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Fernando Alonso’s bad luck turns good for win (2008 Singapore Grand Prix)
While Felipe Massa led at the start Fernando Alonso was a long way back
Fernando Alonso scored his first win in over a year and Renault’s first win in almost twice that time as the new Singapore circuit created a surprise result.
It was an unusual podium featuring Alonso, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, the latter extending his title lead on a poor day for Ferrari.
Felipe Massa failed to score after another disastrous problem during their pit stops, and Kimi Raikkonen crashed late in the race.
Mixed fortunes for Alonso
Fortunate toyed with Alonso all weekend. He was quickly up to speed on the bumpy Singapore street circuit, fastest in the second and third free practice sessions, and fancied his chances of taking pole position.
But a car failure in qualifying left him a wretched 15th - a starting position no driver had ever won a Grand Prix from in the 799 world championship events leading up to this race. It took a strategic gamble and a stroke of fortune to bring him into play on race day.
At the start Felipe Massa was quickly down to business, pulling out a lead over Lewis Hamilton. Kimi Raikkonen stayed third ahead of Robert Kubica, who barged Heikki Kovalainen aside at turn three, leaving Sebastian Vettel and Timo Glock to pass the Finn.
Jarno Trulli made an excellent start from 11th to move up to ninth. But with a fuel-heavy car he quickly had a train of rivals stuck behind him: Nico Rosberg, Kazuki Nakajima, Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, Jenson Button, David Coulthard and Sebastien Bourdais all covered by 5.1s on lap five.
After several attempts Rosberg got by Trulli on lap seven. Soon Nakajima and Alonso were also through, but the leaders had dashed away.
Massa maintains his lead
Massa had a three second lead over Hamilton by lap nine, with Raikkonen a further 4.3 behind. But Raikkonen’s lap times started to improve and he set a pair of fastest laps, cutting Hamilton’s advantage to 2.6s by lap 13.
Meanwhile Alonso, who along with Rosberg had started on the less favourable super-soft tyres, made his first pit stop. Although he fell to last it proved extraordinarily fortunate timing when his team mate crashed two laps later, Nelson Piquet Jnr backing his car into the wall in front of the grand stands by the Marina.
The arrival of the safety car on track meant the pits would have to be closed. The leaders had already passed the pit lane entrance when the crash happened but Red Bull reacted quickly and got Mark Webber and David Coulthard in.
Rosberg and Kubica, however, were running low on fuel and had to pit while the pit lane was off-bounds. That meant they were guaranteed a penalty later in the race.
Pit lane disaster for Ferrari
When the pit lane opened most of the remaining cars streamed in, including both Ferraris and McLarens, Vettel, Glock, Nakajima and Button. Felipe Massa was first into his pit box but when Ferrari’s unique gantry lights above the pit told him to leave the fuel nozzle was still attached to his car.
Massa took the fuel hose down the pit lane, knocked one of his mechanics over, swerved in front of Adrian Sutil, and stopped before the exit. His remaining mechanics sprinted the entire length of the pit lane after the car, and after a few heaves managed to wrench the hose off the car. But the stewards took a dim view of the incident, and along with Kubica and Rosberg, Massa was later hauled in for a penalty.
It was a double blow for Ferrari as Raikkonen had been forced to queue behind Massa before making his pit stop, and Kovalainen had the same problem with respect to Hamilton.
Video of Massa’s pit lane disaster
Rosberg loses the lead
The penalty was of little consequence to Massa as he has already fallen to the back of the pack. But Rosberg, who had been ahead of Alonso, potentially lost a shot at victory at this point.
He led the field after the restart with Trulli and Fisichella - both of whom had not pitted - right behind him. Then came Kubica who was due a penalty, and Alonso, then the two Red Bulls of Coulthard and Webber, who had got their pit stop in early. Then came the first of the original group of leaders, Hamilton, ahead of Vettel and Glock.
With Trulli and Fisichella holding the field up Rosberg pulled as far away as he could before taking his penalty. He managed nine laps before he had to take to the pits, pulling out enough of an advantage to resume in front of Coulthard and Hamilton.
