Singapore Grand Prix race report

British driver Lewis Hamilton has dominated the 2009 Singapore Grand Prix at the wheel of his McLaren Mercedes with Jenson Button scoring a much-welcome haul of points to extend his championship lead over his teammate and the Red Bull drivers who both suffered a dismal race.

Hamilton was joined on the podium by Timo Glock in the Toyota after a superb drive saw him fight his way from sixth position to gain eight World Championship points. The final step of the podium was taken by last years Singapore Grand Prix winner Fernando Alonso and was surely a welcome boost to a Renault team reeling from the recent race-fixing scandal that saw the team lose key team members and sponsors as well as being handed a two-year suspended ban by the FIA’s World Motorsport Council.

The victory for Hamilton was the second for the British driver this year, and saw him stamp his authority on the race from the moment the lights went out. The McLaren driver spoke to the media after the race and said;

“It was a very, very tough race, I think I can speak for all of us. Conditions made it very tough but it was pretty straightforward for me. I knew I was longer than the guys around me so all I had to do was keep Vettel behind me. I felt I drove quite a nicely-controlled race.”

Webber - brake failure

Hamilton felt the pressure from two drivers during the race the first of which was Nico Rosberg. The German driver held a steady second place in the early stages of the race and could have been in contention for a victory had it not been for a stop and go penalty issued for cutting across the kerbing at the exit of the pitlane which is not permitted. Rosberg was very critical of his error after the race describing it as “very stupid” and clearly spoilt what should have been Williams strongest showing of the year so far with him fighting his way up from 14th position after his drive through penalty to 11th at the race end.

Hamilton’s second challenge came from the fast-charging Red Bull of Sebastien Vettel who took over from Rosberg in a challenge for the lead which ended when the German driver broke the pitlane speed limit and was forced to make a stop and go penalty dropping him from second place to fourth position and out of contention for both a podium and victory.

The second Red Bull of Mark Webber suffered a front right brake failure at the end of the pit straight spinning the Australian into the protective barriers at the edge of the circuit and ending his hopes of winning the 2009 World Championship. The retirement from Mark Webber puts the Red Bull team further behind Brawn, and whilst they can still mathematically win the Constructors Championship it now seems unlikely.

Jenson Button in the Brawn

The problems encountered by the Red Bull team could not have been better news for the Brawn drivers who started well down the grid with Button in 11th position and Barrichello in ninth. Both drivers struggled in the early stages of the race. Jenson Button was hampered when his fuel advantage was wiped out after a safety car was introduced due to an incident between Nick Heidfeld and Adrian Sutil. Both Button and Barrichello kept up the pressure and when Sebastien Vettel encountered his problems Button manage to make his way up to fourth position just ahead of teammate Barrichello.

The Englishman remained in fifth position for the remainder of the race and now means that he can win the World Championship next weekend at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka if he scores five points or more over Barrichello. The World Championship leader expressed relief at the result and said;

“I got stuck behind Heikki Kovalainen for quite a few laps of the race but when he pitted I was able to get past him – I’m very happy.” I could see Rubens pulling away very slightly and couldn’t do anything, but I was happy to get Kazuki Nakajima off the line, that was key for me and made my race really.”

Full 2009 Singapore Grand Prix classification