Rate the race: Singapore Grand Prix

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What did you think of the Singapore Grand Prix? Rate the race out of ten and leave a comment below.

Rate the 2009 Singapore Grand Prix out of ten

  • 10 - Perfect (2%)
  • 9 - Fantastic (4%)
  • 8 - Great (8%)
  • 7 - Good (18%)
  • 6 - Not bad (17%)
  • 5 - A bit dull (18%)
  • 4 - Often tedious (9%)
  • 3 - Boring (15%)
  • 2 - Rubbish (3%)
  • 1 - Terrible (5%)

Total Voters: 2,753

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Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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160 comments on “Rate the race: Singapore Grand Prix”

  1. 1/10

    Utterly shocking 2 hours of dribble.

    1. This race was very boring the first 2 laps were good but then everything went to mclaren side it looked like the race had been bought
      1ºqualifying Barrichello crashed right on time
      2ºWilliams race was ruined again by stupid decision
      3ºStewarts were very focused on vettel speed
      4ºeverybody had a big problem pitstop problem or mechanical

      1. Oh my god, it’s incredible… if the race turns good for mclaren then it’s all arranged… please, the man drove a good race, he was going to win anyway.
        Deal with it, not everything is a conspitacy

      2. There was nothing wrong with Rosberg or Vettel’s penalty, both of them are standard punishments, how can you possibly think either were unfair?

        The questionable one was Webber having to let two cars past.

        1. i thought webber’s was a fine decision

          1. Kimi goes wide T1 @ Spa…wins the race.

        2. I thought Webber’s was 50/50, you could see Alonso got out of shape coming out of the corner, so Webber could argue he ‘avoided’ him.

          1. Makes me wonder why Kimi never gets penalties for constantly running wide out of La Source and often gaining positions or speed advantage. Guess it must be part of that Ferrari/FIA love-in thing. Oh well.

          2. Don’t worry. He’ll get banned next year if he does the at spa,cuz he’ll be at mclaren.

  2. So this track really any better than Valencia? Or just Prettier?

    1. The layout is as boring as valencia I guess. But that gets over shadowed cuz its run under lights.

      1. Not great for racing, but looked awesome in qualifying, especially rosberg pushing. Everyone looked right on the edge then.

        1. I liked EjJ’s idea of opening up the circuit slightly to encourage moves under breaking.

          1. Totally agree. Leave the walls, but remove the curbs except for second to last inside (tidy for pit entrance).

    2. The track may not be better but Singapore knows how to put on a show, Valencia organizers should go to Singapore and see how it’s done as I think Valencia is one of the worst….I’ve been to both and Singapore is 100 times better. Well done Singapore….I think it’s the best GP to go to maybe not the best track but the best event by far!

  3. Bernie, please can we have some racing on actual race tracks?

    1. What you wanted to say was:
      Bernie, please, can we have cars that drivers could actually race with?

      1. No, his first reponse was the correct on. This track is crap under lights.
        Your question should be to the fia.

        1. Singapore NEEDS a better track… racing under the lights is so that Europeans don’t have to wake up at 6am to watch the race going on.

          I personally don’t like the 90 degree Mickey Mouse turns at the War Memorial and the Bay Grandstand.

          1. I dont think it has much to do with the lights. I think the venue is great – night time something different and im sure the people in Singapore love it.

            But the BIG problem is the track itself as you said. To me basically almost every corner is boring, many useless zigzag corners that don’t do anything but damage the brakes and the car.

    2. Don’t worry we’ve got Suzuka and Interlagos coming up.

      1. Cant wait for Suzuka. What a track!

        1. I love Suzuka, it’s far better than Fuji and Twin Ring Motegi…

          I wish our city was larger so that we could build a proper track instead of this start-stop-rush-hour type circuit… Maybe we could do it San Marino style and hold future GPs at Pasir Gudang instead… (never happen, I know!!!)

  4. mark webber out Barrichello almost out…boring Button Boring Brawn…

  5. Congratulations to Lewis – the first real winner of the Singapore GP.

    Now are we past the street circuit/night racing fad? This was the most boring race of the season with Valencia coming a close second.

    Monaco should be the only street circuit on the calendar.

    1. sorry but lewis was a bad winner too lucky

      1. how? he was flawless.

        1. He was fastest in quali with more fuel, lead from start to finish (almost) and drove to conserve brakes and tyres, best strategy, fastest driver so how was the win bad? Do you write for the Mirror F2000?