After the others had made their pit stops and served their penalties Alonso took the lead from Rosberg, Coulthard and Hamilton. He came out in front of the Red Bull after his pit stop on lap 41, which gave Hamilton the chance he’d been looking for to pass.
Coulthard defended turn seven but a late-braking move by Hamilton gave him third place. It hardly mattered though, as both pitted on the end of that lap and a problem getting away four Coulthard meant Hamilton would have had the place anyway.
Meanwhile Raikkonen had made better progress up through the field than Massa. Massa had fuelled to the end of the race on lap 31, meaning he was tackling half the race distance on one set of super-softs. Raikkonen was up to ninth by lap 37 and took Trulli on the following lap to move up into the points.
Massa seemed to be struggling with his tyres and a moment’s misjudgement at turn 18 sent him spinning backwards into the barrier. He was able to get going again, but pulled away as - who else - Sutil was arriving onto the scene. Sutil crashed into the barrier more comprehensively, calling for a second safety car period.
Late scare for Alonso
Once again it seemed fortune was playing with Alonso. He’d had a healthy lead over Rosberg before the second interruption, now his advantage was gone - and so was Rosberg’s with respect of Hamilton. But they were both on the soft tyres while Hamilton was on the super-softs, and if that was not enough to dissuade him from making a rash more the thought he was about to make big gains in the championship surely was.
Hamilton got a bit of a run on Rosberg at the lap 53 restart, but a little over-steer at the exit of turn five gave Rosberg crucial extra breathing space and allowed him to hold onto second.
Hamilton had Glock on his case who in turn was defending from Raikkonen - but not for long. On lap 57 Raikkonen hit the kerbs at turn 10 too hard and went straight into the barrier. It was a fourth no-score for Raikkonen and, completing Ferrari’s misery, gave McLaren the constructors’ championship lead.
Alonso’s win might have looked lucky, but his fortune in the race was at least partly caused by his misfortune during qualifying. Any winner after two hours on a bumpy, barrier-lined track in such heat must be a worthy one.
Hamilton extends his championship lead
Rosberg’s second place and Kazuki Nakajima’s late promotion to eighth (thanks to Raikkonen) gave Williams a vital boost. Hamilton’s six points were, ironically, the same he had lost in the contentious stewards’ ruling on Monday, giving him a seven point advantage over Massa though he will no doubt be ruing that it is not 13.
Glock was fourth after comfortably out-driving team mate Trulli all weekend, his team mate retiring from fifth on lap 51 with an hydraulic problem,. Vettel’s sixth place was especially impressive compared to his team mate’s torrid weekend, Sebastien Bourdais finishing 12th after spinning early on.
Nick Heidfeld scored three points and, like Kubica, is mathematically still in the title chase. Coulthard claimed two points for Red Bull after Webber dropped out half way through the race, and the final point went to Nakajima.
Massa was 13th after his pit problems and penalty, a galling result after an initial problem that was totally out of his control. Only Fisichella finished behind him, and Raikkonen, whose F2008 was buried in the turn 10 wall.
Full 2008 Singapore Grand Prix results
Full championship standings after Singapore
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Fernando Alonso's win was his first since Monza last year
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Hamilton lost 4 points at Spa not 6.
This result for Alonso was very similar to the one I predicted for the Monaco Grand Prix. Great strategy by Renault. McLaren tried it too with Heikki late on but it didn’t quite pay off, but if Sutil had crashed earlier he could have won.
Alonso overtook car(s by cutting the chicane at the start. Still, with the way the race developed, he would probably have won anyway.
A nice slice of luck for young Lewis today. Who decided on Ferrari’s pit system? The Chuckle Brothers?
Michael - And Massa gained two meaning Hamilton’s net loss in the championship was six.
David - I didn’t notice Alonso passing anyone illegally - which corner?
Hamilton lost 4, Massa gained 2, net result in championship = 6.
