As it happened: 2010 Singapore - The Race

• 12:30

  Hello one and all. Are you ready for the Singapore Grand Prix? I know I am!

• 12:31

  Let's get the lovely admin out of the way first. You've heard about our dashboard by now, I'm sure. It's an excellent place to live comment the race with us. https://sidepodcast.com/dashboard

• 12:32

  Otherwise you can stick to the regular thread: https://sidepodcast.com/2010/09/26/live-singapore-2010-the-race/

• 12:32

  There's also a poll on that page - have your say on how far you think Massa can make it through the field. We'll have a look at the results just before the race begins.

• 12:34

  We are following the BBC online, and live text updates from Autosport: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/9033511.stm & http://live.autosport.com/commentary.php/id/276

• 12:35

  Ferrari had a mixed day yesterday with Alonso on poll and Massa right at the very back of the grid. They have opted to swap out his engine for the 9th one, minimising the penalty.

• 12:36

  You can view the full qualifying results, and therefore the grid, here: https://sidepodcast.com/2010/09/25/singapore-2010-qualifying-results/

• 12:36

  Hulkenberg qualified 12th, but takes a five place grid penalty for changing the gearbox. He was not impressed post-qualifying yesterday, slamming his helmet down in frustration.

• 12:37

  In weather news, it looks as though the sun has been shining all day, and the track will be dry for once.

• 12:37

  Renault capture a bit of sun before night falls.

• 12:38

  Tweet from @H_Kovalainen: All ready for the race, lots of fans in grand stands already during the drivers parade. No rain risk so should be straight forward. #fb

• 12:39

  The cars are lining up on the grid now, making last minute tweaks and setup decisions.

• 12:41

  Interview with Vettel: "I think we've done a bit of homework and I'm quite confident we'll have a good start... Ideally we'll get Fernando at the start, we're not on the clean side but they've done a good job removing the dust. It's one of the most difficult races for the drivers, a long lap, lot of corners. Physically not that demanding but the conditions make it tough. There is no room for mistakes."

• 12:45

  Interview with Ron Dennis: "Gonna be a great race, don't know who's going to win it, hope it's us... I'll be surprised if we're not second into the first corner. A lot of people with brake problems, but not us."

• 12:47

  Interview with Barrichello: "Good qualifying, the upgrades work on the car. Bringing the car round here with lots of fuel still feels good. I have the best seat... Better than sixth, I will be satisfied."

• 12:49

  Interview with Rosberg: "I think we should have done a bit better yesterday. We should have been ahead of the Williams, I'll try to get him at the start as we're on the clean side... The soft tyres will be difficult."

• 12:50

  A lot of drivers appear to be expressing concern the race will push the two hour limit, particularly if there's a Safety Car or two.

• 12:51

  Circuit Data

  Local Timezone	+0800 GMT
  First Race	2008
  Total Grand Prix	2
  Number of Laps	61
  Circuit Length	5.073km
  Race Distance	309.316km

• 12:51

  This is how the championship stands ahead of the race. These guys occupy the top five grid slots as well. It's close at the top.

  Championship Standings

  Pos	Driver	Pts
  1	Webber	187
  2	Hamilton	182
  3	Alonso	166
  4	Button	165
  5	Vettel	163

• 12:52

  I've closed the poll and the majority of voters think Massa will finish in the points - a few think he may retire, and one very optimistic voter thinks he'll end up on the podium.

• 12:53

  Tweet from @NobleF1: Quite a neat trick on the Red Bulls here - they have lit up their wheel hubs with small bulbs to help the pit stop boys

• 12:55

  Tweet from @autosportlive: The problem affecting Jaime Alguersuari's Toro Rosso is cooling related. In Singapore's extreme heat, he could be in for a very early bath.

• 12:56

  The Toro Rosso driver will be starting from the pitlane.

• 12:56

  

  30°C

  Track	31°C
  Humidity	61%
  Wind Speed	1.1mps

• 13:00

  Alonso leads the pack away on the formation lap.

• 13:03 Lap 1

  They are go, go, go. The Singapore Grand Prix begins.

• 13:04 Lap 1

  Alonso keeps his position around the first corner.

• 13:04 Lap 1

  It looks like a mostly clean start for all.

• 13:04 Lap 1

  Barrichello has lost a couple of places on the start, Kubica has moved up.

• 13:05 Lap 1

  Yellow flags shown at two places on track.

