28/09/2008
NEWS STORY
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How very ironic that Paul Newman has died over the course of the Singapore GP weekend.
Among the many superb films he made there was Somebody Up The Likes Me, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Cool Hand Luke, Hud, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Verdict and Road to Perdition.
Remembering some of those excellent films, one also thinks of a couple that bring to mind this weekend's race, The Hustler (not the long anticipated Bernie Ecclestone biopic), Absence of Overtaking, sorry, Malice and The Colour of Money.
Newman became a major fan of motor racing after playing alongside Robert Wagner in the 1969 movie Winning, the movie star going on to enjoy a fairly successful racing career and forming the legendary Newman Haas Racing Team with which many drivers, including the Andrettis, Cristiano da Matta, Sebastien Bourdais and Nigel Mansell enjoyed Champ Car success.
Other than managing to get Mario Andretti swearing and banging his fist in anger - having raised the dreaded subject of 'Our Nige' - the only other, oh so tenuous, link to Mr Newman that Pitpass Editor Chris Balfe can recall is that he once saw the actor filming in Leather Lane market for the 1973 film The MacKintosh Man. Editor Balfe was accompanied by his grandmother who remarked that Newman was a "beautiful man", her only other movie star experience being the day Sidney Poitier, on his way to do a street shoot for To Sir With Love, gave her a "beautiful smile".
Anyway, back to the Colour of Money. The fact is that while many are falling over themselves, telling us that Singapore is the greatest thing to happen to F1, and possibly the future of the sport, we remain unconvinced. And this is before the race gets underway.
While the organizers are said to be delighted with the event and the publicity it generates for the city-state, one has to point out that we have seen little of Singapore this weekend and certainly not enough to warrant even the shortest of visits.
Skipping over the environmental issues, such as the revelation that the lighting system was recently run for one hundred hours non-stop simply as a test, there is the fact that despite all the sycophancy, the drivers and teams admit that there is much wrong with this circuit. OK, much of it can be fixed, but how was the pitlane exit and entry signed off by the FIA in the first place, and don't the GPDA have any input?
And finally, as we look ahead to today's race in this "magnificent location", let's remember what we're really here for, racing. Sadly, things don't look too promising. "There are virtually no overtaking opportunities," says Nick Heidfeld. "Okay, there are some spots where you can certainly pass an opponent who has made a mistake - but even that won't be easy." While Lewis Hamilton adds; "You won't be able to overtake here. I don't think so, not if you're as quick as the guy in front. For the quicker cars, if there's not really much time difference… I was behind David Coulthard, DC's car. I was quite a bit quicker but I couldn't get close enough."
Indeed, asked if we might be looking at another Valencia, the McLaren driver shrugged and said; "most likely". God strewth!
So there you go, which brings us neatly back to The Colour of Money. Make no mistake this event isn't about entertaining the fans or giving a whole new perspective to F1, it isn't even about helping to sell Singapore to the great unwashed. No, it is merely about the powers that be stuffing ever increasing amounts of dosh into their offshore accounts, making hay while the sun - or at least those 1500 lamps - shine. Credit crunch? Tell that to the guys at Princes Gate and CVC.
Anyway, as we look ahead to the race, it is worth remembering that it is not only the drivers' title that is at stake, there is the constructors' title and indeed, the Constructors' Championship, with Renault and Toyota battling for fourth and Toro Rosso leading the fight for best of the rest. With drivers, and maybe even a few leading team people, such as Christian Horner, in fear for their jobs, there is much at stake.
While Felipe Massa put in a superb lap to take pole, it is widely felt that he was running just a little bit light. However, one should note that Bridgestone believes some drivers will be opting for as many as three stops here, which means that today's race will be more about strategy than ever - which, in Max Mosley's eyes will surely make up for the anticipated lack of overtaking.
The unique timing of the event has meant little change in temperature over the course of the four sessions thus far, however, it is also noticeable that there has been little change in the quickest lap times.
As ever, it will be worth watching the first corner, indeed the whole of the first lap, while, the incident during qualifying, when Heidfeld was found to have hindered Barrichello, signals that we could be in for some fireworks as cars enter and leave the pits also.
Then, as ever, there is the question of rain. Rain is always a question mark over the outcome of any race - look at Monza - but with a night race being a whole new, totally untried, concept, there are raised fears.
Ignoring Massa and Hamilton, keep an eye on Raikkonen and Kubica, who could both do with a strong finish here, as could Heidfeld, who was handed a three-place grid penalty following yesterday's qualifying incident. Then there's the (apparently) rejuvenated Williams, not to mention Alonso's frustration-fuelled fight through the field, and the ever improving, and ever present Vettel.