Keith
I’ve heard whispers he cut the chicane at the first corner of lap one and overtook as many as three cars. I’m yet to see it again though so it could all be claptrap
@Keith - Alonso escapes opening lap chicanery:
http://www.planetf1.com/story/0,18954,3213_4207248,00.html
I didn’t see it either but will watch the replay soon …
BTW Keith you can put me down for commentary on Japan on either race or qualifying or both. I love watching F1 in the early hours of the morning. There’s an other-worldliness to it.
So pleased Lewis didn’t Banzai it to DC and picked his moment perfectly. I was imagining him slowly cooking with frustration behind the Red Bull
That race was so much better than Valencia for it’s first gp
I was seated by the Esplanade and the entire weekend was superb. Everything was set up so well and the organisation was fantastic. The only complaint i have was that the price of food and the lot in the circuit was pretty pricey. But the entire experience was fantastic, especially the walk about!
The actual race itself was damn good. Piquet kindly crashed himself to allow alonso to win that one! alot of action for a street track. And who said you couldn’t overtake?
Trying to transform the traditional-first-curve-mess of a race into a jumping-a-chicane-breaking-rule issue is just unbelievable, and it reveals how much hated is Alonso for some F1 spectators…. I don’t know if Alonso gained an advantage, but one thing I know for sure… what happens at the first corner of a race is a complete different matter of having a battle for position with another runner and jump a chicane to gain advantage…. Maybe after seeing 300 or 400 more races someone can find the difference.
I’m really happy this race ended the way it did because it can bring a fresh air into strategists minds… I was so tired to watch those Q1-Q2 qualifiers to fill up their fuel tanks and begin a procession instead of a race. And now comes Symonds and Alonso and shows them that you can try going extrmely lighter and voila… you win. ¿Remember a french race where an unknown racer (Schu) did make 4 stops to steal the victory against Fred?…. Those brilliant minds that are unable to develope something different than what their computered systems predict could open the notebook and write this lesson… with brilliant markers, please.
It was a day and a race filled with ironies and karma. Massa has gathered bad karma from the unsafe release ahead of a certain Adrian Sutil in Valencia, from saying that he was satisfied with the ruling and his extra points this Monday. His drove brilliantly today yet the mishap was well earned. Lewis crash into Kimi in Canada is no longer this year’s most embarrassing moment.
Now we have 6 different winners in the last 6 races, when was the last time this happened? Fernando deserves the victory, FIA will once again be consistent and persistent with their inconsistency and no penalty will be dealt. But I don’t mind seeing Nico Rosberg as race winner either.
I finally understand that this championship is not about McLaren and Lewis Hamilton, they are not really competing in F1. You only feel like a battered wife if you think that way. What we really have is an exciting fight to the wire between how much Ferrari is capable of screwing up against how much slack FIA is going to cut them. Right now it is 6-6;)
Architron
Who on here “hates” Alonso? I don’t even know the man.
Sadly the god-forsaken pit-lane penalties were back again and the rule effectively removed Rosberg’s chance of victory and ruined several others’ races.
If you feel that the most remarkable issue of Fred’s race today is that he seemed to jump the first corner (as many other did in many other racers in order to avoid an accident) instead that his pace was really fast and he drived between walls like hell-possesed and that his fastest lap was only 0,2 secs slower than Kimi’s fastest, then mate, someone could believe that you really hate the man……
It was so heartbreaking to see Alonso pulling out of Q2 after being so competitive that I’m glad he won. But did anyone else notice that he was holding the towel he was mopping himself with when he got on the scales to be weighed at the end of the race? I’m sure it was innocent and not a way to add a few grams to his mass, but I’d have thought F1 would have a more professional post-race procedure in place to prevent such things from happening…
and that someone would be paranoid and completely and utterly wrong. Stop being so precious
Alonso’s strategy came up roses today. Even he did cut the first corner it probably wouldn’t have mattered.
Bananaman - that’s the sign of a true professional! Always looking to see what he can get away with!
I don’t have a problem with Alonso, though I agree with Martin Brundle who during his commentary suggested that Alonso’s image is need of repairing in the eyes of some F1 people after last year.
It was a hard fought win today, though, and he and Renault fully deserve it. An inspired strategy.
