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2008 Singtel Singapore Grand Prix
Team Quotes - Sunday 28 September
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro leaves Singapore empty handed. After the early part of the race when Felipe Massa maintained his pole position set yesterday and Kimi Raikkonen was closing on the driver ahead of him in the fight for second place, the arrival of the Safety Car on lap 15 called for a double pit stop for both Ferrari men on lap 17. As Felipe was being refueled, the green light came on before refueling had been completed. The driver drove off dragging the fuel line behind him and had to stop at the end of pit lane, thus dropping to the back of the pack. His race was further compromised by a penalty linked to this incident and a puncture that saw him make his second stop ahead of schedule. He crossed the finish line thirteenth. Kimi, obviously penalized by the double stop, rejoined in around fifteenth place and began a climb up the order that should have resulted in fifth place. On lap 58 however, the Finn lost control of the car at the chicane and ended up in the barriers. After this poor showing, Felipe is now seven points down on the leader of the Drivers' championship and the team drops to second place one point behind the leader of the Constructors' classification.
Stefano Domenicali: A black day, there's little else to say. We had the potential to finish first and second but we didn't even pick up a point. We are very disappointed but that doesn't mean we are downtrodden. We have always shown our ability to react, especially at the most difficult times and we will do it again this time. The situation in the two championships has become more complicated but there are still three races to go and a lot of points up for grabs. We know what we have to do to reach our objectives. The first part of the race showed that today our car was the quickest on track. The Safety Car came out at the worst possible moment, but we are not looking for excuses because this uncertain factor must always be taken into account. Then the team made a mistake at the pit stop during the Safety Car period, which cost Massa the race. I am very sorry for Felipe because he was driving a very strong race following on from a great pole yesterday. I want to point out that it was Felipe himself who went to console the mechanic who made the mistake, which shows the team spirit that we have between us: we win together and we lose together. Kimi managed to get into the points but then he ended up in the barriers at one of the many tricky points around this track. A shame, as it would have meant precious points for the Constructors' classification. We must look ahead and prepare ourselves as well as possible for the remaining three races.
Luca Baldisserri: It's hard to put into words today's disappointment. We had everything in place to get the best possible result and unfortunately we ended up with nothing. Felipe was controlling the early stages of the race, while Kimi, after a few difficulties at the beginning, was running at a great pace. The Safety Car threw our plans into the air. First and foremost, we had to go for a double pit stop – the best choice in this situation – but it penalized Kimi. Then we made a mistake in letting Felipe go and that ruined his race. We could have made a significant step forward in both championships but we ended up going backwards. Now we must roll up our sleeves and prepare as well as possible for the coming races. There is still plenty of time to recover but there is no more room for error.
Instead of the predicted procession on the narrow Singapore Marina Circuit, the huge crowd saw a very exciting first Formula One night race. However, the rewards for the BMW Sauber F1 Team were somewhat poor with only three points for Nick Heidfeld (6th) after Robert Kubica's very bad luck. The Pole needed to refuel when the pit lane was closed during a safety car period, and after being penalised he finished eleventh.
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): "Another spectacular chapter was added to the Formula One history book. The first night race was a total success. My compliments go to the organisers. The race itself was turbulent and influenced by the first safety car period. Unfortunately the safety car rule meant Robert was completely out of contention in the race, whereas Nick was able to stay out just long enough until the pit lane was reopened. This was a shame for Robert because he was well on his way to score important points for the championship standings. By finishing sixth Nick made up three positions and scored three points. Everything didn't go according to plan either for our direct competitors as, apart from Nick, out of the top six only Lewis Hamilton scored points. Congratulations to Renault and Fernando Alonso for the win in this exciting race."
Willy Rampf (Technical Director): "The race start was okay for our drivers. Robert managed to defend his position and Nick gained a place. After that the race went according to plan for both cars and they were able to open a gap over the cars behind. However, then the first safety car period ruined Robert's race completely. We had to refuel although the pit lane was still closed. The penalty dropped Robert into a hopeless position at the end of the field - and this on a circuit where anyway you can hardly overtake. In the end Nick scored three points, so this means we have still scored championship points in every Grand Prix this year."
