3, Paul Di Resta put his Force India into P4, Nico Hulkenberg managed P6, Mark Webber made himself safe in P3, Nico Rosberg got his Mercedes into P7, Fernando Alonso (who had slipped down to P10) climbed back up to P5 but team-mate Felipe Massa was P11 and out. Raikkonen then topok over P11.

In the dying moments of the session Pastor Maldonado jumped to P5 and Michael Schumacher squeezed into the top ten in P9.

So out went: 11.Hulkenberg, 12.Raikkonen, 13.Massa, 14.Perez, 15.Ricciardo, 16.Vergne, 17.Senna

Hulkenberg was aggrieved to be sent out when he was by the Force India team, losing tyre temperature as he dodged out of the way of cars on hot laps. Unusually, Raikkonen was 0.7 slower and Massa was 0.8 slower than their respective team-mates.

Qualifying 3
Another anti-climactic session with the two Mercedes cars going out early on a set of scrubbed soft tyres and then coming back into the pits, so they could start from P9 and P10.

Mark Webber started a lap but abandoned it and came back in. That left just Button, Hamilton and Vettel on track to put in times. Jenson Button took P1 with a 1:47.238, this was anihilated by Hamilton with a 1:46.362. Surprisingly Vettel could only manage P3.

These three times were the only ones to be registered with just one minute left of the session to go. Grosjean then went P4, an even wilder ride than Q2 with the Lotus surviving some hairy moments over the kerbs and avoiding the barriers. A stellar lap from Pastor Maldonado put him P2. Alonso grabbed P3, Webber was a long way short of his team-mate in P5 but Vettel himself could only manage P3 behind Maldonado.

Would Button make it an all-McLaren front row? No. Jenson could only manage P4 in front of Alonso but behind Vettel. Christian Horner put the lack of pace down to poor timing of the outlaps. The Singapore Grand Prix has been won by the polesitter for the last three years, but in every one of those there has been a Safety Car period. Hamilton looks strong for the race tomorrow, providing there isn't too much thermal degradation of the super soft tyres in the first stint.

Times

01. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m46.362
02. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m46.804 + 0.442
03. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m46.905 + 0.543
04. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m46.939 + 0.577
05. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m47.216 + 0.854
06. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m47.241 + 0.879
07. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m47.475 + 1.113
08. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m47.788 + 1.426
09. Michael Schumacher Mercedes no time
10. Nico Rosberg Mercedes no time
11. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m47.975 + 1.310
12. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m48.261 + 1.596
13. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m48.344 + 1.679
14. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m48.505 + 1.840
15. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m48.774 + 2.109
16. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m48.849 + 2.184
17. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault no time
18. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m49.933 + 2.245
19. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m50.846 + 3.158
20. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m51.137 + 3.449
21. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m51.370 + 3.682
22. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m51.762 + 4.074
23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m52.372 + 4.684
24. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m53.355 + 5.667

Source: Planet-F1

Practice Three: Vettel secure the hat-trick

Sebastian Vettel edged Lewis Hamilton in final practice, a session that saw several drivers, including Sergio Perez, Mark Webber and Vitaly Petrov, smack the barriers

With the track temperature sitting at 33'C, Practice Three got underway with Kamui Kobayashi getting the ball rolling as he crossed the line with a 1:56.339 before losing out to his team-mate Sergio Perez, who was over three seconds quicker.

The runs from the Sauber drivers sparked a flurry of activity with Kimi Raikkonen and Nico Hulkenberg both having a turn at the front while there were problems for Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard missed out on the early running as his Ferrari are up on jacks as his team worked on the left side of the car.

Perez was the first to brush the barriers, hitting them with rear right of his Sauber. The Mexican driver - rather tentatively - headed back into the pits have damaged the car's wishbone.

Lewis Hamilton hit the front only to lose out to his team-mate Jenson Button. This started a brief McLaren battle with the duo trading blows before Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel got involved.

Timo Glock's practice came to a halt just before the halfway mark as stopped his Marussia down a slip road after complaining that his throttle was sticking.

Finally out on track Alonso shot to the top of the timesheets before he was overhauled by Sebastian Vettel, the first driver into the 1:49s. All times to date had been set on the harder of the two Pirelli compounds, the softs.

Bruno Senna was the first driver out on the super soft tyres and improved to second, 1.1s better than his previous best in what was a clear indication of the different in speed between the two tyres. Problems for Webber, who smacked the wall, causing a right rear puncture.