Kudos to ING for getting their product so well noticed on Martin’s grid-walk, followed by their team winning the race!
I feel that Massa’s drive through penalty was unjust. Surely the FIA should follow precedent and issue him with a 10,000 Euro fine?
(before anyone bites I should inform you that I have an appointment this evening to have my tongue surgically removed from my cheek)
Wow, I just love this kind of races because you enjoy them so much!! I was stuck in my chair through all the race
I can’t bear boring races like that one in Valencia. The races are so much fun when Alonso is in the middle 
His car has been competitive for all the week, making the best times and all, so I guess the win is deserved, lucky or not.
The one that had the worst luck was definitely Massa
. It was a pity.
By the way, you can cut the chicane at the start of the race if you don’t have enough room to pass save the corner. That’s how it’s always been. Other completely different thing is doing that in other moment of the race, just to gain a position. In the first corner there are so many cars that you have to go open sometimes if you don’t want to hit someone.
Amazing experience, Inaugural night race.
As a Williams fan couldn’t have been much happier with the results.
Alonso two times World Champion taking Top step of podium..but was the first safety car orchestrated?
It resulted just after Alonso’s pit-stop.
And my speculation is fueled seeing Briatore, getting evasive, when scribe asked him “Piquet” chipped in a “small way”
My heart goes out for Massa - Ferrari didn’t learn from the Valencia gaffe and ultimately that came and bit them at wrong time. Montezemello , needs to suck up his ego and get rid of Italian team managers, get back Todt and Brawn
Great race overall, but not sure night race at “dedicated road circuit” would be a good idea. the novelty factor will wear off if overdone
Cheers,
Mahesh
PS - Live Blogging @f1fanatic was amazing experience. Thats closest I have been to enjoy a F1 race while bantering with buddies,ever since I moved on this side of Atlantic
Mahesh: what would you do if you were Piquet and Briatore told you that you have to crash your car into the wall to give Alonso a chance to win? O_O What’s Piquet, a kamikaze? His car crashed at a very high speed, there’s no way that was calculated.
@Alex Cooper - Don’t expect more from Fernando Massa or that matter any driver. It attribute it to a) age b) Driver’s fragile ego. All the drivers have shown these tendencies.
Occassionally you have a really good, well mannered bloke. But good blokes hardly have the last laugh if History of competitive sports goes ( Some that do are exceptional)
Returning to Alonso - I am not sure if Martin Brundle has missed it. His McLaren “Experience” has brought lots of calmness and Maturity in Alonso. His esctatic responses to Glories of Kubica,Heiki (Poles) and recently Vettel taking his record of Youngest race winner, has been well telivised.
Alonso of 2003-2007 was not this type. everyone must have seen him sulk on Trulli’s Monaco win 04 and his Whine when Fisi was not letting him pass at Canada’05.
So Alonso is changing, question is are we the spectators still watching him with tinted glasses ???
There’s a video of the start here but it’s rather hard to see where he was before the first corner. I’d like to see the onboard before making by mind up. It wouldn’t be the first time the stewards had ignored drivers cutting the first corner to make up places.
The ING Renault won in Singapore the home of ING, just when ING were reviewing whether to continue in a sponsors role…….. amazing good luck eh?
@ Paty - If my contract was renewed for next two years , I would do that for “team cause”. Piquet is under pressure to hold his seat. He is not bad driver, but he has joined a team on it down turn, which doesn’t have resources like McLaren or Ferrari and in days where testing is limited, And these are some reasons he is struggling in his Debut year.
In F1 as in life , perceptions matter a lot, a Kimi may suck but still get good seats and good monies, while a Bourdais maybe dumped though his extracting more out of his STR than what a Kimi is doing with superior Ferrari. So If playing team game , is assuring me future I will do that.
But then again, Teams have short memories , who forget team games of drivers in a race or two (ask Nick how he feels about letting Kubica through at Canada)…
ING is dutch aren’t they? So I don’t really see the link there steve.
I am both glad and sad to see a more mature Lewis waiting with a potentially dangerous overtaking. Pre-Spa Lewis might have taken on DC and Rosberg earlier, and either succeeded with a stunning ballsy move or crashed out.