      2. Mussolini's Pet Cat
        27th September 2009, 15:40

        Bad winner? Jeez, sounds like you’d moan about a sunny day…

      3. Im not a Hamilton fan but he was brilliant today.

      4. Lucky that he was the best driver?

      5. thats the worst comment ever, you obviously dont watch f1, must have been you first race f2000, he wasnt too lucky he drove better than risberg and vettel and didnt make the mistakes they did, it isnt luck its skill, i think you need to figure out the diference before you reply

    2. Well, the howls of derision that greeted Montreal’s demise don’t support you there. BTW Melbourne is also a street circuit, and I am yet to hear anyone suggest it is boring and should be dropped. With you all the way on Valencia, though.

      I so glad I went to Singapore last year rather than this. So the result might have been a little bit *helped* along, but at least the race was interesting ! Not like last nights borefest.

      1. Montreal and Albert Park have good layouts.
        The streets are wide enough here to open the track up and make a decent course.

        Albert Park has more room then most street circuits, im not sure if its entirely comparable.

  6. 3 – Boring.
    Maybe a splattering of rain would have improved matters afterall.

  7. Glad there were a couple drive-thrus and some retirements.

    Otherwise we’d have seen no change in positions at all.

    If this sort of thing is the future of F1, I may have to start watching Nascar again—at least they overtake!

    1. lol good point

  8. Well I voted good even if it was pretty damn tedious the thing that made me vote Good was seeing Vettel pushing like mad however he couldn’t get close enough to pass Hamilton.

    Rain IMO is the only thing that would’ve made this race actually interesting , all in all disappointing for RBR unlucky for Vettel with the penalty and the Diffuser incident.

  9. I like this track but there was just little flare ups of entertainment today. Often tedious

    1. Track is too superfiscial, all glamour and good looks with little content, the drivers dared not move of the racing line because of the state of the track everywhere else. A tight circuit like this needs to be ckean all over, perhaps some more support races before hand may clean the track up, they have all day, you’d think they could do something.

  10. 1/10. Terrible race. All I have to ask is why the BBC are so head over heels in love with this circuit that they wax on about it’s merits all the time.

    1. Mussolini's Pet Cat
      27th September 2009, 15:39

      I guess you have to be there….

    2. Same thing here in the U.S., Speed commentators keep pointing out how stunning the track looks, yet I didn’t see a single overtake that didn’t involve driver error. Since there will be more night races in 2010, the only thing saving Singapore GP is the local support of fans for the race.

      BTW, I gave it a 5/10, had Rosberg/Vettel not made pit-road mistakes, the finish would have been much better IMO.

    3. Maybe it has something to do with the millions of pounds of tax payers money they’ve spent buying the TV rights.

      They’re hardly going to call it a boring race track when they’re trying to get as many people as possible to keep watching.

      Ask Gerald Ratner how good an idea it is to be honest about the quality of your product.

      1. Legard said it was getting a bit dull at one point :D

  11. Oh and yellows up constantly when part of wing on track near beginning was very annoying

  12. Who the hell voted Excellent. Possibly the most boring this year.

    1. what about Valenica???

    2. Sorry Monza WAS by far the worst race this year, then Valencia, Barcelona.
      There was enough happening to make this street snooze entertaining.

  13. It was a very strange race. Most of the action happened because of the poor state of the track and the repercussions this had on the cars. It made for an interesting and different race though.

    7 for me.

  14. The only real positives we can take from this race are Mclaren are competetive again , RBR are back and Ferrari working on 2010 car , so the 2010 season could be unbelievable.

    Yes these last few races maybe tedious but I’m sure there’s going to be more teams towards the front in 2010 so more competition is definetly coming.

  15. Mussolini's Pet Cat
    27th September 2009, 15:29

    Shame there’s not a ‘Fascinating’ option, because that was how I’d describe it. Nice one Jens, what a thoroughly professional drive. I’m bored of all the this, Button doesnt deserve it, nonsense. On this showing, Vettel certainly doesn’t with yet another crucial mistake. How many errors did Jenson make today??????

  16. it looks like championship was decided 10 races ago no history on this race Button is really blessed no mechanical problems still i think he deservs the champ

  17. The only street circuit should be Monaco. This tracks only slightly better than the spanish one and only becuase its in the dark…

    Good jobs by the Brits today. Dissapointed in the Germans. Button did exactly what he needed, shouldnt be slated.

    1. think they should have some sweeping banked curves at new track, and longer straights obviously (don’t have to actually be straight, maybe banked, or curvy)

    2. Dissapointed in the Germans.

      Not Glock!

