Jenson Button scored his fourth win of the year

Surprise, surprise – the Spanish Grand Prix pole sitter went on to win the race.

But there was rather more to it than that – Jenson Button had to wrest the lead from team mate Rubens Barrichello in a strategic switch that’s got everyone talking.

And it was another frustrating race for Sebastian Vettel, who rolled in fourth after spending much of the afternoon bottled up behind Felipe Massa.

Trulli triggers shunt

All eyes were on Felipe Massa at the start to see if the Ferrari driver could use his KERS power to get in among the leaders. He did, making a bold lunge down the inside of Sebastian Vettel for third.

But his second row companion Rubens Barrichello made an equally good getaway – not only passing Vettel but also drawing alongside team mate Button and sweeping by into the lead.

Fernando Alonso and Nico Rosberg also went into the first corner side-by-side, but with a rather different result. Alonso squeezed Rosberg who, faced with a choice between colliding and diving off the track, opted for the latter.

As the Williams driver rejoined Jarno Trulli took evasive action and spun into the path of Adrian Sutil. Sebastien Bourdais stood on the brakes to avoid the wreckage and was collected by team mate Sebastien Buemi. The safety car was summoned and the next time around the cars carefully picked their way through a track littered with debris.

Read more: Trulli, Sutil, Bourdais and Buemi in four-car crash at start (video)

Webber takes on Alonso

At the restart the Brawns got away cleanly, untroubled by Massa and his KERS button. Fifth-placed Mark Webber, however, had his hands full repelling an attack from Fernando Alonso boosted not by KERS (Renault having dropped it for this race) but by his home crowd.

Despite being squeezed by Webber, Alonso got past using the pit lane entrance and part of the grass on the run towards turn one. But an inspired Webber dived back to the inside, somehow got his RB5 slowed down for the corner, and took the place back.

Unfortunately that was to be pretty much all the racing action we saw. Lewis Hamilton picked Nelson Piquet Jnr off for 12th place (KERS-assisted) shortly after the pair of them dodged past the other McLaren of Heikki Kovalainen.

Soon the other Finn joined him in retirement, Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari grinding to a halt on the strip of tarmac that used to be the La Caixa corner. He had made it up to tenth from 16th on the grid and was trying to pas Nick Heidfeld at the time.

Strategy fails Barrichello

Barrichello had a slender 1.3s lead over Button by the time the Briton came into the pits on lap 18. Having originally planned a three-stop strategy the team now moved him one a two-stopper, having noticed Nico Rosberg’s Williams was 18.6s behind and due to stop much later.

Barrichello remained on a three-stop strategy and this decided the outcome of the race. He came out of the pits ahead of Rosberg, and quickly pulled away from the fuel-heavy Button. Barrichello return to the pits on lap 30, with Button 13.5s behind.

Had he continued that rate of progress in his third stint he would have had enough time in hand to complete his extra stop and stay in front of Button. But Button’s lighter BGP001 was now lapping quicker, and Barrichello found his third set of tyres were off the pace. After his final pit stop on lap 50, he ended up 7.1s behind Button.

Read more: Did Brawn deliberately give Barrichello a poor strategy to let Button win?

Massa’s fuel problem

The rest of race was largely processional and dictated by strategy. Webber’s pit stop on lap 19 may have been team mate Vettel’s undoing. The Red Bulls started with identical fuel loads, so Ferrari could assume that Vettel would pit on the lap after Webber. He did – and Ferrari brought Massa in too (probably earlier than he was able to run as he started with more fuel than Vettel) allowing them to keep Vettel behind for another stint.

Webber took on more fuel in his first pit stop but Vettel, bottled up behind Massa, was unable to escape his team mate. Webber made his final stop seven laps after Vettel’s, neatly jumping ahead of his team mate and Massa.

To Vettel’s frustration his final pit stop on lap 43 coincided with Massa’s once again. But it soon emerged the Ferrari was in trouble – too little fuel had got into its tanks and Massa would have to slow down and save fuel.

He did this quite dramatically in the final laps, letting Vettel and Alonso by. Massa rolled across the line in sixth, then ground to a halt with no fuel, much like turbo F1 cars used to do in the early ’80s.

Heidfeld and Rosberg took the final points places, with Hamilton ninth after a fruitless race. Timo Glock and Robert Kubica finished outside the top ten having made it to Q3.

Nelson Piquet had an anonymous run to 12th ahead of Kazuki Nakajima and Giancarlo Fisichella, the latter making four visits to the pits after an early stop under the safety car.

Button’s fourth win of the year means he now has a 14-point lead over Barrichello in the drivers’ championship. Perhaps more significantly, Vettel is now 18 points adrift after finishing fourth.

Red Bull are expected to bring their development of the ‘double diffuser’ at the next race in Monte-Carlo. But even if it doesn’t appear the car still looks strong and Vettel remains a threat for victories – if he can break this habit of ending up stuck behind slower cars.

Button may have four wins from five but this championship’s not over yet.

Man of the race

I pick Mark Webber as my man of the race for the Spanish Grand Prix because of his smart re-pass on Alonso that kept him in the running for a podium – which he delivered on.