• 13:05 Lap 1

  Nick Heidfeld has some damage at the front, although it's not clear what happened yet.

• 13:06 Lap 1

  Massa pits for a change of tyres - it's a sensible decision, particularly if a safety car is called.

• 13:06 Lap 2

  Heidfeld pits for a new front wing.

• 13:06 Lap 2

  It's a long old pit stop for Sauber.

• 13:07 Lap 2

  Liuzzi is also broken, he's pulled to a halt on track.

• 13:08 Lap 3

  Safety car deployed.

• 13:09 Lap 3

  Heidfeld has returned to the pitlane.

• 13:10 Lap 4

  Webber pits, Petrov, Hulkenberg, Buemi, Sutil, Trulli... quite a lot of people, actually.

• 13:12 Lap 5

  Liuzzi's collision.

• 13:14 Lap 5

  Safety Car to come in this lap.

• 13:14 Lap 5

  Team radio to Webber: This might be frustrating for a while, but this could be good for us.

• 13:14 Lap 5

  He's currently sitting in 11th.

• 13:15 Lap 6

  Safety Car is in, Alonso makes a good start again.

• 13:16 Lap 6

  Massa is up to 15th for now.

• 13:16 Lap 6

  Trulli has a left rear puncture, making his way slowly back to the pitlane.

• 13:17 Lap 7

  Webber has already passed Glock, and this time manages to pass Kobayashi with a clear speed advantage.

• 13:19 Lap 8

  Hulkenberg and Petrov have a brief coming together.

• 13:21 Lap 8

  Team radio between Hulk and engineer: "Sliding all over." "Copy. It's the same for everyone, it's just a matter of seeing it to the end. Good job."

• 13:21 Lap 8

  The hard tyres are pretty tricky, it seems.

• 13:23 Lap 10

  Glock is up in 11th at the moment, a really high position for the Virgin Racing car, but of course he has not pitted yet.

• 13:25 Lap 11

  Team radio to Vettel: "Sebastian, try to cool the brakes a little."

• 13:25 Lap 11

  Webber has passed Schumacher, he's now up to 8th. Barrichello is next.

• 13:28 Lap 12

  The top three are just starting to pull out a gap on Button.

  Battle For The Lead

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  1st	Alonso	--
  2nd	Vettel	+1.3
  3rd	Hamilton	+3.1
  4th	Button	+5.6

• 13:29 Lap 13

  Tweet from @InsideFerrari: Fernando is pushing hard to open the gap on Vettel and on Webber who has already pitted

• 13:32 Lap 15

  Glock is doing a pretty good job holding up a few cars behind him - Sutil, Hulk and then Massa.

• 13:33 Lap 15

  Heidfeld overtakes Di Grassi for 19th place - trying to make his way back up the field again.

• 13:34 Lap 15

  Sutil gets past Glock, and will be glad to move ahead of the Virgin car - he is two seconds a lap slower than those in front.

• 13:35 Lap 16

  Hulkenberg and Massa also make it past.

• 13:36 Lap 17

  Ah, it was a kerb shaped problem that has ended Glock's reign in the mid-field.

• 13:37 Lap 17

  Race control confirm they're looking into the incident between Heidfeld and Liuzzi.

• 13:38 Lap 18

  Inter-Team Battle

  Renault
  Kubica	6th
  Petrov	14th

• 13:39 Lap 19

  Tweet from @VirginRacing: Timo reporting tru not moving over. We've informed charlie

• 13:40 Lap 19

  Team radio to Alonso: "We are by far the fastest car on the track, we keep going, there is no risk with the safety car at the moment."

• 13:41 Lap 19

  Presumably he's talking risk as in strategy, as opposed to the possibility of a Safety Car appearing, otherwise he's got a crystal ball somewhere we need to know about.

• 13:45 Lap 22

  Top Speed

  Sector 1	Sutil	297kph
  Sector 2	Kubica	263kph
  Sector 3	Webber	240kph
  Speed Trap	Hulkenberg	284kph

• 13:46 Lap 22

  One to Watch

  Barrichello	vs.	Webber
  7th	+0.5s	8th

• 13:47 Lap 23

  Webber makes a bit of a mistake, inches away from the barriers, but saves it.

• 13:49 Lap 24

  Team radio to Hamilton: "Lewis, we need to find three tenths, to half a second. See if you can find three tenths."