  18. An OK race. Although I’m probably only saying that because Lewis won lol.

  19. Don’t understand Webber, if he is angry he should have gave place back to Alonso straight away and then wouldn’t lost out to Glock. Rather than the idea he shouldn’t have been punished because Kimi wasn’t at Spa, it should be Mark deserved punishment but so did Kimi. Two wrongs don’t make right :P Just wish stewards but be consistent

    1. If I ever fing a Genie in a bottle and get 3 wishes, one of them will be for consistancy in F1 stewards.

    2. In this case the stewards were consistent.

      Webber’s incident was comparable to Button’s penalty at Valencia. In fact Button was still alongside Webber when he was pushed off track by Webber. Webber deserved this penalty more than Button did at Valencia.

      For the peopel still whining about Kimi at Spa, first corner incidents are always handled differently.

      If anything, Spa 2009 was comparable to Fuji 2008. Heidfeld should have been given the penalty that Hamilton got there for missing his brake point into turn 1.

      If you want to compare incidents then look at Barrichello plowing straight through Les Combes overtaking several drivers by taking a short cut. The stewards were completely blind on that occasion.

  20. Alonso: “And I dedicate this podium to Flavio – he is at home but he is part of the success we had today.”

    Hmm…

    1. I thought the same thing. Someone should have told him, “You actually did well for once this season, so don’t push it!”

    2. a perfectly reasonable thing to say. F1 is a team effort, as seen by the excellent work by the engineers for lewis, great work. Flavio and alonso and the team won two WDCs together, no small feat. Its called loyalty, and was a nice personable touch from Alonso, given that he could have completely ignored it in the press conference and tired to move on from the whole sordid affair.

  21. The race was not dynamic because Hamilton’s chief pursuers drove like amateurs, and the other drivers in the best cars did nothing or had cars that were mechanically not up to the job. It’s not his or McLaren’s or the sport’s fault that he drove flawlessly in a well-made racing car.

    Beside’s Hamilton’s the race Button drove was tremendous. If you can appreciate the real elements of battle in F1, and seek more thrills than seeing P5 pass P4 a couple times, you must savor how the man turned a potential disaster into a potential WCC sealing result with resolute and quick driving, overhauling his teammate. (Tune in later for the CRASHCAR race from Dover if you want to see several dozen ultimately inconsequential passes for position among strictly identical cars with the much bally-hooed no-aero, fat-tires theory of Good Racing) You can also see how superior engineering and race management continues to win out over teams with only a quick car and a quick driver. Likewise, Alonso produced another tremendous result of man over machine.

    More Raspberries for Kofailainen. He is the Sunday footstool of Ross Brawn now, and his record of 6 straight points races is a pretty hollow accolade given the speed of his car.

    1. because Hamilton’s chief pursuers drove like amateurs

      yep to that.

    2. (Tune in later for the CRASHCAR race from Dover if you want to see several dozen ultimately inconsequential passes for position among strictly identical cars with the much bally-hooed no-aero, fat-tires theory of Good Racing)

      A pass for position is hardly inconsequential, in any series.

      And, really, no fan of a series as anally retentive regarding conformation to specs and regulations as F1 is, should ever call the cars of any other series “identical”. This includes me, I’m not just getting on your case. Cause if ya took the cars driven by Lewis, Jensen, Kimi and Mark and painted them solid black–why, from 50 paces I don’t think any one of us could pick one from the other.

      And just to keep things straight, Nascar Cup series tires are same size front and rear, and hardly wider than F1 tires. (Actually, might be the same this year.)

      Also, there is definitely aero involved in Cup series cars. It’s best seen when a car is passing another on the inside of a corner, and the car outside loses the continuity of the air flow down the side of the car—the outside car drifts right up toward the wall.

      The effect of the aero package is also seen in drafting. (I know, we haven’t seen that in F1 for a while. That’s when one car gets right up under the tail of another, and is able to run part-throttle while not losing speed.)

      Perhaps the OWG should look at the older F1 cars for some tips on how to bring back following closely and overtaking—or, they could just tune in Speed Channel and catch a Nascar race. :)

  22. Even a safety car couldn’t mix it up much today!

    1. Or the BBC’s 2 safety cars, apparently!!!!

  23. this year races got alot OF Crashes.. but hope the teams boycott the use of KERS.

  24. “Boring”. Why? I fell asleep in the middle of the race, which has never happened before with races being in the morning (for my time zone). It was after Rosberg got his drive-through penalty, and I was like “Screw this, I’m getting some sleep!”

    Although I miraculously woke up when Lewis had just crossed the finish line. He did his usual perky victory dance, and we got to see Nicole Whats-her-name be overly dramatic about it. Whoo.

    We do have something to look forward to! On the pre-race show, Will.i.am told Peter Windsor that he wanted to make a song about F1. I “gotta feeling” (pitiful joke, I know) that the Black Eyed Peas are going to have a new hit!