More about the start, Kubicas tough take on Kova there was really on the limit since Kova was well ahead. Borderline penalty no?
Post 10# Jian
Let me ask you, what was the bad karma Massa did to earn an engine failure at Hungary; a fuel hose problem at Canada?
We all agree that Ferrari did an embarrassing work in the pits today; but PLEASE, don’t tell me Massa’s mishaps today were “WELL-EARNED”.
@Jian - ING is Dutch , but they are a) expanding in Asia b)Singapore is Financial Hub, all Major Financial Institutions have operations in Singapore, from where they oversee Asian Markets…
@Jian - “I am both glad and sad to see a more mature Lewis waiting with a potentially dangerous overtaking. Pre-Spa Lewis might have taken on DC and Rosberg earlier”
Lets keep our judgement reserved on that. Remember this was street circuit..so can’t compare his reactions at Road circuit like Magny or Spa to Singapore, here a “ballsy” overtake could have ended up in Armco lining the street and game over. He has to play for numbers now, rather then have sweaty palms and hit wrong buttons :p
About Alonso’s first lap shenanigans, Don’t ever trust Planet-F1 to give accurate reports. They are complete suckers for Lewis Hamilton.
After Valencia; their headline was “Massa wins European Grand Prix, but for how long”
After Spa: “Lewis robbed of win, Death of FIA”
And now this,
P-F1 is worse F1 site ever..
@Mahesh: it still looked too much to me, if you see the video of the accident, it’s difficult to imagine it like a plan. It’s life we’re talking about, not a contract. His head was pretty close to the wall, and I wouldn’t confide so much in the car’s resistence. Besides, after that Piquet looked really pissed… If he put an act, then he’d rather leave the F1 and go to Hollywood, he could make it big time there.
@Sumedh - Totally agree about PF1. Well but for that matter I should say, the entire Media , going overboard with Lewis Success, not realising that, it will hurt Lewis in long run…
Last year they had “sarcastic” column Alonso writes to his fictitious cousin which was in poor taste. I wonder what happened of that column this year
Sumedh: I should clarify that I mean that the mishap was well earned for the whole team of prancing horses. Even though I get carried away with individual drivers once in a while I agree that Massa didn’t personally earn that much bad karma, he didn’t need to, his team did the work for him.
Mahesh: yeah you are right, and come to think of those sweaty palms I guess I really should be more happy that he played it safe. It can only mean good things for the finish since he has the advantage in Japan, they are equal in Shanghai while Massa has the home advantage in Interlagos. All in all even preconditions which mean that those 7 extra points should be enough.
*wrt to chicane cutting*
I noticed it too but the replays made me think he had two option, break hard(would be called break testing) or cut the chicane. In the latter he had more risk to damage his car. I dont know the rules but at the start every driver is thinking of gaining places and avoiding accidents, I have seen more than my fair share of chiane cutting and it normally is acceptable unless it was premeditated.
Great win… Totally deserving, would be heart broken to see it ruined something like this.
@Jian - Well to think of for last two seasons Title is for Hamilton to “Lose”. McLaren has been the Best car on the grid,both in terms of Speed and Reliability. I hate to say that but one key factor has been those Cosworth Engineers who were out of jobs when Cosworth pulled out of F1 end of 2006, was boon in disguise for Norbert Haugh, has those guys have brought that punch which was lacking with McLaren end of 2006 when they had most Fragile Engine on grid
Keith, the ITV team noted Alonso’s chicane cheating (but without giving back the 2 positions), but of course, as he won, the stewards wouldn’t do anything. Shame the same couldn’t have happened with Lewis’ much more skilful win in Spa. Alonso lucked out with strategy and the safety car - I seem to remember the same thing happened in Hockenheim with Piquet. Plus Alonso spent some time crowing to the media about Lewis’ chicane cutting penalty, only to do the same thing in Singapore. What a hypocrite.
Kimi has scored 0 points for the 4th race in a row. On the other hand, F1Fan will probably be content as Kimi has got another fastest lap.
