A street circuit where the race takes place at night? It’s
got to be Singapore and it is a spectacle. It’s a challenging circuit, and one
of the longest ‘natural’ races at just short of the two hour limit. Every
driver is drenched in sweat afterwards but you can tell how much they love it.
Sebastian Vettel was in his element again but by no means was it an easy win
this year.
The range of strategies in play
We saw varying strategies in play, which gave us a few
surprises. Jenson Button took a risk with a massive stint on his tyres in which
he almost got a nice reward. Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso both made a
long stint work and end on the podium, but McLaren still aren’t at that level
yet.
Romain Grosjean and Mark Webber both had problems with the
car this time around, a massive shame as both were looking at possible podiums
at one point. What this would have meant for the entire race had they both
lasted, we’ll never know. Webber’s grid penalty for the next race will also not
make things any better.
The safety car
This was the turning point of the race. It was at an awkward
time in the race for the teams as they had to decide how to alter their
strategies and predict what other teams would do. This proved to be essential
in the final result, as I never would have predicted that podium this time
around from the starting positions we had. If the safety car had been 5-10 laps
later, it would have been a totally different game.
The unfortunate incidents
Daniel Ricciardo’s accident came after he signed his deal at
Red Bull – thankfully – but it had a massive impact on the race, resulting in
changing strategies that made for an interesting watch. This race was a lot
more exciting than recent events, which the championship needed at this stage.
Paul Di Resta’s run of bad luck continued again – he needs
to be careful he doesn’t inherit Webber’s misfortune – and at the worst
possible time. With seats available in the driver market, he needs good results
to get a better driver and show what he can do. The only positive was his
progress until his retirement, he made his way through the field and initial
signs were promising.
Good show by Mercedes
It finally looks like the Mercedes team have gotten over
their problems earlier in the year but unfortunately haven’t been able to keep
up with Red Bull. Then again, who has? There was some good hard racing between
Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg and it was good to see. I was hoping for a few
more daring attempts but I’m not disappointed.
We saw a more upbeat Hamilton this time around, which was
good. I do feel for Rosberg, the safety car didn’t help him at all – he might
not have finished any higher but it would have been interesting to see – and after
his fantastic start where he almost took the lead, I’d have loved to see that
battle continue.
Summary
It wasn’t a bad race. It was a result for Vettel, who
extended his lead to 60 points. Unless he has at least two retirements or
finishes outside of the points twice, it’s hard to see him not taking his
fourth world championship. Once again, Alonso showed his form by finishing
second as did Raikkonen, even with a bad back and injections, for the final
podium slot. The Mercedes team will be raring to go at the next race.
Results
1 – S. Vettel (Red Bull)
2 – F. Alonso (Ferrari)
3 – K. Raikkonen (Lotus)
4 – N. Rosberg (Mercedes)
5 – L. Hamilton (Mercedes)
6 – F. Massa (Ferrari)
7 – J. Button (McLaren)
8 – S. Perez (McLaren)
9 – N. Hulkenberg (Sauber)
10 – A. Sutil (Force India)
11 – P. Maldonado (Williams)
12 – E. Gutierrez (Sauber)
13 – V. Bottas (Williams)
14 – J. E. Vergne (Toro Rosso)
15 – G. van der Garde (Caterham)
16 – M. Chilton (Marussia)
17 – J. Bianchi (Marussia)
18 – C. Pic (Caterham)
19 – M. Webber (Red Bull) – DNF
20 – P. Di Resta (Force India) – DNF
21 – R. Grosjean (Lotus) – DNF
22 – D. Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) – DNF
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