The ING Renault F1 Team took its first victory of the season today as Fernando Alonso produced a brilliant tactical drive to win the Singapore Grand Prix, the sport's first ever night race.
Fernando started the race light on fuel and enjoyed an aggressive opening stint on the soft option tyres, rising to 11th before heading to the pits on lap 12. Nelson meanwhile was running heavy, but lost the car on the exit of turn 17 a couple of laps later, which brought out the safety car.
The safety car period saw most of the field head for the pits, while Fernando remained on-track and rose through the field, emerging in the top five and eventually leading the race as the remaining drivers made their stops. From there the Spaniard pushed hard to build a lead that he would never lose, making his final stop on lap 41. A late safety car period failed to halt Fernando's progress as he swept to his 20th Grand Prix victory.
Having scored ten points this weekend the team has moved into fourth position in the constructors' championship with a five point lead over Toyota in fifth. The victory gives the whole team a boost as the championship builds to a climax with the remaining three races.
Flavio Briatore, Managing Director ING Renault F1 Team: This is an amazing victory for Renault and for Fernando. Since Friday we knew that the car was very competitive and we were very disappointed at the end of qualifying. Today the car was extremely quick, stronger than the Ferrari and McLaren, and although we had some luck when the safety car came out, we deserved this victory. It's a very important result for Renault after two difficult seasons and helps us prepare for 2009 in the best way possible.
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: I think the luck we had in the early part of the race was nearly a cancellation of the bad luck we had yesterday. The car has proven itself and so has Fernando. The whole result is a tribute to the team and this wonderful circuit is a tribute to Singapore!
Podium! Nico Rosberg led home a double points score for the AT&T Williams team, in the process claiming a career-best second place in the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix. In an incident-filled and physically demanding race, Rosberg overcame the disadvantage of a stop-go penalty with a superlative drive in Formula One’s first night race to score eight points and the team’s best finish since the European Grand Prix in 2005. Teammate Kazuki Nakajima contributed a further point to the tally with a spirited drive to eighth place.
Sam Michael, Technical Director: It was a fantastic result from Nico, obviously the penalty for refuelling under the safety car could have been a problem, but he still managed to open up a sufficient gap to achieve a second podium this season and his career best finish. Kazuki did well to hang in there and score a point too, all-in-all it was just what the team needed. We didn’t have any technical problems and everything went without a hitch, so it was a great effort from everyone concerned.
Christian Horner: After putting ourselves in a great position with a good call that enabled us to get both cars fuelled, serviced and back out on track before the pit lane closed, it's really frustrating for Mark to lose a definite podium with our first mechanical failure during a race this year. David thereafter was doing a great job. He held Lewis (Hamilton) off for a large part of the race, but then dropped three seconds on his in-lap when Fernando (Alonso) popped out from the pit lane just ahead of him. He then lost more time at his final pit stop. That cost David what would have almost certainly been fourth position. So seventh, albeit his first points score since Canada, leaves us feeling that we should have come away with more. Congratulations to Renault on their win with Fernando. Well done to our mechanics too, who have done a fantastic job this weekend. The technician who was knocked over during David's final pit stop has damaged his ankle ligaments and burned his thumb, but fortunately other than that he's okay.
Fabrice Lom, Renault, Principal Engineer, Track Support: A very frustrating day, we should have been second with Mark and it's a big disappointment. We should also have been better with David, but he was blocked by Fernando (Alonso) when he came out from his second pit stop, which destroyed his chance. Congratulations to Renault, they won the race so well done to them.
Tadashi Yamashina - Team Principal: "Considering our practice and qualifying performances, when we found the car was not so well suited to the bumpy conditions, the team did a very good job. Our strategy proved to be very complimentary considering the expected safety car periods and we were looking good until Jarno's issue, which cost us a lot of points. Both drivers performed really well and pushed as hard as possible despite the difficult conditions. We are pleased with fourth place but we should have had both cars in the top six. We must analyse Jarno's hydraulic problem and find out why it happened. I have to say, some drivers' races were ruined by the safety car rules and we have had a lot of intense discussion on this matter, so I think it is time the situation was improved. Now of course we turn our attentions towards the Japanese Grand Prix and we will be pushing ourselves really hard to get a good result at Fuji Speedway."