No such problems for Vettel, who put the super softs on for the final ten minutes and bettered his P1 time by 1.6s! Alonso and Massa moved up behind the German as they started their super soft tyres, prompting others to venture out on the red-branded tyres for the final few minutes of FP3.

Vitaly Petrov brought the session to a premature end as he crashed at the final corner, hitting the barrier not once but twice before his Caterham came to a halt in the pit lane entrance forcing race control to throw the red flags with two minutes remaining.

The drivers headed back into the pits, avoiding Petrov's car, and the clock counted down with Vettel assured of a third P1.

Times
1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:47.947 15 laps
2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:48.272 0.325 15 laps
3 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:48.623 0.676 11 laps
4 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:48.859 0.912 16 laps
5 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus 1:48.865 0.918 17 laps
6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:49.458 1.511 13 laps
7 Paul di Resta Force India 1:49.684 1.737 15 laps
8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:49.699 1.752 16 laps
9 Bruno Senna Williams 1:49.715 1.768 14 laps
10 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:49.981 2.034 14 laps
11 Mark Webber Red Bull 1:50.110 2.163 12 laps
12 Jenson Button McLaren 1:50.524 2.577 10 laps
13 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:50.664 2.717 16 laps
14 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1:50.777 2.830 15 laps
15 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:50.840 2.893 15 laps
16 Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:51.012 3.065 15 laps
17 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:51.059 3.112 17 laps
18 Sergio Perez Sauber 1:51.272 3.325 10 laps
19 Charles Pic Marussia 1:52.290 4.343 16 laps
20 Vitaly Petrov Caterham 1:53.781 5.834 12 laps
21 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham 1:54.326 6.379 14 laps
22 Narain Karthikeyan HRT 1:54.421 6.474 14 laps
23 Timo Glock Marussia 1:54.630 6.683 9 laps
24 Pedro de la Rosa HRT 1:54.875 6.928 14 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Kimi's lacking grip, downforce, pace

Kimi Räikkönen fears the lack of grip and ultimately the lack of pace shown in Singapore on Friday could hurt his title challenge if Lotus can't find a solution

Having worked his way up to third in the Drivers' standings, the 2007 World Champ is just 38 points behind Fernando Alonso and has a good chance at winning his second title.

But not if he struggles like he did on Friday.

The Lotus driver finished Friday night's action down in 12th place, over two seconds down on Sebastian Vettel's P1 time and revealed that he was lacking grip, downforce and basically speed.

"It was not the easiest day, we don't have enough grip for some reason," Raikkonen said.

"I guess we're lacking downforce. And it seems to be a bit difficult, at least today. It's just not quick. Maybe we are not improving as the others [are].

"The same issues are there on both tyres. When you put new tyres it always feels better for the beginning. I think we can improve for tomorrow, but we're not going to find unfortunately two seconds.

"Usually we improve on Saturday time wise, but like I said we can't catch up two seconds from today to the front, and they will improve also.

"It just shows that we are not as fast as we should be. Hopefully we can find something, and be a bit more happy than we are at the moment."

Put to him that his E20 was better when running heavy fuel loads, Raikkonen said: "I don't know. It felt okay at the beginning, and the rear went away."

The Finn now fears that should Friday's lack of pace continue, it could put a serious dent in his title challenge.

"If we keep doing like this were not going to have any chance, but we have to try to improve. There's still quite a few races left, so hopefully we can be stronger than today."

Source: Planet-F1

Practice Two: Two From Two For Vettel In Singapore

Seb Vettel continued his great form in Singapore as he set the pace in Prac Two, which was red flagged when Bruno Senna brushed the wall, breaking his suspension

The track temperature was down to 28'C as Practice Two got underway on a dry Marina Bay circuit. Sergio Perez got the ball rolling with a 1:54.830 but it wasn't long before he was dropped well down the order as the drivers were quickly down to business with Paul di Resta hitting the front.

Jenson Button was the next top lead the way before Lewis Hamilton overhauled Button with a 1:50.561. Sebastian Vettel edged ahead of the two McLarens despite complaining of front end braking instability. The defending Singapore Champ was 0.064s quicker than Hamilton.

There was a spin for Vitaly Petrov, a moment for Felipe Massa and some kerb riding from Hamilton, all adding to the excitement of Formula One's only flood-lit grand prix.

Hamilton, having previously been blocked by the HRT of Narain Karthikeyan, came back to retake the P1 slot by four-tenths ahead of Vettel while Fernando Alonso improved to third place.