Sumedh, I love PF1. At least there is some positiveness there for Lewis, not the usual hatred and bias. I find their reporting excellent and amusing.
I saw a brilliant letter in ‘F1 Racing’ magazine written by a Ferrari supporter who was appalled at Lewis’s Spa penalty. The magazine said it was one of 100s of letters they received on the subject, ALL in support of Lewis. I think the internet bloggers are not necessarily the majority (they are usually Hamilton-haters) but are the most vocal and vociferous. ‘F1 Racing’ magazine is a global publication and Hamilton is pretty popular with the readership. Shame the same cannot be said of the internet sometimes.
Anyway, well done Lewis today for a solid drive for points. No doubt you will be criticised for it, just as you are criticised for exciting overtaking, but if you end up world champion, who cares what the snipers and haters say?
“Keith, the ITV team noted Alonso’s chicane cheating”
that’s a bit over dramatic isn’t it?
i watched the replay (high res version, not the youtube link), alonso cuts the first corner, gains a single place then gives it back.
he then waits for one corner before making the move again. can’t see there was anything to investigate meself?
S Hughes,
You feel that Hamilton haters make up the majority, I am a MSC fan; and even I feel there are far too many anti MSC fans out there. It is all perception. I guess every driver fan feels he is up against the rest of the world
P-F1 is far too doting on Lewis; If you read either autosport.com or f1way.com; You will see what are good unbiased articles (I appreciate its editorial and “race features” section though). Take an example of F1-fanatic. It has a .co.uk at the end; but it is not exactly a Lewis Fan site?
Sumedh, I just want to know what is wrong with a UK F1 site being a Lewis fan site (not that PF1 are at all), but what is wrong? Lewis is from the UK, he’s brilliant, what is the problem? Can’t he have UK supporters or what? Don’t understand.
I hope everyone realises now how absolutely overrated Massa is…he really is terrible.
@Sidepodcast - Thanks for walking us through what happened.
@ S Hughes - Sidepodcast, has explained the Fernando cutting chicano story now. Well there is one more site crash duh net , which gives stories in “positiveness” as Lewis Fans see it and guess what you get ample opportunities to Slander Fernando as well. You should visit it, you will find many supporters
I for one who loves F1 and agree that inconsistencies, random rulings and unprofessionalism shown by FIA is bringing motorsports to disrepute. But when I say that McLaren/Lewis Supporters can’t beat the “Victimization” card to death. Its time to move ahead.
I didn’t anyone of McLaren/Lewis fans crying for justice last year at Nurburgring or post Fiji , when Lewis escaped penalties. And when both FOM and FIA were doing everything they could so the sport could get a “Rookie winner” thus increasing spectator interest.
So lets get life and move on
Is planet-f1 a UK F1 site?
And, a F1 news site is above all a “news” site, not a fan club. You may read any discussion forums in P-F1; and people there are openly critical of P-F1.
http://forum.planet-f1.com/index.php?t=msg&th=69081&start=0&#msg_num_4 read deepblue’s comment here.
It can’t be better than that!
I am rooting for McLaren as team and Alonso as driver and now Alonso won and McLaren leads the constructors championship … I’m a happy chappy
comment 43 was for S Hughes
@Paty - I was talking to my friend yesterday and we have been watching F1 races for 20+ yrs now. In recent years, there have been too many controveries, too many dodgy decisions, which sometimes makes one feel that is this indeed motorsport or WWE, where everything is orchestrated.
Having said that sheer joy of cars racing at speeds of excess of 300+kph and love for under dogs keep me hooked..
So it maybe Oscar award winning performance by the brazilian rookie.. and comedy act award going to Maranello pit crew and their prop of gantry indicator
@Sumedh & S Hughes
I think most sites are pretty biased for or against one driver or team, autosport and this site are probably the exceptions.
As long as you know what their bias is and you read around you’re able to get a pretty balanced view.
Last season for e.g., I’d always have a look on Spanish sites after reading UK sites versions of what happened between Lewis & Alonso, once you’d read both sides you could spot the bias & make up your own mind.