• 13:49 Lap 24

  Both Hamilton and Webber have essentially been told they are battling each other, despite being five positions apart at the moment.

• 13:50 Lap 24

  Trulli is reporting hydraulic issues.

• 13:50 Lap 25

  Tweet from @sschaumloeffel: Noooooooo stupid stupid stupid hydraulics

• 13:54 Lap 27

  Alonso is coming up on backmarkers now, Trulli is within his sights.

• 13:55 Lap 27

  Aaaand he's past.

• 13:56 Lap 28

  One to Watch

  Schumacher	vs.	Kobayashi
  9th	+0.7s	10th

• 13:56 Lap 28

  Tweet from @tonyfernandes: jarno has to retire. what ashame. no luck and poor hydraulica

• 13:57 Lap 28

  Trulli returns to the pitlane, race over.

• 13:57 Lap 28

  Tweet from @tonyfernandes: we try to recharge . never give up

• 13:57 Lap 28

  Perhaps I spoke too soon.

• 13:58 Lap 29

  Hamilton pits.

• 13:59 Lap 29

  He rejoins the field behind Webber, the Red Bull strategy worked!

• 14:00 Lap 30

  Alonso and Vettel both pit at the same time

• 14:00 Lap 30

  Tweet from @tonyfernandes: jarno going back out. nice call tony hahahaha

• 14:01 Lap 30

  Button pits and rejoins in 8th.

• 14:02 Lap 30

  Vettel had a bit of a jumpy getaway from the pit box, so Alonso kept the lead easily.

• 14:03 Lap 31

  Rosberg pits from 4th and Schumacher dives into the pitlane after him.

• 14:04 Lap 32

  Replays show that Kobayashi and Schumacher came together, batting Schumi into the wall. That explains why after his pitstop, he is down in 15th.

• 14:04 Lap 32

  Vettel has closed up to Alonso as they come across traffic.

• 14:05 Lap 32

  Safety car deployed.

• 14:05 Lap 32

  Two cars in the wall.

• 14:06 Lap 33

  Replays show Kobayashi smashed into the wall, and Senna ran into him. Luckily everyone else managed to avoid them.

• 14:07 Lap 33

  Senna and Kobayashi climb out of their cars.

• 14:08 Lap 33

  Lots more pit stops under the Safety Car - Kubica, Rubens, Buemi and Klien at least.

• 14:08 Lap 33

  Hamilton reports a problem with his drinks button.

• 14:09 Lap 34

  Klien is climbing out of the car, the HRT is pushed back into the garage.

• 14:10 Lap 34

  Retirements

  Driver	Reason	Lap
  Klien	Unknown	34
  Kobayashi	Accident	32
  Senna	Accident	32
  Trulli	Hydraulics	29
  Liuzzi	Suspension	1

• 14:13 Lap 35

  Safety Car in this lap.

• 14:14 Lap 36

  The Safety Car is in. Alonso makes his third good start of the race.

• 14:15 Lap 36

  Di Grassi is right in the way of Webber, which allows Hamilton to close up and pass. The pair touch.

• 14:15 Lap 36

  Hamilton has stopped!

• 14:16 Lap 37

  Webber is still going but his car looks scrappy, and he almost touches the wall.

• 14:16 Lap 37

  Team radio to Webber: "Front wing looks fine. Stay out."

• 14:17 Lap 37

  The incident between them will be investigated.

• 14:17 Lap 37

  Replays show Hamilton got past easily but Webber was up the inside on the following corner, and that's where they came together.

• 14:18 Lap 38

  Accident between Schumacher and Heidfeld. The Sauber sits stricken against the wall.

• 14:18 Lap 38

  Schumacher pits for a new front wing.

• 14:19 Lap 38

  Massa has made it up to tenth and into the points. So far so good for everyone who picked that option in the poll.

• 14:21 Lap 39

  Championship Standings

  Pos	Driver	Pts
  1	Webber	202
  2	Alonso	191
  3	Hamilton	182
  4	Vettel	181
  5	Button	177

• 14:22 Lap 40

  That's Live Championship Standings, obviously. The race isn't over till it's over.

• 14:23 Lap 41

  Also worth knowing who is where, I suppose!

  Driver Positions

  1	Alonso	Ferrari
  2	Vettel	Red Bull
  3	Webber	Red Bull
  4	Button	McLaren
  5	Rosberg	Mercedes

• 14:24 Lap 41

  The incident between Schumacher and Heidfeld will also be investigated. It's going to be a long evening for the stewards!