    Sorry about not being overly nerdy today. I guess when you’re asleep, you can’t really pay attention to what went on :)

  25. Awful season. 2010 will end up the same with all the rule changes , random team dominating and overtaking still non excistance

    1. Unless some teams realise that in 2010 they could move up if they throw everything at it thus bringing more competition.

      I just want 09 to end now it’s so frustrating that no one can capitalise on Button’s mishaps and get closer in the championship but oh well things can only get better ey?

      Lets look at the 2010 possibilities Ferrari resurgence , Mclaren back at the front , Red Bull still at the front Brawn(with growing Mercedes partnership) at the front & Toyota if board gives them more money could finally do it and be at the front and stay there unlike previous seasons.

      So we’ve just got to stay positive even if its hard and hope for an amazing 2010 season.

      1. With the ban on refueling I have some hope F1 will improve next year.

        1. Don’t bank on it

    2. random team dominating

      I don’t think so Tommy. Surely McLaren & Ferrari would have sorted their problems by then. I predict a four horse race.

      Just a thought here. I really want to know why ferrari have stopped developing their F60 car. Everybody, including Brundle, Whitmarsh seem to think that the fundamentals will remain the same, so whatever effort you put into this years car, you’ll reap the benefit next near.

      My theory is that Ferrari are building a car to suite Alonso’s style of driving, remember 2006?? When McLaren stopped developing their 2006 car midway through the season. They did that cuz they knew kimi was moving out & they had already signed Alonso, so they started to develop a car suited for Alonso’s style of driving. I suspect the reverse is happening now. As for Mclaren continuous development, everyone including Brundle is of the opinion that Kimi’s & Hammi’s style of driving are very similar, like oversteer etc That I think is what my thought is.

      1. Ferrari have said that they made a fundamental error in the design of their car.

        Which probably means that the aero for their new car won’t match this years car. ie developing this one further would be a waste of effort.

      2. I agree with you, they are probably building a car (F1-2010? F61?)which works well with understeer for the aggressive driving styles of Felipe and Alonso.

        This could explain why Kimi was good with the F1-2007 but mediocre with the F1-2008, Schumacher (who drives with slight oversteer) probably had more input on the 2007 car than the 2008 one…

        McLaren are probably using the rest of this season to work out their problems from this season and to leverage what works for the MP4-25…

        1. Raikkonen was doing fine with the F2008. What are you talking about?

          He only had a problem with the car after they changed the it mid season after Massa did some tests.

          Raikkonen was leading the championship early on in the season. Of course crashing at Monaco and being rammed out of the lead at Canada changed that, but still.

          He was doing fine with the F2008 until it was changed in the wrong direction.

  26. I don’t like Hamilton as a person at all, but this race showed that he belongs in the same category as Raikkonen and Alonso. Vettel and Rosberg both made stupid mistakes whereas Hamilton’s victory was pretty flawless.

    Kovalainen 7th.. I hope he doesn’t drive in McLaren next season. He can’t show his potential (which we have seen in his GP2 and Renault times) at all in Hamilton GP, ehm, I mean in McLaren. His race strategy is always terrible compared to Hamilton’s.

    1. Kovi will probably go to Renault to partner Kubica next year. Since Flavio isn’t around we might see that happening.

    2. Terrible strategy? He has the same fuel load and car as the man who won. As usual, he disappeared on Sunday. Hamilton is pretty tough standard to meet, but he’s just not delivering.

  27. F1 forum, EJ outed Williams for going against teams push for bigger brake ducts, what is it with Williams?

    1. Yeah that was the first I’d heard about that, very odd.

      1. Sounds more and more like they are trying to tie done some kind of engine deal.

        1. well that doesn’t make sense; To me Williams is just losing it.. he must have some serious mental issues, .. poor bugger.

          1. It’s not Frank calling the shots so much with the team, Sam Michael and Patrick Head make team decisions, Frank is more commercial, he keeps the money coming in.

  28. I used to enjoy coming here after a race to chat about it with other F1 followers.
    As I’ve said before (and of course not very popular) the site is a victim of its own success. Frequented by too many people that don’t really ‘get’ F1.
    Is it just me that values a genuine racing overtake in F1 as a rare commodity and therefore all the more special for it? It’s the way the sport works. Something that makes the strategic element of overtaking during the pit stops all the more interesting (which will be sorely missed by me next year as overtaking on the track isn’t going to change at all).
    I’m not especially a fan of the Singapore circuit, it’s only character the fact that it runs at night. It’s a hard challenging track for a driver and demands intense focus at all times.
    For me that is what made the race a good one, certainly not great, fantastic or perfect. Although Lewis’s drive was just that, perfect.
    It should be noted that here is where Red Bull pretty much threw away the championship with Brawn just about pulling something from nowhere.
    How can any F1 fan not have enjoyed the countless minutia that go towards such an end product?