What about Kmi’s graceful pirouetting into the wall? Time to think there’s something really wrong with this guy? Check out the post-race Q & A with him in Autosport, it’s hilarious: Did you? No, I didn’t. How did it happen? It just happened. What’s gonna happen? We’ll see. Do you think? No, I don’t think (and so on)
Mahesh, you can’t name an F1 site I don’t visit - crash.net, paddock talk, pitpass, ITV, racefreaks.nl, you name it. crash is not that pro-Lewis and the comments are the usual bitter bile against Lewis. How come you haven’t noticed?
Alonso’s chicanery is getting quite a few questions on Bleacher report too.
You need to keep up dear.
CarlitosF1, I guess most people are tired of bashing Kimi now. We need to cut him some slack. 4 races without points. Poor fellow admits he is pathetic; and that he’s championship is over.
Kimi’s wall trip isn’t that big of deal….Michael Schumacher put it into the wall in AUS06 and you all love him. Massa’s spin in sepang was truly god awful driving.
@Sumedh
I’m with you mate, the other week I was getting a bit annoyed that Kimi couldn’t seem to score a point but now I’m just feeling sorry for him.
The poor guy is in serious need of a break !
Hopefully he’ll have a good weekend next race :~)
CarlitosF1 - Kimi and words don’t go well…everytime he opens his mouth he just gargles. Once he tried to act cool was on Brazilian 2006 grid, when Martin Brundle asked him reason for his absence at MSC felicitation ceremony.
He tried to sound smart and funny, by saying he was taking $***. Martin responded brilliantly ” So that is one lighter car on the grid today” . In short, Kimi’s gargle post/pre race is to be overlooked. Perecption that he has created of being “Ultrafast” driving inferior Sauber and Female Fans Going “Kimmmmmmmmmmmiiiii” has still kept him getting teh right seats. F1 end of the day hugely game of “Perception”. If Balding Kubica drops ball for 3-4 races, there will be talk of dropping him, anyways he doesn’t have any marketing value…. Kimi is blessed on that front
What FIA takes, Singapore gives!
About Karma, Massa gave back the 6-point advantage (which FIA gave it to him). This is not about who is going to win; it is just that wherever the scores should have been before this race, it has been made that way after this race. So, from now on, it’s a fair game! Let the best man win.
Mcademianut - Agreed on that point It was same with Renault and Fernando in 2006, what Italian Stewards ( Grid Penalty) and FIA (Mass Damper Controversy) Taketh. Ferrari Engine Failure (Suzuka 06) giveth.
May the best man win !!!
& yes I am rooting for affable, keep mouth shut and drive Brazilian
Rosberg drove a very good race to finish second but why did it take so long for him (and Kubica) to receive notification of their drive-through penalties? If it had been within a couple of laps of the ‘infringement’ then he wouldn’t have even scored.
I don’t agree with all this stuff about ‘Karma’: Hamilton had a questionable penalty decision; Massa had a bad instruction from his pit crew. Six points one way, six points another, but Massa’s misfortune doesn’t mean Hamilton shouldn’t be 13 points ahead.
Also: Stewards reject appeal against Vettel
S. Hughes, you’re writings get me so tired !!!!! Man, Alonso won your dear Hamilton, take it as a man. Don’t worry. Hami drives a brillian McLaren and Alonso does the best of that rusty Renault. Lewis will win so many races and Alonso will have to call for lady luck to help him day after day….
But seeing you so angry makes me think that deep inside you believe that this Fred win is tons worthy than any race Hami has won this year for the F1 supporters. So you think you need to do something about it and bash and bash and bash Fred’s victory time after time…. Cutting the chicane, getting a towel before weight-check after the race, or maybe driving in the hands of the gods….. Pure boredom, man.
