Singapore F1 2010

The start was rather dull. Rain was a threat earlier in the day and a couple of corners were supposed to be wet, which would not just make overtaking difficult but would also punish the erring drivers severely. But that was not important. It was the fifth last race of the season when as many as five drivers could become world champion this year. Drivers had already issued warnings that a DNF or accident could be bye bye championship for some and hence finishing the race, and finishing in points was extremely important.

Hence, the start was dull. Everyone was driving carefully to avoid any untoward incidents. Massa started from the back of the grid and Jamie Alguersuari started from the pit lane. The first few laps uneventful with the only exception that Massa pitted immediately after first lap for the harder tires for the rest of the race. Alonso and Vettel soon looked running away from even Hamilton who generally does not allow that, no matter what the situation is. Nick Heidfeld's pit stop was messed up for some reason, and then Liuzzi lost suspension and was stalled in the tracks which brought out the Safety Car.

Everyone from positions 15-last and Mark Webber came in for a new set of tires to negate the pit stop time. Mark Webber came in to take advantage on the front runners when they would pit and came out at 9th place. He quickly overcame a couple of cars and was lapping 7-8 seconds behind Alonso. But the front runners pulled away and at the end of 25 laps, Webber was almost 35 seconds behind Alonso and Vettel, and 20 seconds from Hamilton. Then Hamilton pitted and came out behind Webber, something he probably wasn't ready for. The leaders also pitted and came out in their respective positions and the racing was on again in full swing.

Then Senna had an accident and Kobayashi banged into his stationary car on the turn which brought out the safety car. The equations were balanced and the leads were negated. Everyone grew a little impatient for the time safety car was on and as soon as the safety car went in, Alonso and Vettel sped away soon. Hamilton wasn't too happy at being overtaken during his pit stop was determined to go past Webber at any cost. Webber caught a backmarker at turn 7, and Hamilton went past him, but at the very last moment, the rear left tyre (Hamilton later called it his "blind spot") caught Webber's front right tyre and damaged the suspension, which ultimately led to his retirement few seconds later. He threw out his steering wheel in fury and that was it. Surprisingly, Webber did not damage anything on his car and continued racing which probably irked him even more, but there was nothing he could do about it. The stewards later called it a race accident and chose to do nothing about it.

Later, Heidfeld and Schumacher touched wheels and Heidfeld retired. Schumi went into the pits and changed his nose, which left him at the back of the field. Kubica pitted from P6 for a new tires and came out in P10, but he stormed passed Massa, Hulkenberg, and Sutil to regain his P6.

Alonso developed a minor gearbox issue , but he had sufficient power and wits to see off a late challenge from Vettel, to clinch a superbly executed victory this time in Singapore. No controversies were to accompany him to podium. Vettel was later heard saying on the radio, "We'll get them next time".

The championship standings after the race read like this.

1. Mark Webber                       202
2. Fernando Alonso                  191
3. Lewis Hamilton                    182
4. Sebastian Vettel                   181
5. Jenson Button                       177

That tells just one thing. The next four races are going to be just as exciting.