Franz Tost: Once again, a strong performance from Sebastian Vettel. Until the first Safety Car, he was a solid fifth, but really the SC came out two laps too early for us. After that, he drove a fantastic race and at his second pit stop the team did a very good job as we were able to keep Heidfeld behind us. Sebastien Bourdais did what he could given his grid position. We feel the characteristics of the next circuits on the calendar should better suit our package, so we are really looking forward to racing in Japan in a fortnight.
The Honda Racing F1 Team's Jenson Button ended this evening's thrilling Singapore Grand Prix in ninth position, just missing out on a points finish. His team-mate Rubens Barrichello endured a more frustrating time at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, retiring from the race on lap 15 with an electrical problem.
The drama began almost immediately with the grid proving to be very slippery off-line. Jenson started the race on the dirty side of the track and dropped from 12th to 14th on the run down to the first corner. Rubens was on the clean side and was able to gain two places on the approach to Turn 1.
The drivers held position until the first of two Safety Car periods in the race. It was deployed for the first time on lap 14, shortly after Rubens had pitted for fuel and tyres. Almost immediately after rejoining the race, he was forced to retire as his car came to a halt out on track.
Jenson made his first pitstop during the first Safety Car period on lap 17, before the race went green. He then lapped in 10th position until making his second and final stop on lap 35, from which he emerged in 12th place. He had climbed up to 10th place prior to the second Safety Car period on lap 50, and was promoted to ninth when Kimi Raikkonen crashed with four laps of the race remaining.
A disappointing outcome to today's race?
Ross Brawn, Team Principal: "We decided to put the cars on two different strategies today, the rationale for which was in part due to the predicted safety car outings. The first safety car played into the hands of Rubens and those on a similar one-stop strategy. Moreover, on the pitwall we anticipated that the safety car would be called out and brought Rubens in to refuel him before the flags went to yellow. We would have been in an extremely good position for the balance of the race, however he stopped shortly after leaving the pits with an electrical problem. In as much as that situation helped Rubens, that was the safety car window that hurt people on the same two-stop strategy as Jenson. He was forced to pit with the pack which handed the advantage to one-stoppers. Later in the race the traffic situation was such that Jenson was unable to improve, so we decided to pit him early for his second pitstop and he was one of the first cars to fuel to the end of the race. This was purely a gamble in anticipation of another safety car, which did eventually come but it was too late and unfortunately the timing was such that Jenson simply had a heavier car as a result."
Today's Singapore Grand Prix, the first night event in the history of Formula One, bore all the hallmarks of a classic race, with close racing, unpredictable incidents and safety cars within seconds of each other. Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella was running as high as third in the early stages of the race, the highest position a Force India car has run this season. The Italian went onto drive a consistent, strong race to finish in 14th position following a long battle with Massa, Raikkonen and Kubica.
Adrian Sutil employed a two stop strategy to fight his way up the field to 11th before his second stop. The German was however unlucky to have a brush with the wall on lap 49 when running behind Felipe Massa. Massa spun and rejoined the race, but in an attempt to avoid hitting the Ferrari, Adrian ran wide across the kerbs and into the barrier himself.
Mike Gascoyne, chief technical officer: 'Although it is slightly disappointing not to get two cars to the finish, overall I think we had a good race. We narrowly missed calling Adrian in during the first safety car period, which would have been to his advantage, but with Giancarlo running a long stint we kept him out and that worked to his benefit. Both defended their positions from strong opposition and without Adrian's accident we would have had a strong two car finish. All the same it's been a tough event and we've all pulled together and I think we can be proud of our performance.'
Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and managing director: 'It's been a difficult weekend for us, but the team has worked really hard and the teamwork has been excellent. We now move on to some races where the team were very strong last year and we can look to get back to the form of the last three races.'