    1. I’m sorry pSynrg but a lot of people feel – and I happen to agree with them – that the whole passing via strategy thing is rather false. It isn’t ‘racing’, it’s something else. And it’s not that exciting.

      Hamilton’s drive was great, the track is alright but rather over-long and you’re right, the fact that it’s a night race is its unique selling point.

      1. Keith I cant understand…you say this yet claim Monza was a cracker! -because cars go fast?!?!?!?!?
        I am not a LH fan in any stretch but this was an entertaining round.
        Like you said to me last race you don’t need a million passes for a race to be entertaining!

    2. Agreed… there’s definitely much more of a PF1 flavour about it here these days, and I find the comments less interesting. However, Keith’s articles are always worth reading!

      1. I as a McLaren supporter must say that, this was one of the dullest races I’ve ever watched. This was the first time in years that I’ve failed to take a toilet break during the race. It was so uneventful, so boring. I’m mean you can feel it in you, when a race is exciting, your bladder fills up quickly, your hairs stand up, you feel goosebumps, you bit you finger nails etc. None of it happened. As Brundle mentioned on the forum, you need to have a 2 sec differential to the car in front to be able to pull out an overtaking move.

        QWG!!!??? Epic Fail!

        Tilke–>> double epic fail.

        1. Thanks for sharing your anatomical quirks, man – I think we could all do without the info.

          1. I suppose that its not an oddity for you people in Madras ;) I’ve seen it all maciek :P

        2. when a race is exciting, your bladder fills up quickly

          did you forget the booze today? ;)

    3. I kind of get what your saying, and F1 is not the kind of motorsport enjoyed for rash moves and crashes, Fortunatley or unfortunatley (depends how you see it) the drivers in F1 are simply too good, so much of the enjoyment for most F1 fans tends to come from the finer things such as strategy, politics, technology, scandal (sad but true), glamour and speed/noise. However that does not mean we shouldn’t expect a decent standard of racing, the problem is we as fans don’t always understand what we want, so when the FIA talks about restrictions we all complain about F1 being the pinnacle and all that, but by letting technology run away with itself we end up with todays kind of event, there is only a finite number of solutions to problems and by this ime of the season most engineers are getting to the same place, hence overtaking becomes very difficult.

      1. Hey, thanks all for some constructive dialogue! Including mp4-19b’s sanitary requirements indicating the thrill factor of a race…

        I am very excited by the prospect of ‘balls out’ quali laps in the new season but I can’t help feeling we will see the opposite in the race.

        Granted I enjoy seeing a driver manage their tires and fuel consumption whilst maintaining competitive pace. (I would attribute some of Lewis’s strengths today to some of that – he’s becoming a very canny driver indeed.)

        So I feel we’re not going to see the fastest driver win but the one with the greatest ability to manage the car, tires and fuel. That’s another debate…

        Singapore didn’t produce the best TV F1, agreed. But it illustrated the strengths and weaknesses of the drivers and teams more than the likes of Spa or Monza.

        But of course, I’ll take those two any day!

      2. Oh and Bigbadderboom, overtaking absolutely should be as difficult as it can possibly be…

    4. I agree with you 100%. I enjoyed the race. It wasn’t the best of the year, but appreciating the elements of winning, this was an eventful race.

    5. I understand your point, and agree that the tactics qre equally as entertaining as the bravery and skill of the drivers. In fact the little rule chages every year, annoying as they sometimes are, do help to throw a “random” element in (although I probably mean a new element that will take a little time to master). I think Singapore is potentially great but just needs to find its feet a little. The roads look (to me) a lot wider than Monaco’s so that’s not the problem, it’s the sheer number of stop-starts with no real opportunities for cars to get close enough to challenge that ruins it. Nearly every overtaking move yesterday resulted in contact. I’m sure the crossroads that is split diagonally could be opened up and made into one large straight. Look at the proposed route on a 2007 F1fanatic posting, I think that route looks much more flowing. https://www.racefans.net/2007/04/02/proposed-singapore-f1-street-track-layout/

  29. Great drives from Lewis, Timo and Fernando. Button really pulled his finger out as well.

    However, without a doubt the most significant event of the race was Heidfeld’s retirement. I was beginning to think it was technically impossible for him not to finish.

    Pretty dull race though. Rubens crashing yesterday cocked up any of the strategic interest so it was pretty much always going to be a case of how much Lewis was going to win by.

  30. Unfortunately, I thought the race on the whole was little more than a ‘points adjustment’.

    Solid drive by Hamilton: did what he needed to do and got the job done, like a champion.
    Big-ups to Glock too, as that Toyota isn’t particularly fast.
    Alonso: well he drove very very well, as he always does.