Hilarious, Mahesh. I remember some comment in this very blog comparing Kimi with that silent, laidback and hypercool highschool boy that girls die for, only to find sheer shallowness when they actually get to know them. I was one of those girls for a while too, here in Spain we (Alonso followers) feared the 2006 Kimi more than we feared MSC himself… Maybe a reason for me not to feel sorry about Kimi is that I would love to see Alonso dressed in red, but not the only one. The ones I do feel sorry for are those who don’t drive a Ferrari and are getting so much out of worse cars all through the season: Vettel, Trulli, Webber, Kubica, Rosberg (what a pace today when he had the lead!!) and of course Alonso (personal fastest lap only 0′2 secs slower than absolute fastest lap, that’s faster than both McLarens and only slower than both Ferraris).
Fernando was simply stunning in that Renault. If he was in that Ferrari nobody would have come close to touching him in this race.
As for the Ferrari first pit stop that just had me burst out laughing, especially when they were carrying it back up the pitlane.
As for Rosberg how an earth did he get back in front of Lewis and DC I’ll never know that must have been some balls to the walls driving he did there!
And someone needs to teach the Renault mechanics how to catch a bottle of booze.
Archictron, I never mentioned anything about a towel??? You must be mixing me up with someone else. I am stating a fact - Alonso’s win was gifted to him. Don’t believe in karma either - in poetic justice, yes. You don’t have to read my posts if you find them boring - just skip over them next time. I am entitled to my opinion as well, as annoying as you might find it. Funnily enough, I find some of the opinions on here pretty annoying too.
And BTW, I consider Lewis’ Silverstone, Hockenheim, Monaco and Spa wins a trillion times more deserved and skilful than Alonso’s safety car bit of luck.
Keith of course you are right in a way about the karma, but see it as a way for us supporters of the sport to try to believe in some sort of heavenly “justice” and moving on instead of dwelling in a depressed state of seeing FIA taking the word arbitrary to a new dimension.
Mahesh:
Please don’t go overboard with those nonevents showing your true colors. Hamilton didn’t escape anything because he didn’t deserved penalties in any of those cases (if you don’t belong to a group of bashers who think every move the kid does should be penalized. Webber Monza in mind). On the edge driving happens every race without getting as much attention and scrutinizing just because it is not a yellow helmet in a silver car. I don’t particularly like Alonso after last year’s backstabbings but I found his win refreshing and well deserved today. If we all are trying to move on let’s try to move on from the sniping and bashing as well.
Architron
Fernando looked strong all weekend but the fact remains that without the safety car he wouldn’t have won. Lewis’ utterly dominant performance at Silverstone was the best performance of the year by any driver in my opinion.
I’d like to see Fred in a BMW next season. He and Kubica would be exceptionally strong if they are properly managed and both realise that they are racing as a team first and indiivually second.
I didn’t said that Hamilton wins at Silverstone, Monaco or any other wasn’t better than this one… I said that this one is worthier. Why? Because of the material. What Vettel has done at Monza and Fred here gains my heart and many of purist of F1 fans. We always remember when the weak one wins the stronger boys. Believe me. I can’t remember when Damon Hill won with that Jordan, but I forgot almost any other fact of that year. But don’t worry. Lewis has it in his pocket, and he seems to have learnt the lesson of last year races, after seeing the way he managed to finished third without taking any risk at all.
@Nick
I agree Kimi’s ‘wall trip’ wasn’t that big a deal. Indeed, I’ve just read the stewards have just given the wall a ten place penalty at the next race for causing an avoidable accident.
@Jupiter
I think the set number of laps a driver has to serve a penalty only applies once the safety car goes in so because we had several laps with the safety car this effectively gave Rosberg 10 laps from the restart (I think, but could be wrong) to take his penalty so he made the most of it and stayed out as long as he could.
If anyone else has some more updated info re this rule please feel free to share, if only you could buy a set of regulations at the book store !
Great and very well deserved victory for Alonso.
On a related note, I have to say: Alonso really impressed me with his driving today. Through his career up until last year, he had a tendency to really charge the corner with an aggressive turn-in. This weekend, his manipulation of the car was just pitch-perfect, aside from maybe a couple of charges on old tires.
“I don’t agree with all this stuff about ‘Karma’”
Thank you for saying that before me Keith….this is auto racing after all.I didn’t see any Karma Police at the track.
Congratulations Alonso!