Bruno Senna took the dubious honour of being the first driver to brush one of the walls surrounding the street circuit just after Turn 19 and in doing so appeared to break his left suspension. His Williams came to a halt in the middle of the track bringing out the yellow flags as the marshals pushed his car to safety. But with no escape road or crane near by the red flags were eventually waved.

The session resumed five minutes later with Felipe Massa taking the P1 slot before losing out to Hamilton, who was on the super soft tyres. He was dropped as Mark Webber went a tenth quicker despite using the soft tyres before Felipe Massa, Button and then Vettel all had a turn at the top.

But it was Vettel who finished there as he made it two from two for Friday, edging Button by three-tenths while Alonso was third. Kobayashi had a late spin.

Times
01 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:48.340 27 laps
02 Jenson Button McLaren 1:48.651 0.311 24 laps
03 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:48.896 0.556 26 laps
04 Mark Webber Red Bull 1:48.964 0.624 26 laps
05 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:49.086 0.746 28 laps
06 Paul di Resta Force India 1:49.300 0.960 30 laps
07 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:49.339 0.999 32 laps
08 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:49.790 1.450 32 laps
09 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:50.039 1.699 28 laps
10 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:50.161 1.821 23 laps
11 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:50.263 1.923 23 laps
12 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus 1:50.345 2.005 24 laps
13 Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:50.636 2.296 32 laps
14 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:50.791 2.451 26 laps
15 Sergio Perez Sauber 1:51.122 2.782 28 laps
16 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1:51.450 3.110 21 laps
17 Bruno Senna Williams 1:51.452 3.112 11 laps
18 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:52.009 3.669 31 laps
19 Timo Glock Marussia 1:52.218 3.878 29 laps
20 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham 1:52.576 4.236 27 laps
21 Charles Pic Marussia 1:52.863 4.523 27 laps
22 Vitaly Petrov Caterham 1:52.936 4.596 25 laps
23 Pedro de la Rosa HRT 1:54.448 6.108 25 laps
24 Narain Karthikeyan HRT 1:54.514 6.174 30 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Practice One: Vettel leads title rivals

Reigning World Champ Sebastian Vettel set the pace in a damp first practice in Singapore, edging the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton by 0.049s

With the track very wet in some places and completely dry in others after an earlier rain shower, Practice One got underway with a tentative 2:24.476 for Timo Glock.

With thirty minutes gone only four drivers had set times with Jean-Eric Vergne in the P1 slot with a 2:04.866, which put him two-tenths up on Romain Grosjean, who is back in his Lotus having served his one-race ban.

Nico Hulkenberg was the next to lead the way before he was dropped by Fernando Alonso who clocked a 2:01.573 as the sun set over the Marina Bay circuit and the lights begun to take effect. He lost out to Kamui Kobayashi, who was the first driver into the 1:50s as he posted a 1:58.550.

Halfway through the session the top three were Kobayashi - down to a 1:54.017 - Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher, however, only 14 drivers had set times with Sebastian Vettel and the two McLarens not amongst those who had.

Rosberg hit the front with a 1:53.416 as his team-mate joined the list of those riding the kerbs. The kerbs have had some work done to them since last season when several came loose during the course of the weekend.

Kimi Raikkonen overhauled Rosberg with a 1:53.268 as Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton finally made their mark on the timesheets with 35 minutes remaining. They went ninth and 15th on their first flying laps.

Sergio Perez had a turn at the top as did Sebastian Vettel, Hulkenberg, Pastor Maldonado, Vettel again and Hamilton. The McLaren driver, who won the 2009 Singapore GP, lowered the benchmark to a 1:51.172.

As the clock counted down - and the chance of rain this session decreased - Vettel hit the front and held onto the position through the final 20 minutes. Hamilton came the closest to his time, 0.049s adrift, while a late charge from Button put him third. He was, however, still 0.893s down with Alonso the only other driver to get within a second of Vettel's best.