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton finished the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix, the first night race in Formula 1 history, in third place. After 61 eventful laps (309.087km) with two Safety Car periods, Lewis came home 5.9sec behind winner Fernando Alonso (Renault). Heikki Kovalainen ended up 10th. Both drivers were on two-stop strategies; they came in simultaneously during the first Safety Car period on lap 17 with Lewis being stationary for 11.5sec and Heikki for 12.0sec. Heikki made his second stop on lap 34 (8.4sec) and Lewis on lap 42 (7.7sec). After 15 out of 18 races, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has taken the lead in the Constructors' Championship with 135 points ahead of Ferrari with 134 points. Lewis extended his total in the drivers' rankings to 84 points, ahead of Felipe Massa (77 points) who did not score today. Heikki is sixth with 51 points.
Ron Dennis: "Today's race was a very exciting one, full of incidents, triggering Safety Car interventions that had a significant influence on the final outcome. In the last few laps, having seen Kimi's accident, we advised Lewis not to attempt to overtake Nico but instead to settle for third place and the seven-point lead in the Drivers' Championship that the resulting six points netted him. Heikki's race was spoiled by having to queue in the pits. Overall, then, the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix was a hugely successful event, and we're delighted to have emerged from it with the lead in both the Drivers' and the Constructors' Championships."
Norbert Haug: "A great Formula 1 premiere at night. Lewis extended his championship lead with third place which is a good result. Vodafone McLaren Mercedes leads now in the Constructors' rankings as well which is also not bad. Thank you to the organisers and Bernie and his team for their efforts - this spectacular event will create a big response."
Fernando Alonso won Formula One's first-ever night race by using a super soft-soft-soft tyre strategy at the Marina Bat Street Circuit for the inaugural F1 Singapore Grand Prix.
Alonso prevailed in a tension-filled 61-lap race which featured two safety car periods and a number of notable incidents. He started from fifteenth position on the grid, on Bridgestone's super soft, unlike most of the field, who started on the soft. He was the first driver to pit, shortly before his team-mate Nelson Piquet crashed into the barriers, bringing about the first safety car period, stopping drivers from pitting without penalty until the pits were reopened. Alonso made his second stop on lap 41 and exited still in the lead of the race. A second safety car period was brought about by Adrian Sutil (Force India) hitting the barriers, but Alonso was able to retain his lead on the restart and cross the finish line for his twentieth Grand Prix win.
AT&T Williams driver Nico Rosberg finished in second place, 2.9 seconds behind Alonso, and registered his best-ever Formula One result. He also started the race on the super soft tyre, but pitted whilst the pits were closed, meaning a stop-go penalty had to be served. Despite this, he finished second. Drivers' championship leader Lewis Hamilton finished third after using a soft-soft-super soft tyre strategy.
Timo Glock finished in fourth position, ahead of Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Sebastian Vettel. Nick Heidfeld finished sixth whilst David Coulthard came home seventh. Kazuki Nakajima finished in eighth position meaning that both Williams cars were in the points for the first time since the season opener at the Australian Grand Prix. Kimi Raikkonen used the soft compound tyre to set the race's fastest lap, a 1min 45.599secs on lap 14. Raikkonen later exited the race with four laps to go after making contact with the barriers. His team-mate, Felipe Massa, who started from pole, finished in thirteenth position after exiting from his first pit-stop with the fuel hose still attached to his car, and receiving a penalty for this misdemeanour.
Leaving Singapore, Hamilton leads the drivers' championship with 84 points to Massa's 77. Kubica stays third on 64. Vodafone McLaren Mercedes now lead the constructors' championship with 135 points from Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro's 134. The BMW Sauber F1 Team are third with 120.
Hirohide Hamashima - Director of Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development: Tonight we saw an exciting race with an unpredictable result played out under the spotlights of Singapore at this fabulous new facility, with a very good job done by the organisers. The track surface was the best we have seen all week and the soft compound worked very well with good consistency. The performance from the super soft was better than we saw earlier in the week and the wear rate and graining were acceptable. Congratulations to Fernando Alonso and the ING Renault F1 Team for their first win of the season and to Nico Rosberg for his best-ever F1 result. Today was a good day for Bridgestone as we contested our first ever Formula One night race and also in Japan Valentino Rossi won the MotoGP race at Motegi and secured the riders' championship for which we offer our congratulations.
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