Fifty minutes before the race is due to get underway, and Bob Constanduros reports: "It is 32 degrees track temperature, 28 degrees ambient, hot and sticky (normal weather), cloudy, but weather predictions vary enormously from 90percent chance rain to 10 percent.
As the cars assemble on the grid, the air temperature is 28 degrees C, while the track temperature is 31 degrees. Humidity is running at 78%.
The tyre options are soft and super-soft, which we will refer to as hard (soft) and soft (super-soft), though in all honesty there has been little obvious difference between them.
Giancarlo Fisichella is starting from the pitlane after his crew was forced to remove his car from Parc Ferme in order to change parts damaged in his two crashes yesterday. However, having failed to post a time the Italian was due to start last anyway.
Fine minutes to go and Coulthard is asked to check his drink bottle. "I would guys, but there is a small problem," is the response. "I don't have a drink bottle."
The entire field appears to be on the harder (soft) tyres, the one exception being Fernando Alonso, who, before his problem in qualifying, was the pace-setter in two of the practice sessions.
As Massa takes his place on the grid, Race Control announces that rain is not expected during the race. "Be careful," Hamilton is told as the grid forms.
They're away cleanly, Hamilton keeping Raikkonen at bay as Massa leads the field into the first corner. Kovalainen is passed by Vettel and Glock, the Finn tries to re-take the Toyota but fails. Alonso is up to twelfth from fifteenth. The replay shows that Kovalainen lost pace after a slight coming together with Kubica.
At the end of lap 1, it's Massa, Hamilton, Raikkonen, Kubica, Vettel, Glock, Kovalainen, Heidfeld, Trulli and Rosberg. Alonso is all over eleventh placed Nakajima.
"You need to pass Trulli or that will be the end of the day," Rosberg is told, his Williams crew clearly aware of the Toyota driver's fuel strategy.
After 3 laps, Massa leads Hamilton by 1.7s, with Raikkonen a further 4.4s down the road. Elsewhere, a mistake by Rosberg gives Trulli a much-appreciated breather. The German passed the Italian but got it wrong at the chicane thereby allowing the Toyota to re-pass. The Italian has a train of seven cars running behind him.
Rosberg makes a move on Trulli, but the Toyota driver is having none of it.
On lap 5, Massa posts a new fastest lap (46.342), as he extends his lead to 2.6s. The two leaders are the only drivers lapping in the 1:46s.
The drivers need to take avoiding action in order to miss a piece of debris on the track, it looks like a piece of brake duct. Nonetheless, Rosberg continues his fight with Trulli.
In a bold, brave manoeuvre, the German out-brakes the Toyota driver into Turn 7, and this time makes it stick. Now it is teammate Nakajima's turn to do the business on the Italian.
Despite his best efforts, Massa runs over the piece of black debris, which becomes trapped underneath his front wing. However, back in the Ferrari garage his crew don't look unduly worried.
Nakajima passes Trulli, who is soon passed by Alonso also. A problem or is the Toyota simply running very, very heavy?
Kimi's woken up, on lap 9 he posts a new fastest lap, crossing the line at 46.115. Next time around the Finn posts 46.105, closing to within 3.9s of Hamilton.
Trulli has dropped to twelfth, and is now 0.7s ahead of Webber, who leads Button, Coulthard, Bourdais, Barrichello, Piquet, Sutil and Fisichella. No retirements as yet.
Raikkonen dips into the 1:45s, as he continues to reel in Hamilton, not to mention race-leader Massa. The Brazilian responds by going quickest in the first sector, and posting a personal best lap time.
At the end of lap 12, Alonso (predictably) is the first to pit. He rejoins in last having switched to the harder option tyre. Elsewhere, Massa posts a new fastest lap (45.757).
A mistake sees Bourdais spin and lose a couple of positions.
As Webber, Coulthard and Barrichello pit, Piquet crashes heavily into the wall. He talks to the crew to tell them he's OK, but he is clearly breathless. As he climbs from the wrecked Renault, the safety car is deployed.
Rosberg pits, however, since the pit lane is not officially open he will incur a penalty. Seeing as we are in the pit stop 'window' this could seriously compromise several drivers.
"Save fuel, save fuel, go slow!" Kubica is told. Elsewhere, Barrichello has stopped on track.
At the end of lap 16 Kubica pits, remaining on the harder tyre. Both the Pole and Rosberg are likely to receive a penalty. On the other hand, the Red Bulls pitted at exactly the right moment, superb strategic call.