Times
01 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:50.566 24 laps
02 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:50.615 0.049 15 laps
03 Jenson Button McLaren 1:51.459 0.893 17 laps
04 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:51.525 0.959 20 laps
05 Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:51.576 1.010 20 laps
06 Mark Webber Red Bull 1:51.655 1.089 19 laps
07 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:51.658 1.092 24 laps
08 Paul di Resta Force India 1:51.943 1.377 21 laps
09 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:52.275 1.709 24 laps
10 Sergio Perez Sauber 1:52.296 1.730 19 laps
11 Bruno Senna Williams 1:52.629 2.063 25 laps
12 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus 1:52.716 2.150 16 laps
13 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1:52.839 2.273 23 laps
14 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:52.986 2.420 21 laps
15 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:53.028 2.462 20 laps
16 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:53.080 2.514 17 laps
17 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:53.189 2.623 25 laps
18 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:53.227 2.661 26 laps
19 Timo Glock Marussia 1:54.908 4.342 20 laps
20 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham 1:55.091 4.525 16 laps
21 Charles Pic Marussia 1:55.335 4.769 22 laps
22 Vitaly Petrov Caterham 1:55.760 5.194 22 laps
23 Pedro de la Rosa HRT 1:56.656 6.090 21 laps
24 Ma Qing Hua HRT 1:58.053 7.487 20 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Singapore Grand Prix 2011: Vettel: 'I've got a point to make'

With just one point between him and a second consecutive F1 world champion, Sebastian Vettel is in the mood for a party as Red Bull Racing's dominance of the 2011 Formula One season brought him victory at the Singapore Grand Prix. Here's his latest blog...

by Sebastian Vettel, Sep 26, 2011

What a race, what a track, what a fabulous night! I know I never made a secret of how much I like Singapore, but after this night I like it even more.

We're unbelievably happy with our win and third place and even though we're not champions yet, we will still celebrate. I am very proud of the whole team, each and every one of them did an excellent job.

We always knew that the race tonight would be a tough one, but by the end it was also a very big challenge for every driver. After all we spend about two hours in the car, fighting for every inch, knowing that we weren't allowed to make just one tiny mistake.

The safety car phase added even more tension to the whole day and I am glad that we were able to handle the whole situation as well as we did.

Before I do the party I want to say a quick thank you to our amazing fans across the globe and assure them that we will continue to give our best in the future races to reach our final goal. Today wasn't enough for the title, but we still have a few points to win, now and for the seasons to come!

Talk to you from Japan!

Sebastian

Source: Red Bull

Video: BBC - Singapore GP - Angry Felipe Massa interrupts Lewis Hamilton interview

Felipe Massa slaps Lewis Hamilton on the arm as the Englishman talks to the media after the Singapore Grand Prix and sarcastically says "good job pal" following a collision between the two during the race.

Hamilton received a drive-through penalty as the two drivers came together at Turn Seven and Massa accused the 26-year-old of "not using his mind".

Massa was forced to pit after suffering a puncture, whilst Hamilton also had to stop for a new front wing



Source: SixtyBuckss

Fernando Alonso: Time to experiment

Fernando Alonso hopes Ferrari will use the final five races of the season "to do some experimental things" now that they have nothing left to race for this campaign

The Spaniard is officially out of the running for the 2011 Drivers' Championship after he could only manage a P4 to Champion-elect Sebastian Vettel's P1 at the Singapore Grand Prix.

In the Constructors' Championship Ferrari are in no-man's land as they are adrift by 71 points of second-placed McLaren while Mercedes GP are 146 points behind them in fourth place.

Alonso, who started fourth on the grid at the Marina Bay Street Circuit on Sunday, had a decent start and challenged for the final podium place during the early stages of the race, but Mark Webber eventually finished third.

"The start was good again, we recovered some places but then Webber overtook us," he is quoted by BBC Sport.

"Red Bull should be in front of us because they are much quicker. Fourth was the maximum we could do. We are racing with McLaren some races and Mercedes in others.

"The Drivers' Championship is gone and Constructers' is extremely difficult to catch McLaren. Behind us there is no threat, in front it's very difficult to catch up.

"In the final races we will try to enjoy and test the 2012 car. We have to use the last five races to do some experimental things."

Source: Planet-F1

Video: BBC - Singapore GP - Felipe Massa rages after Hamilton collision

Ferrari's Felipe Massa says Lewis Hamilton "could have caused a big accident" and "does not use his mind" following a collision between the pair at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Massa was forced to pit after suffering a puncture, whilst Hamilton also had to stop for a new front wing before being hit with a drive-through penalty for the incident.



Source: SixtyBuckss

Jenson Button bemoans Singapore traffic

Jenson Button was left frustrated with the traffic at the Singapore GP after they held him up during the closing stages of the race and forced him to settle for second place behind Sebastian Vettel

Button was trailing Vettel by more than 10 seconds before his final pit stop for fresh rubber on lap 49. By lap 59 he had managed to bring the gap down to 3.7s but then encountered traffic and the gap was back to 5.6s a lap later, forcing him to give up the ghost. He eventually finished 1.7s behind Vettel.