• 14:28 Lap 43

  Fastest Laps

  Driver	Lap	Time
  Vettel	41	1:49.314
  Vettel	39	1:49.535
  Alonso	39	1:49.745

• 14:33 Lap 46

  Kubica pits from 6th.

• 14:33 Lap 46

  This is his second stop, seems a bit odd. They're changing his front tyres, and he's off again.

• 14:34 Lap 46

  Vettel is just nine tenths behind Alonso, then there's a big gap to Webber, about 11 seconds behind.

• 14:34 Lap 47

  Tweet from @autosportlive: So we have eighth to 13th all within one second of each other. Interestingly, Kovalainen is 14th and only 12 seconds behind this scrap.

• 14:35 Lap 47

  In that case, I need to update my earlier table:

  Inter-Team Battle

  Renault
  Petrov	10th
  Kubica	13th

• 14:36 Lap 48

  Race control confirm no action on the incident with Webber and Hamilton.

• 14:36 Lap 48

  With so many retirements, my backmarker watch is rather small.

  Lapped Cars

  Driver	Laps Down
  Glock	1
  Di Grassi	2

• 14:38 Lap 49

  Looks like Kubica had a puncture and that's why he had to make that second stop.

• 14:38 Lap 49

  Not a happy Hamilton, but helmet off at least.

• 14:40 Lap 50

  One to Watch

  Buemi	vs.	Kubica
  11th	+0.4s	12th

• 14:43 Lap 51

  Battle For 3rd

  Pos	Driver	Gap
  3rd	Webber	--
  4th	Button	+2.9
  5th	Rosberg	+8.5
  6th	Barrichello	+17.9

• 14:43 Lap 52

  Tweet from @VirginRacing: MSC catching KOV at a fair rate of knots. We are just clearing the garage and retiring timo :-(

• 14:44 Lap 52

  Race control confirm no action on the Schumacher incident either.

• 14:44 Lap 52

  Kubica passes Buemi and sets his sights on his teammate. That's a shame, I was quite enjoying the Renault sandwich.

• 14:46 Lap 53

  Team radio to Webber: "Jenson has been told to keep pushing all the way to the end."

• 14:46 Lap 53

  Two seconds separate Webber and Button at the moment.

• 14:47 Lap 54

  Kubica easily gets past the other yellow car. Another table.

  Inter-Team Battle

  Renault
  Kubica	10th
  Petrov	11th

• 14:48 Lap 54

  Team radio to Kubica: "Massa's tyres are 50 laps old. Let's have a go at him."

  And he did! Up to 9th. I'm not doing any more Renault tables though.

• 14:49 Lap 55

  Most Pitstops

  Driver	Visits
  Buemi	3
  Kubica	2
  Kovalainen	2
  Schumacher	2
  Di Grassi	2

• 14:49 Lap 55

  Kubica passes Hulkenberg. The man is on a charge!

• 14:50 Lap 55

  Sutil should be getting a bit nervous as a yellow car appears in his mirrors.

• 14:50 Lap 55

  Six laps to go, and ten minutes before the two hour limit.

• 14:51 Lap 56

  What a pass on Sutil!! That was amazing. Kubica up to 7th.

• 14:51 Lap 56

  Round the outside he went. Nicely done. Barrichello is about 30 seconds up the road, so his storming drive is probably done now.

• 14:55 Lap 58

  Tweet from @mikegascoyne: fighting schumacher for position, go for it heikki

• 14:56 Lap 59

  Interview with Hamilton: "I saw Mark made a mistake, I was in a position to slipstream. I thought I was enough past him, I couldn't see him. I tried to leave enough room but I got hit."

• 14:57 Lap 59

  More from Hamilton: "20 points is massive. With four races to go that's a big gap."

• 14:58 Lap 60

  Kovalainen appears to be on fire!

• 15:00 Lap 61

  Heikki cruises to a stop, having missed the pitlane. Once out of the car, he didn't wait for the marshals and got the extinguisher going.

• 15:00 Lap 61

  Just before the fire, Heikki and Buemi touched, spinning the Lotus round. Buemi continued unimpeded.

• 15:01 Lap 61

  Yellow flags make overtaking difficult on this final lap, there's not much Vettel can do.

• 15:01 Lap 61

  Fernando Alonso wins the Singapore Grand Prix!