The pit lane is open, and Massa is first to pit, followed by Hamilton, Raikkonen and just about everyone else. However, not for the first time the Ferrari pit stop goes awry, Massa leaving the pits with the fuel hose still attached, and a mechanic lying on the ground. The Ferrari stops at the end of the pitlane and the crew run down the pitlane to remove the hose, cheered on by the fans in the stands.
The replay shows that the Ferrari lighting system gave Massa the all clear. It was not the driver's fault.
Anyway, as the smoke clears, all but Trulli and Fisichella have pitted. 18 laps completed and Rosberg leads, though he is running behind the safety car. However, the German, like Rosberg, will receive a penalty.
Massa may also receive a penalty, for the Brazilian, apart from his other problems, was released unsafely, almost collecting Sutil.
At the end of lap 19, the Safety Car pulls off. Rosberg leads Trulli, Fisichella, Kubica and Alonso. Webber is sixth, ahead of Coulthard, Hamilton, Vettel, Glock, Heidfeld, Nakajima and Button. Raikkonen is sixteenth, two places ahead of Massa.
Massa clearly frustrated - and why wouldn't he be - runs wide as he enters the pit straight. He is running 0.6s behind Bourdais, and 18s behind the race leader.
Race Control announces that it is investigating Massa. No news on Rosberg or Kubica yet.
After 22 laps, Rosberg leads by 6.9s, with Hamilton 13.1s down the road in eighth.
Race Control announces that Rosberg and Kubica are both under investigation.
Taking into account the probable penalties and fuel strategies, Alonso is looking good, as are the Red Bull.
Massa gets a drive-through for "unsafe release", which effectively kills the Brazilian's race stone-dead. No sooner has the announcement been made than the Ferrari dives into the pits. Rosberg and Kubica get 10s stop and go penalties.
Alonso closes to within 0.9s of Kubica, the Spaniard clearly sensing that something very special could be on the cards. Trulli and Fisichella are also ahead of him, but are on a different fuel strategy.
"Fernando, we're not one hundred percent sure of what's happening," comes the call over the radio, "so just push like hell!"
At the end of lap 27, Kubica (seventh) serves his penalty, as Webber goes wide at Turn 2 losing countless positions. Next time around, Rosberg serves his penalty. While the Pole rejoins in last place, the Williams driver rejoins in fourth.
Trulli leads Alonso as Fisichella pits, elsewhere Webber has slowed, his Red Bull clearly suffering a problem. The Australian pits, but the problem, clearly terminal, sees the Red Bull pushed back into its garage.
After 30 laps (of 61), Trulli leads Alonso, with Rosberg third ahead of Coulthard, Hamilton, Glock, Vettel, Heidfeld, Nakajima and Button. Kovalainen is eleventh, with Raikkonen twelfth and Massa fifteenth, which he subsequently loses to Kubica.
Massa pits having come very close to running out of fuel. A dreadful day for the Cavallino Rampante. The Brazilian switched to softs, not that it really matters.
Hamilton is just 0.9s behind Coulthard, but with Massa effectively out of the running there is no need for the McLaren driver to take risks.
Trulli pits at the end of lap 33, with softs fitted on all four corners he rejoins in eighth. Nakajima tries to take advantage of the fact that the Toyota is on cool rubber, but the Italian is having none of it.
Therefore, Alonso leads the Singapore GP by 4.9s, with Rosberg second, ahead of Coulthard, Hamilton and Glock.
At the end of lap 34, Kovalainen makes his second stop. On the harder compound, the Finn rejoins in thirteenth. Button also pits.
Raikkonen, in tenth, is running right behind Trulli and Nakajima, Ferrari in need of every point it can get. Nakajima passes the Italian at Turn 7 in a three-way battle that could continue for some time.
Raikkonen gets past Trulli on pure grunt, Nakajima having disappeared into the distance.
Hamilton continues to shadow Coulthard, as Alonso enjoys a 21.7s lead over the third-placed Scot. Elsewhere, Sutil pits.
At the end of lap 40, Rosberg pits. The German, now on the soft compound, rejoins in seventh behind Vettel but ahead of Heidfeld. A disappointing day for BMW.
Next time around, race leader Alonso pits. 7.6s later he's heading down the pitlane on hards, ahead of Coulthard and Hamilton, still leading. A couple of corners later, Hamilton nails Coulthard at Turn 7, despite the Red Bull driver's best attempts. Next time around, both Hamilton and DC pit.
Hamilton is first out, on softs, as there's a slight mistake in the Red Bull pit which sees Coulthard lose vital time.
"Come on, go and Trulli," the Scot is told as he heads off after the Toyota, who gained from the Red Bull pit error, "go and get Trulli!"
