What a night

Fernando Alonso wins Singapore night Grand Prix, his first of the season. Meanwhile, Massa’s championship challenge in doldrums after pit stop disaster, with Hamilton leading the drivers’ standings by seven points after finishing third.

SINGAPORE: Even the best script writer couldn’t have thought off such a dramatic end to the inaugural Singapore night Grand Prix. In a race which turned out to be topsy-turvy affair, Fernando Alonso, who qualified 15th, pulled off a thrilling win.

The race was a disaster for Ferrari as both Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen had a forgettable outing with the former finishing 13th and Raikkonen crashed with four laps to go.

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton of McLaren finished a creditable third to extend his lead to 7 points over Massa.

The Singapore GP was supposed to have been dictated by weather conditions and the uncertainty of driving at night.

However, both these factors became redundant. Instead, it was the brilliance of 27-year-old Renault driver and recklessness of Massa that determined the outcome of the race.

Massa, who was on pole, had a perfect start as he led second-placed Hamilton by five seconds after 14 laps. However, things began to change after Nelson Piquet Junior smashed his car on the wall on turn seven.

The introduction of safety car meant Hamilton and others were able to close the gap on Massa. While the safety car was on the track, many teams chose to execute the first pit stop. It was here that Massa blew apart his race by moving while the fuel hose was stuck to the car. Massa dragged the pipe for about 100m before the team realised the dreadful mistake. The Ferrari came to a standstill and it was only after a lot of precious time had passed that Massa could rejoin the race.

Massa’s problem in the pit lane had detrimental effect on Raikkonen as well. The defending world champion who was following Massa in the pits lost lot of time while the Ferrari crew tried to organise themselves.

During the frantic activities in the pits, Nico Rosberg of Williams and Robert Kubica of BMW executed a smart pit stop and took up the leader’s position after the safety car was out.

However, both the drivers had entered the pit when the pit lane was closed. The stewards predictably handed a 10 second pit stop penalty to both.

Meanwhile, Alonso who was the quickest in the third practice session on Saturday found himself in second place behind the slow-moving Toyota of Jarno Trulli. Alonso took the lead after Trulli went to the pits.

The other hero of the day was Nico Rosberg. The young German managed to put in amazingly fast laps before his penalty. This helped Rosberg get ahead of Hamilton after the pit stop penalty.

Alonso meanwhile, was in a league of his own. He was cruising to victory with Rosberg in second place and Hamilton in third. Raikkonen, despite the entire problem, was still in fifth while Massa languished last.

The drama however hadn’t ended. With just 12 laps to go, Force India’s Adrian Sutil crashed into the wall and safety car was again out on the track. It looked as if there could be another twist in the tale. However, Alonso used his experience and skill to pull ahead of Rosberg and Hamilton to claim his first victory of the season.

Massa not angry with the mechanic
Felipe Massa said he holds no ill will for a crew member whose mistake during a pit stop Sunday led to his disastrous finish after starting from the pole position. Ferrari has not identified the crew member who gave the green signal to Massa. Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali said the man was so distraught that he broke down and wept before being consoled by the 27 year old Massa himself.

“These things happen. We are all human beings. Everybody can makes mistakes. I am not the kind of guy who goes to the guy and fights with him,” he said. “So I went to the guy and gave him even more motivation because we need him and we need everybody
together for the last three races of the season.”