Renault’s Fernando Alonso scored a surprise success just when he most needed it, in one of the most eagerly anticipated Grand Prix in Formula One history, under the lights of Singapore on Sunday. And he owed much of it to team mate Nelson Piquet, whose crash on the 14th lap changed the face of the race.
Ferrari’s Felipe Massa led from pole position from McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari, and Alonso dropped way back when he was the first to stop as the result of an aggressive opening stint. Then Piquet had his shunt and out came the safety car. Fourth-placed Robert Kubica for BMW Sauber and Williams’ Nico Rosberg both pitted before the pit lane was officially opened, and when it was on the 17th lap, Massa’s race fell apart as he led Hamilton, Raikkonen, Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel and Toyota’s Timo Glock.
The green light within his cockpit told Massa he could restart, but the refuelling hose was still attached to his car. He knocked over a mechanic as the hose tore away, and fuel spewed everywhere. Subsequently he was given a drive-through penalty for another unsafe exit in front of the Force India of Adrian Sutil.
Kubica and Rosberg were given 10-second stop-and-go penalties. The Pole’s ruined his race, but Rosberg was able to keep in play even after serving his. In the pit stop shuffle Hamilton got delayed running behind Alonso, Rosberg, Toyota’s Jarno Trulli, Giancarlo Fisichella (who had started from the pit lane after set-up changes on his Force India), and Mark Webber and David Coulthard in the Red Bulls. Eventually the British driver moved up to fourth behind Alonso, Rosberg and Coulthard, but he was losing a second a lap behind the Scot, and that was where his chance of winning evaporated.
Not even a second safety-car period, on the 51st lap after Massa spun and an unsighted Sutil crashed, could throw him a lifeline, but with Raikkonen crashing while fighting Glock for fourth place on the 58th lap, he could afford to settle for the six points that took his championship tally to 84 points, with Massa still on 77, Kubica 64 and Raikkonen 57. Equally, McLaren were able to move a point ahead of Ferrari in the constructors’ chase.
Thus Alonso scored his first win since Monza 2007 and Renault’s first since Japan 2006, and Rosberg scored his best-ever finish after a fine drive. Behind Glock, Vettel fended off Nick Heidfeld for fifth, and Coulthard and Kazuki Nakajima completed the points scorers.
Jenson Button was ninth for Honda ahead of an unhappy Heikki Kovalainen, who lost out badly in a first-lap brush with Kubica as they fought over fourth place; the Pole was 11th from Sebastien Bourdais, the deeply unhappy Massa and Fisichella. Raikkonen was classified 15th.
Trulli failed to finish with a mechanical problem, as did Webber; Barrichello ran out of fuel in his Honda, and Sutil and Piquet both crashed.
With far more overtaking than the drivers had predicted, Formula One’s first-ever night race packed in plenty of excitement, and was adjudged a great success.
2008 FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX
Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts
1 5 Fernando Alonso Renault 61 1:57:16.304 15 10
2 7 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 61 +2.9 secs 8 8
3 22 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 61 +5.9 secs 2 6
4 12 Timo Glock Toyota 61 +8.1 secs 7 5
5 15 Sebastian Vettel STR-Ferrari 61 +10.2 secs 6 4
6 3 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 61 +11.1 secs 9 3
7 9 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 61 +16.3 secs 14 2
8 8 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 61 +18.4 secs 10 1
9 16 Jenson Button Honda 61 +19.8 secs 12
10 23 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 61 +26.9 secs 5
11 4 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 61 +27.9 secs 4
12 14 Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari 61 +29.4 secs 17
13 2 Felipe Massa Ferrari 61 +35.1 secs 1
14 21 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 61 +43.5 secs 20
15 1 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 57 Accident 3
Ret 11 Jarno Trulli Toyota 50 Hydraulics 11
Ret 20 Adrian Sutil Force India-Ferrari 49 Accident 19
Ret 10 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 29 Transmission 13
Ret 17 Rubens Barrichello Honda 14 Engine 18
Ret 6 Nelsinho Piquet Renault 13 Accident 16
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