At the end of lap 43, Vettel and Heidfeld both pit, leaving Glock second to Alonso, with Rosberg third, ahead of Raikkonen, Hamilton and Trulli. That said, Glock and Raikkonen still have to pit again.
"No need to Panic," Alonso is told, "you've got a good lead, there's no need to panic."
Massa, locked in battle with Fisichella - repeat, Fisichella - gets it all wrong and goes well wide. The two are battling for fourteenth.
Second-placed Glock pits at the end of lap 46, which promotes Rosberg to second albeit, 15s behind Alonso.
Coulthard tells his crew, in no uncertain terms, that he is losing his brakes. A portent of further drama in the closing stages?
After 48 laps, it's Alonso, Rosberg, Raikkonen, Hamilton, Glock, Trulli, Vettel, Heidfeld, Coulthard and Nakajima. Raikkonen still has to stop, and possibly Trulli, however, that doesn't prevent the Finn climbing all over Rosberg.
"Don't worry about Raikkonen, he's got to stop again," Rosberg is told, "you're losing time to Hamilton."
As Raikkonen duly pits at the end of lap 50, Trulli slows. As the Italian drops down through the field, Raikkonen rejoins in 5th on softs.
Sutil goes into the barriers at Turn 18, which brings out the Safety Car. Good news for some but bad news for others.
Replay shows a mistake form Massa, who spins at Turn 18 trying to avoid Trulli. As the Brazilian gets going again, Sutil promptly crashes at exactly the same spot.
After 51 laps, it is unlikely that the race will go the 61 laps distance, with 16 minutes remaining the field circulates behind the Safety Car.
Race Control announces that the kerb is damaged at Turn 7 and that the Safety Car will be brought in at the end of the current lap.
While Hamilton can sense second, maybe even a win, he cannot afford to take any unnecessary risks.
The Safety Car pulls off and they're away again. Despite the pressure from Hamilton Rosberg holds station.
In no time at all, Alonso has built up a 3.7s lead, the Spaniard seemingly on his way to a famous victory. What a difference a day makes.
Despite some tantalisingly small gaps, nobody seems willing to take a real chance, and looking at those unforgiving barriers, the bumps and the lack of grip, who can blame them. That said, Raikkonen is clearly eyeing Glock.
At the end of lap 57, it's: Alonso, Rosberg, Hamilton, Glock, Raikkonen, Vettel, Heidfeld and Coulthard.
Ferrari's Singapore misery continues as Raikkonen goes into the wall after getting out of shape in Turn 10. No drivers or constructors points for the Scuderia this weekend from a race which promised so much. Furthermore, McLaren will now take the lead in the Constructors' Championship.
Ferrari's misfortune is good news for Williams, as Nakajima inherits eighth place, which mean both the Grove team's drivers are in the points.
Despite having started fifteenth, Fernando Alonso takes a famous, historic and well-deserved victory, virtually a year since his last win. The Spaniard is clearly ecstatic as her crosses the line, and rightly so, it was a performance worthy of a World Champion.
An equally impressive performance from Rosberg, who, it should not be forgotten, had to serve a 10s stop and go. No disrespect to Williams, which has had a great weekend here, but one has to wonder whether the young German might not be better served looking elsewhere, perhaps replacing Kovalainen at McLaren as the Finn continues to disappoint.
A double whammy for Hamilton and McLaren. Not only did the Englishman take 6 much needed points, especially in light of the appeal hearing earlier in the week, but Ferrari suffered the race from hell. The McLaren driver must surely head into the three remaining races - which appear to suit his car - filled with confidence.
Another excellent performance from Glock, while the same can be said of Vettel, even though we hardly saw him this afternoon.
Heidfeld gets three consolation points for BMW in a race which promised so much, while Red Bull will be gutted that what looked like a podium finish resulted in just 2 points, and further loss of ground to Toro Rosso.
As for Ferrari, whatever could go wrong did go wrong, and there will need to be some serious soul searching tonight and over the next two week leading up to the back to back races in Japan and China. Nobody came out of today's race looking good.
Some will say that this was a great race, a thrilling race, and heap further praise on the circuit and the whole concept of night racing, we will simply say that it was incident filled and leave it at that.
While the race was memorable, one could argue at to whether this is for the right or wrong reasons. All we will say is that we hope the relevant lessons are learned.
That aside, let us applaud a superb performance from Fernando Alonso, who after the despair of Saturday's qualifying session is back where he belongs, fighting for wins.
Renault and Alonso are happy, Williams are happy, McLaren and Lewis are happy and most certainly the organizers, Bernie and CVC are certainly happy. So let's leave it at that… and be happy with them.
Happy Days.