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Vettel wins a race of two halves

NEWS STORY
22/09/2013

First off, for those of you hoping that the weather gods might look down on race fans favourably this evening and spice things up with a little of the wet stuff, forget it. It aint gonna happen.

Yes, this is the monsoon season, yes, check out any of the meteorological websites and they'll be forecasting storms, check out wherever you want, the fact remains that it isn't going to rain.

How do we know? Check out the site later in the week. That way we can edit this out if it does rain.

However, while we might not be able to rely on the weather to cause problems, Felipe Massa claims that the condition of the track, particularly off-line could.

The Brazilian has expressed his concern at the large amount of marbles and the general amount of rubbish on the track, a concern shared by Paul Hembery.

"Even before the GP2 race on Saturday when cars started out we could see already there was yesterday's marbles out there," Hembery told Pitpass. "The quantity that you see is unfortunate because it's a combination of a multitude of races going on and not the level of cleaning that we normally see.

"In other races it'll go to the outside of a corner. Here they're probably going to bounce off a wall and come back on to the track," he added. "So we need to have a chat with the FIA and the circuit about that."

This morning the FIA confirmed the track was swept overnight, though marbles were still clearly visible off line in some parts of the circuit, particularly in the final sector.

Other than that it's difficult to see what might prevent Sebastian Vettel taking another giant step towards his fourth successive title today, though there is always the exuberance of Romain Grosjean who starts just behind the German.

While some thought it showed supreme confidence when Vettel climbed from his car in Q3 having settled for his time, and thereby saving a set of tyres, the look on his face as he watched Nico Rosberg's progress said it all, the Mercedes driver giving his countryman a run for his money.

While wee thought the biggest threat would come from Sebastian's teammate, Mark Webber, it was not to be, the Australian starting from fourth today.

Disappointment for Lewis Hamilton also who admitted he didn't have a great feeling in the car, whilst Fernando Alonso, in a Ferrari clearly lacking pace, was out-qualified by his teammate for the second successive race.

While Jenson Button drove a super cool lap to get his McLaren into eighth, praise for Daniel Ricciardo and especially Esteban Gutierrez for their performances.

Of particular concern, ahead of today's race, is Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn complained of back pain before yesterday's qualifying session and was only able to put the car 13th on the grid. Not sticking around for the debrief or press calls his 'disability' is the cause of much speculation in the paddock.

It's worth noting that each previous Singapore Grand Prix has featured at least one Safety Car deployment, with a total of eight in the five races thus far. It is highly unlikely that this year will be any different, especially with those malicious marbles.

Being a street circuit, this is no place for heroics, and while it might be tempting for drivers to take that extra chance and make a move that might secure a better result or, more importantly, a drive for 2014, the barriers in Singapore are as unforgiving as the barriers in Monaco and pretty much everywhere else.

With a 53 point lead, the equivalent of two race wins, Vettel is already looking unstoppable. Another win today, with just six races remaining might put the lid on it, especially with most teams already shifting focus to 2014.

On the other hand, there was the gearbox issue in Italy, an issue that continued to affect Webber at the start of this weekend. Thus far, the Milton Keynes has been keeping uncharacteristically quiet on the subject.

As for Singapore, with every year it gets a little better and is proving to be one of those races that fans do want to visit. Although not everyone likes street circuits, it has atmosphere, the cars look great at night and the organisers do try to put a show on, not just on track but in terms of concerts and events. In short, they are trying, but not overdoing it, almost as if they respect the tradition of the sport.

And no, we weren't paid for that.

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1. Posted by Kkiirmki, 22/09/2013 23:19

"How does he (Vettel) do it? Here was I thinking that the safety car might spice things up at the front but it was more of the same for Vettel as he speed off into the distance. I couldn't believe the gap he created after just a few laps. Unless the regulations shake things up in 2014 I can't see any reason why Vettel won't eclipse Schumacher's records in a few more years."

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2. Posted by White Lightning, 22/09/2013 21:33

"Vettel was utterly stunning today. Perhaps the most perfect drive I've ever seen, and that's including all of Schumacher in the Ferrari years."

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3. Posted by JackTheCat, 22/09/2013 15:43

"Have to say that to people who think it is just the car then that was a supreme demonstration by Vettel of just how good he is. That period after the safety car was one of the most stunning pieces of driving I have seen in recent years. You do not pull out over 2s a lap over the field without being a great driver regardless of your car.

I can't actually recall Schumacher being that much faster than the whole field in a dry race! I think after today there is no reason why Vettel cannot beat all of Schumacher's records if the dice fall for him in terms of car/team selection.

Kudos to Kimi for a great result albeit helped a little by the saftey car as was Alonso!

Aside from that it was nice to see the enchanting and engaging di Resta give us another great advert for his ability and display all of the reasons why Ferrari probably laughed when his name was mentioned in connection with them. It's a long time since a driver has been so overrated!"

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