The former World Champion said that although he has some degree of sympathy for the drivers battling for position during the latter stages of the race, they have to yield to those who are in front of them.

"I can understand that's it's difficult to move over here and most people are fighting out there but the backmarkers have got to respect that the cars that are lapping are lapping for reason," he said.

"So yeah, there were some frustrating moments. One was [Kamui] Kobayashi when I sat behind him for a lap before he eventually pulled over."

The 31-year-old started third on the grid and concedes second place is the "best we could have hope for".

"I feel like I got everything out of the car," he said. "Especially in the last part of race, I was able to push on tyres to see what the car had. We weren't quick enough to win today but it's something to build on."

Source: Planet-F1

Felipe Massa criticises Lewis Hamilton's driving in Singapore

A furious Felipe Massa heavily criticised Lewis Hamilton after their clash at the Singapore Grand Prix

Hamilton was penalised after turning into Massa when fighting over seventh, breaking part of his front wing and puncturing Massa's right rear tyre.

The two drivers also nearly touched in qualifying on Saturday when trying to make space for their flying run.

"My thoughts are that, again, he cannot use his mind - even in qualifying," Ferrari driver Massa told BBC Sport.

"He has done it to me so many times this year.

"Again, he could've caused a big accident. He's paying for it and he doesn't understand that.

"It's important the FIA study this and penalise him every time.

"I've talked to him but he doesn't listen. Maybe his father can do something about it."

Hamilton, who started the race in fourth, lost ground at the start and dropped down to eighth.

As he began his fight back through the field, he clashed with Massa as he tried a move around the outside of Turn Seven on lap 10.

The McLaren driver turned into Massa, breaking part of his front wing, while Massa was forced to limp back to the pits with a right-rear puncture.

The incident followed their clash in qualifying where Hamilton was determined to get by the Brazilian before starting his flying lap in Q3 and the two nearly touched before the Ferrari driver finally let him by.

On race day, the pair, who battled for the 2008 world title right up until the final race of the season, did touch and the stewards handed Hamilton a drive-through penalty.

"It doesn't look like a drive-through penalty to me," BBC F1 analyst Eddie Jordan. "I don't get it. That's not a drive-through penalty; that's a racing incident.

"[Ferrari team principal] Stefano [Domenicali] and [McLaren team prinicpal] Martin [Whitmarsh] are two calculated, cool guys who need to bring two drivers together and say 'look guys, just get on with these last five races. You're clearly stopping each other doing well for yourselves and the team."

It's not the first time the two drivers have come to blows, with the duo banging wheels at the hairpin in Monaco earlier this year before clashing again in the tunnel.

As a result, Massa crashed out of the race and Hamilton, who was also involved in a later incident with Pastor Maldonado's Williams, picked up a drive-through penalty and later criticised the stewards saying: "It's an absolute joke."

Commenting on the incident in Singapore, BBC F1 commentator Martin Brundle added: "You can't help but feel it comes down against him [Hamilton] when others get the rub off the green.

"[The incident] seriously affected Massa's race. If you've made a mistake and it's affected someone's else - or just his own - it makes a difference."

Source: BBC

Singapore GP: Vettel takes the win, not the title

Sebastian Vettel stormed to his ninth victory of the season, dominating the Singapore GP from lights to flag

The Red Bull driver was incredibly quick, absolutely sublime, flawless, faultless and just about every other adjective one could use to describe arguably the most dominant drive seen this season.

However, Vettel's Singapore win was not enough to ensure him of the World title as Jenson Button put in an equally brilliant drive.

Taking second through the first corner, as was his pre-race place, Button pulled away from the chasing pack and was pretty much assured of P2 before even the halfway stage of the grand prix.

Mark Webber finished in third place after thrice overtaking Fernando Alonso, who had to settle for fourth, his first Singapore GP off the podium.

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton once again caused the drama of the grand prix as he crashed into Felipe Massa while they were battling for position.

The incident broke Hamilton's nose and left Massa with a puncture. It also earned Hamilton a drive-through penalty and dropped him all the way back to P16.

But while Massa struggled to come back from the collision, Hamilton stormed through the field to finish in fifth place. Massa was P9.

There was, as predicted, one Safety Car situation during the grand prix when Michael Schumacher crashed heavily on lap 30.