    Real shame about Vettel and especially Rosberg, once again showing that one tiny lapse in concentration can be catastophic to your race.

  31. Just heard Martin Whitmarsh’s interview on bbc forum, he was very much unsatisfied with kovi’s performance & was later asked on kimi’s move, his answer was:

    “We at McLaren want the best 2 drivers in f1”

    That says a lot, doesn’t it?

    1. Ron tried that more than once!

    2. Legard and Brundle were talking about it as if it was a done deal.

      1. Yeah, ithink we can presume the following as true now.
        Alonso – Ferrari
        Kimi – McLaren
        Kubica – Renault
        Rosberg – Brawn
        Rubens – Williams
        Kovi – Renault (Probable)

        1. I’d love to see Rubens kick butt and win the WDC.

          Wouldn’t that just set a cat amongst the pigeons, for driver selection?

          :)

  32. Another street circuit with almost no places to pass and with the barriers so close, passing anywhere is a very risky prospect. Boting, boring, boring! (Did I mention boring?)

  33. @mp4-19b: Yes, it certainly does…

  34. TommyB I’m hoping that the teams can take information from this season and we see a much better team order. I agree completely with you that this season has been dreadful. The good drivers in poor cars, esp at the beginning of the season and then to make things worse this championship doesn’t even come down to racing, it is all strategy and reliability. There is no joy in that.

    1. Couldn’t agree more Steph. I appreciate the strategic and technical aspects of F1 as much as the next person BUT there has to be some actual racing on the track. Todays race was awful and the season as a whole has been a real yawner.

  35. every sunday i ask myself why do i still wake up early to watch a procession….
    it’s getting every time more boring, no one can really race and overtake.

    1. I ruin my entire fortnight dreaming of exciting races & finally end up watching this!! Even though a mclaren won, I rated this as the worst race since 2008 Valencia.

      1. mp4..dude you have said that like 27 times already, you have more than made your point. even if other disagree with you..it’s not a chance to voice the same rhetoric again!

        Street tracks as well as some established circuits are dull, by nature. The race was interesting…to some.
        Ok.

  36. Mp4, yeah I’m watching it too now, I’d put a very large bet on Kimi to mclaren next season. You must be happy at that :)

    1. yes! I am :D .2010 is going to another 1988 imho!

        1. Kimi is not Mr X ;)

          1. Mind you, it could be a repeat 2007 for the scuderia, they are the ones that are lacking performance & they are the ones hiring Mr X.

  37. Oh God, then Hamilton really will start believing he’s Senna.

    I think Iceman will have the beating of Hamilton.

  38. HounslowBusGarage
    27th September 2009, 16:44

    I didn’t bother watching the race. I went to the beach instead. Very warm here on the South Coast, unbroken sunshine and no breeze.
    Having read the report and the comments, I’m very glad I made that choice. Would have wasted two hours, otherwise. Don’t think I’ll bother with the highlights either.

    1. That’s sad :( I’ve would have probably done the same if I were in a coastal area. Honestly, hanging out at F1Fanatic is lot more cooler that watching these races nowadays :)

      1. And it would a lot cooler, if it wasn’t for your constant blathering.

        1. lol…and he has been a F1 fan since LH been in the sport.

          On a completely different subject why don’t Ferrari use 27 & 28 any more?
          Does the fia force the teams to use the numbers handed to them?

      2. dailymail.uk have reported that the kimi’s mclaren contract is has been completed and all that remains is sorting out the loose ends with ferrari.

  39. It was beginning to look a Time trial. It was quite difficult to watch without feeling a little bored.

    1. HounslowBusGarage
      27th September 2009, 21:52

      Rudram! Now there’s an idea.
      They do it in motor bike racing and in cycle racing. Plus of ourse, every rally event is a . . . Time Trial.
      What about an F1 Time Trial?
      Everyone practices and qualifies as normal, but next they set off at one minute intervals for a duration of, what sixty minutes, forty laps or something in the reverse order of qualifying.
      Probably Grosjean to start and Vettel or Hamilton to finish, and the result is always in doubt until the last driver crosses the finish line.
      I think it could be very good fun for one or two events each season.

  40. At least this race (Sutil, to be specific) gave us the opportunity to get rid of the Heidfield record! :P

  41. Grand Prix Racing. What racing. This season has been about politics and that only. No racing, no close championship, no overtaking. This needs sorting out.

    1. Admit it, we secretly love the politics :)

      1. Admit it, we secretly love the politics :)

        Speaking of our secret-love of F1 politics, if Bernie had his way and had the “medal” system, the championship would’ve been clinched by Button today.