• 15:03

  Points Positions

  1	Alonso	Ferrari
  2	Vettel	Red Bull
  3	Webber	Red Bull
  4	Button	McLaren
  5	Rosberg	Mercedes
  6	Barrichello	Williams
  7	Kubica	Renault
  8	Sutil	Force India
  9	Hulkenberg	Williams
  10	Massa	Ferrari

• 15:04

  Comment from Bassano: That was some race! Moments of utter boredom, then heaps of incidents followed by tension, finishing with an inferno!

• 15:05

  Race Winner

  Driver	Fernando Alonso
  Team	Ferrari
  Race Time	1:57:53.579
  Race Distance	309.316km
  Average Speed	157.422km/h

• 15:07

  Tweet from @clubforce: It was the Force India F1 team's 50th race (and also Adrian's 50th with the team). Thanks to all our supporters.

• 15:09

  Alonso tips some of his water over his head, trying to get cool. All three podium drivers look absolutely shattered, and there is almost no talking in the... whatever that room is called. Green room.

• 15:10

  Comment from Alex Andronov: FBFB it said on the door, I think, "Podium Room"

  That would make sense.

• 15:13

  It's not just water that is being thrown around.

• 15:15

  Retirements

  Driver	Reason	Lap
  Kovalainen	Accident	60
  Glock	Unconfirmed	52
  Heidfeld	Accident	38
  Hamilton	Accident	36
  Klien	Unconfirmed	34
  Senna	Accident	32
  Kobayashi	Accident	32
  Trulli	Hydralics	29
  Liuzzi	Suspension	1

• 15:16

  Fastest Laps

  Driver	Lap	Time
  Alonso	58	1:47.976
  Vettel	53	1:48.466
  Alonso	53	1:48.535

• 15:20

  Interview with Button: "This hurt a little bit with Webber finishing in front of me, but it's still only a race victory. We all race until the last race. There's everything to play for. Lewis' misfortune today with Webber... shows that one bad race can cost you a lot of points. Consistency is important, but I need to be on the podium."

• 15:21

  Tweet from @mikegascoyne: Heikki was hit by buemi and as he spun the fuel take prv cracked open and caused an airbox fire

• 15:23

  Alonso secured the hat-trick of pole position, the win, and fastest lap. He led every single lap, plus a bonus fact for you, only Vettel and Alonso scored fastest laps throughout.

• 15:24

  Lapped Cars

  Driver	Laps Down
  Petrov	1
  Alguersuari	1
  Schumacher	1
  Buemi	1
  Di Grassi	2

• 15:37

  Alonso in the press conference: "Taking it very easy. I just control the gap to Sebastien as best i could and didn't take any risk."

• 15:38

  Vettel in the press conference: "Soft tyres, at the end the car was sliding a lot. I tried to push him as hard as I could into making a mistake but he didn't make a major mistake"

• 15:40

  Webber in the press conference: "Lewis got a big run on me. Unfortunately we made contact. It's not desirable. It was a key part of the race."

  I'll say!

• 15:42

  Hamilton's double non-finish has allowed Button to close up the stats a little.

  GP Battle

  McLaren	Finished
  Hamilton	9
  Button	6

• 15:44

  This one is just for fun.

  GP Battle

  Mercedes GP	Finished
  Rosberg	12
  Schumacher	3

• 15:47

  That was quite the race we saw today. Admittedly a lot of the action happened further down the field, but it was fascinating.

• 15:47

  Massa managed to haul himself up to tenth, which was pretty impressive given that he started last but one. Well done to all those who predicted as much.

• 15:48

  Kovalainen managed to lap both the Virgin cars before finally being beaten down by fire. There's only so much you can do when your car is in flames.

• 15:49

  Kubica was very impressive out there, if only because, once again, he showed up Petrov rather a lot. It was one of those moments where Robert wakes up and shows why he's a driver in demand.

• 15:50

  There are just four races left to go now, and still there are five drivers in the hunt for the title. Alonso has pulled it back from almost nowhere to sit behind Webber in second now.

• 15:50

  Red Bull may be starting to sit up and worry a little. They expected to perform poorly in Monza, but were hoping to be back on form in Singapore - Ferrari wouldn't give them a look in.

• 15:52

  In two weeks time, we'll be waking up in the early hours to watch the Japanese Grand Prix. I hope you will join me then, but in the meantime stay with Sidepodcast for all the results and analysis you could ever need.