Fighting with Sergio Perez for position, the seven-time World Champ carried too much speed as Perez braked for the corner, resulting in Schumacher hitting the back of the Sauber, launching into the air, landing heavily and smashing into the barriers nose first.

Thankfully Schumacher was not hurt.

Results
01. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h59:06.537
02. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 1.737
03. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 29.279
04. Alonso Ferrari + 55.449
05. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 1:07.766
06. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1:51.067
07. Rosberg Mercedes + 1 lap
08. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap
09. Massa Ferrari + 1 lap
10. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
11. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
12. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
13. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
14. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 2 laps
15. Senna Renault + 2 laps
16. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 2 laps
17. Petrov Renault + 2 laps
18. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
19. Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth + 4 laps
20. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 4 laps
21. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 5 laps

Did Not Finish
Trulli Lotus-Renault 48
Schumacher Mercedes 29
Glock Virgin-Cosworth 10

Massa disappointed with sixth

Felipe Massa said he was not pleased to be starting sixth on the grid for the Singapore Grand Prix after a difficult qualifying session.

Massa will start alongside Fernando Alonso on the third row, but while his team-mate was within 0.2s of second place, Massa was a second further back. After having to abandon his first run in Q3, Massa said he was having difficulty making the tyres last for a flying lap, but that he took heart from the improved pace of the car compared to recent races.

"Sixth is definitely not the result we were aiming for, but we have to accept it," Massa said. "Now we must think about the race which definitely does not look like being an easy one: tyre degradation is significant, both on the Soft and the Supersoft and will have to be able to adapt to that as best we can.

"We are definitely more competitive here than we were in Monza. Today, it was not easy putting together a perfect lap and, even if the car was much improved compared to the last free practice session, I still had a lot of oversteer, especially when the rear tyres were overheating in the second and third sectors."

Massa also criticised Lewis Hamilton for being aggressive when fighting for track position ahead of the first runs in Q3.

"Honestly, I don't understand why he wanted to pass at all costs: we were all in a line on our "out" lap and there was nothing to be gained from acting like that."

Team principal Stefano Domenicali praised Massa for still putting the car sixth after his problems, but said Ferrari would have to take advantage of potential situations in order to progress in the race.

"Felipe got the job done, extricating himself from a couple of complicated moments and getting the grid position that one could have expected. Now we must concentrate on tomorrow night's race, which will be extremely long and tough, both for the drivers and the cars. We will try and do our best, exploiting every opportunity that comes our way."

Source: ESPNF1

Video: BBC - Singapore GP - Hamilton happy despite qualifying drama in Singapore

Lewis Hamilton is pleased despite an eventful qualifying session where he duelled with Ferrari's Felipe Massa, suffered a puncture and was prevented from having a second run in the third part of qualifying.

Hamilton reveals a "refuelling problem" prevented McLaren from going out again in Q3, and believes he "could have been on the front row", rather than fourth.



Source: SixtyBuckss

Mark Webber 'pretty happy' with second

Mark Webber says he has no complaints with his second place grid slot for Sunday's Singapore GP after once again losing out to his team-mate

Early in Q3, Vettel put down a benchmark time of 1:44.381 and it soon became apparent that none of his rivals, not even his Red Bull team-mate, could beat it.

Webber came the closest but was still 0.351s slower than the German.

However, the Aussie says he happy with his performance especially as in past seasons he has struggled at the Marina Bay circuit.

"I'm pretty happy to be honest," he said. "It's been a pretty testing venue for me in the past, particularly on Saturdays.

"Seb obviously laid it down pretty hard and fast for all of us, he's very quick around here and he did a great job for the pole.

"I think maybe he saw my data, there were only a few corners where I was a little quicker, maybe in the chicane he was trying to put it all together but obviously he was very quick for the whole lap!

"Like he said to put it all together, it's really difficult for all of us here. It's very easy to grab a bit more and then lose a bit on the next straight, so overall I'm satisfied given the curve balls that the teams can face here. Both cars up there is a great result for us."

Source: Planet-F1

Video: BBC - Singapore GP - Alonso targeting victory despite qualifying fifth

Fernando Alonso tells BBC Sport's Lee McKenzie a race win "is not out of the question", despite only qualifying fifth in his Ferrari for Sunday's race in Singapore.

Alonso says fifth was "the maximum" he could have got from the car, but is expecting tyre degradation "to play a big role" in Sunday's Grand Prix.



Source: SixtyBuckss