        1. Yeah. Now wouldn’t that have been sad.

  42. The race, for me was just good enough to stop me changing the channel. I rated it 7. The laps need to be cut down to about 52 or 53 I think.

  43. This is rubbish season, I want proper racing and proper racing drivers in the right cars. Bar out qualified But again and ended up behind him.
    This had not been the emergence of strong new talent and new contenders, just the other teams failing imho Tommyb.
    And Mp4 I hope it isn’t 1988 I want Ferrari back! 2007 again I’ll be happyn with as long as the teams don’t implode and no scandals.
    HounslowBusGarage I hope you enjoyed the beach, it’s freezing here :P

    1. One minute people are complaining about lack of overtaking, the next they’re complaining because someone finished ahead of someone they qualified behind! (I am being a little tongue in cheek, btw … I know it wasn’t a proper overtake.)

  44. I kinda like the race. Gave it a 6.

    I’d say it had some action during the whole race. First it was Hamilton and Rosberg chasing. Then the first pitstops. Vettel chasing Hamilton in his much lighter car. Penalties for stupidities for both Rosber and Vettel. At the end there was Vettel with his slightly damaged car being chased by Button. Always the threat of safety cars.

    Granted there wasn’t much overtaking to speak of, but still I didn’t feel bored.

    It was probably one of the longest races of the season though. maybe it was too long for some of the younger viewers? :)

  45. The 2009 season started of great. Who would have thought the grid would be turned up-side-down? We were all shocked to see Button and the new Brawn team win against the old guard. If just got a bit samey will Brawn winning (I didn’t mind it) all the time. I looks like there is no pleasing most people. To me that is what racing is about, the unknown, the new. Not the same old prancing horse and silver arrows dominating.

    Thought this race was tedious in most parts. I always like HAM in the top spot.

  46. What is it with these tracks we keep going to? The ironic thing is that many of them could be improved immeasurably if the layouts were tweaked even just a little. I’m not holding my breath for Korea or even Abu Dhabi. We lose tracks like Imola for these bore-fests? Even the A1 ring was better than a quarter of the stuff we have now!

    1. Yes, cars were overtaking left right and center in Imola

    2. Bernie gets more money for taking it to Valencia or Singapore than if he took it to Imola, so for the foreseeable future we are stuck with these Bernie/Tilke borefests.

    3. Imola while I love the the track, you may have forgotten Schui following Alonso around?
      I can’t think of more than 1 passing spot on the whole track…
      Again I love the A1 ring but not a action pack track either.
      I think the spec tyre is problem…lets have tyre wars again…cars that were faster at the beginning on 1 tyre and the other better on worn…one better at this track and one better else ware, one better pre apex one better on apex….
      I hate control tyres…

  47. @Tiomkin

    surely racing is about racing. Ferrari and Mclaren doing badly isn’t good racing. Good racing is overtaking and battling for wins.

  48. I was between “5 – dull” and “6 – not bad”.
    I chose “6 – not bad”

  49. 3 – boring.

    Very little to liven up a processional race. A few driver errors helped a little, but not much. Sutil livened it up by sticking his nose down the inside of HHHHHhamie. Had he have done that at any one of the opportunities beforehand, he would have made it. Funny he left it until he only had half a chance in which to try the move.

    Shame about Webber and Rosberg’s penalties, but unfortunately they were both justified.

    Hamilton drove a flawless race, and it was good to see Vettel pushing him hard, but it’s just so damn frustrating that a faster car cannot overtake a slower one. Really really is starting to grate.

  50. How can anyone justify giving this one more than a five?

    There was literally no racing going on at all.

    1. No overtaking maybe, but plenty of racing.

  51. Pretty average race I thought, which says a lot for F1 today.

    Feel Webbers penalty was harsh. Okay, so he went off the track going around the outside of Alonso, but Alonso had all 4 wheels off the track as well. Haven’t looked at it in detail, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Alonso forced Mark off. Harsh and unnecessary penalty I feel.

    Of course, its possible I feel this because I needed Mark in third!! No points for me this race :-(

    ps. Still think it was harsh regardless.

  52. It will be Great season if Kimi really comes back to McLaren. I believe Martin will give equal chances to his drivers – then champion will drive by McLaren, is he Lewis or Kimi, I don’t care if will be fair fight and better will win , that’s racing

    Ferrari will be in deep trouble with Alonso without Todt and Brawn. I did not follow Ferrari guys much before Kimi joined them, but I think Luca was much more silent at Todt’s time. Somehow I begin to believe that he is mixing the team

  53. I was not surprised at Vettel’s penalty. The camera shot of him going down the pitlane showed his speeding quite clearly, but for me, it killed the race off. You had to feel a little sorry for Nico Rosberg.
    He had a great jump on Vettel at the start and was driving very well indeed. However, with Vettel’s penalty, Lewis Hamilton took the victory quite easily I thought from the rest of the field.
    There was little, if no overtaking, which was disappointing as last years event had several good moments, including Nico Rosberg’s front wheel locking effort and Hamilton’s scrap with Coulthard.
    In the end, Jenson Button must be laughing his socks off. He hasn’t won a race since June, yet still has a healthy lead going into Japan.

    1. The limit is 100 km/h, he drove 101,4 km/h.
      You´ve got really good eyes!

  54. Ham played it well, Ros well he got what was fair. I did not care for this race so much. I am glad that next year there will be no more fuel games. Just straight racing. I am kool with the lack of passing in F1 (and I do watch NASCAR). F1 is a different type of race and I love it for that. But overall rate, I was bored with the race. The webber penality was a bit much.

  55. Really boring race, but that was to be expected after the last two. Hamilton continues to impress, he is a machine and he’s improved and matured more than anyone. Felt really bad first for Rosberg then for Vettel, both their own mistakes and rightly punished, but so incredibly silly.

    Sad for the championship too. Barichello failed to close in, though admittedly that was some good racing near the end by button. I do hope Barichello manages to snatch it away from him though, in a straight fight at the final race…

    1. Look on the bright side, Sazuka is always entertaining, as is Interlagos. Too bad neither is the finale :(

  56. Admittedly, was a pretty boring race through the middle bits, and I really wished there were more overtaking opportunities. But street races being street races, we knew what we were in for.

    What I find though is that Singapore could be of special interest with regards to a few other factors:

    1. It is a driver-centred track. from all the comments by drivers, Singapore is tough and demands absolute concentration, where a driver can make a difference here. The car is less of an issue. Had RBR kept closer to Brawn, I think this race could be a real wildcard – and possibly in any close title race.

    2. It poses different technical challenges. As we can see, high downforce and grip rather than speed, and definitely a much higher emphasis on brakes and brake durability/temps than any track on the calendar at the moment, if I’m not wrong. Cooling is another issue also, where I think some engines were close to overheating in just the first 10 laps of the race (heard on radio comms).

    3. Again, driver-related. This race is skill-based and as some journalist pointed out, the podium this year was from the top 4 last year. The best drivers get a much bigger chance at a good result here, barring safety car episodes, and it could hold a special place on the calendar. I for one am glad that is it not another race threatening a BGP one-two followed by RBR, or vice versa.

  57. The race could have been exciting, unfortunately, Rosberg and Vettel scored own goals.

  58. While the Vettel penalty was justified (saved miliseconds + danger), the Rosberg one probably ruined what was shaping up to be a great fight. By the letter of the law, it was justified, and they can’t start making judgements based on dirvers’ positions, but it’s a shame there seems to be little in the way of leeway in stewards’ decisions, rather like a referee in football can choose to play the advantage when a definite foul occurs. I suppose the lesson for teams is that if you get a drive-thru on a circuit with high SC porbability, you should take it straight away, especially if it happens around pit windows when cars inevitably get bunched up. You can ay with confidence that Rosberg has been very unlucky 2 years running at Singapore, although I doubt if he would have beaten Lewis.

    As for the race itself, yes, a bit dull, I suppose (although if I were in one of the cars I’d be screaming for mummy by turn 1). People talk about lack of overtaking but has there ever been a golden age where cars are within metere of each other for 2 hours, randomly swapping positions? And if that were so, how interesting would it be? There have always been fast cars and faster cars, and nothing will stop them stretching out. This is one track where the skill is keeping the car out of the walls and looking after the gearbox, brakes and tyres, rather than full-on attacking. It might not look so great on TV but if people understood the sport a little more they’d get more out of it.

    1. Yes! I agree with you Kershan. What would really make this circuit interesting in an easily identifiable way is to have some really bad drivers – crashes, safety cars, etc.

      I bet if Nelson were around he could help out with that, conspiracy or no! As it stands, the brave Sutil had no help at all in this area, although he has himself been consistent at this circuit – consistently crashing and and getting others into the mire with him.

  59. With the streets available i wonder if this track could be opened up.
    It really doesn’t need to be anywhere near as slow as it is.
    If the corners could be widened and the track swept, over taking might become possible and this track could become more worthwhile.
    I mean the locals clearly love it so ive no qualms comming here.
    Give the a track they deserve.

  60. This is the most broing end to the season after last year, Button just calculates things to much instead of going out and showing his performance! Hes got very little charactor. Im British and i’d rather anyone else win!

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