Here’s some of your nominations posted via Twitter:

cholle2001 – driver of the race would be alonso. we saw some pretty brave moves from him today.
moitio – Has to be Jense, not a great start but he made up for it in consistency and he dominated here today.
brodyberg – driver of the race: Brawn, clearly :-/
andrew_rickmann – Button
chlorinekid – gotta agree with DC and say Mark Webber. He did well to come out ahead of massa / vettel and hold 3rd.
gselmer – webber, great drive, awesome resolve, stunning move on FA
MarkF1 – Webber for that awesome re-pass on Alonso after the safety car.
smboyce – Mark Webber? So close to second, really didn’t think he’d beat Vettel or Massa today
noelinho – Definitely Webber. Solid drive from Button, but Webber jumped Massa and Vettel, and wasn’t far off 2nd. Great drive.
pcambra – the best has been without a doubt Webber, and the worst, again Massa
40_thieves – Webber for me. Quiet, but beat Vettel
pastamaster39 – JB – adapted well to the change of race strategies and basically nailed it today – champion form!
adam_macdonald – I want to say MAS, just for finishing. lol.
therealtopper – jensen button!
pieman40 – Driver of the day Button, then Webber
kayels – Webber for surprising and getting 3rd

Share your picks for man of the race below.

Read more: Championship standings after Spanish GP

Jenson Button made it three wins from four starts in Bahrain

Jenson Button scored his third win of 2009 after fighting through from fourth on the grid.

He made up crucial ground in the early stages of the race, passing Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton, putting himself in a position to take up the lead after the lightly-fuelled Toyotas had pitted.

Sebastian Vettel minimised the damage in the drivers’ championship by taking second, while Jarno Trulli finished third after starting from pole position.

Glock grabs the lead

Frantic starts are becoming the norm in 2009, and this one had a huge role in determining the outcome of the race.

First, Timo Glock beat Jarno Trulli off the line to take the lead. Further back, the fast-starting KERS cars saw some drivers approach the first corner five-wide.

Lewis Hamilton scorched past Button and went down the inside of Vettel to take third. Button fought back, taking Vettel around the outside for fourth, defending strongly on the run-up to turn four.

Next Hamilton took on Trulli, but the McLaren ran wide, losing its grip on second place.

With the field compressing so tightly at the first corner contact was inevitable, and Felipe Massa, Kazuki Nakajima and both BMWs both ended up heading to the pits for new front wings – Robert Kubica having had his knocked off by team mate Nick Heidfeld. Kubica made things worse by missing the pit call first time around and not making it in until the end of the second lap.

As lap two began Button caught Hamilton’s slipstream on the start/finish straight and slipped past at the first corner. This proved the critical moment of the race, as Button was able to set off after the Toyotas while Vettel languished behind the McLaren.

Mark Webber had a remarkable getaway from 18th and got up to 11th within a couple of laps. But crucially, he couldn’t find a way by Nelson Piquet Jnr despite the Renault driver having over 20kg more fuel on board.

How Sebastian Vettel lost the race (Bahrain Grand Prix start analysis)

Button passes the Toyotas

Timo Glock, Toyota, Bahrain, 2009

Despite having a lighter fuel load Glock struggled to open up a gap over Trulli. The German pitted on lap 11, and his team mate was in the next time by, letting Button through into the lead.

Button didn’t have to make his first pit stop until lap 15. Hamilton came in on the same lap, handing the lead to Vettel, though the Red Bull had been over 10 seconds behind Button beforehand.

Button and Hamilton both took on another set of super soft tyres, unlike the Toyotas, which had switched the medium compound for their long middle stints. That stategy failed, with Glock slipping far down the order, though Trulli fared rather better.

Barrichello and Webber came in on lap 14, the latter having failed to get ahead of Piquet. Barrichello’s stop now left him behind Piquet, but he found a way by the Renault and, on lap 20, took Glock for seventh.

Vettel stayed in the lead until lap 19 when he pitted. He resumed behind Trulli and couldn’t get close enough to pass the Toyota and reveal his true pace. This played into Button’s hands brilliantly when the Brawn driver resumed the lead following Raikkonen’s pit stop on lap 21.

Barrichello’s gamble backfires

By the halfway point in the race Button had a nine second lead over Trulli, with Vettel and Hamilton within 1.2s of the Toyota. Barrichello was four seconds back but catching them quickly, Glock already 9.4s behind.

As Barrichello came within range of the three-car train Brawn elected to change his strategy to avoid him being delayed by the trio. On lap 26 he was in the pits for a second time, risking his race on a three-stop strategy.

It didn’t pay off. When Trulli finally pitted on lap 37 he came out ahead of Barrichello, and although Barrichello passed his rival the Toyota driver quickly reversed the move.

Hamilton had come in on the same lap, his team mistakenly believing that Trulli was fuelled two laps shorter. Button also pitted, putting Vettel back in the lead. The Red Bull driver had just two laps left in the tank, but it was enough for him to put in a couple of quick laps and leap past Trulli after his return to the pits on lap 40.

Barrichello’s final stop on lap 47 dropped him to fifth behind Hamilton, where he finished.

Third win for Button

Jenson Button, Brawn, Bahrain, 2009

After an exciting start to the race the final laps were fairly settled.

Trulli switched back to the super-soft tyres for the final phase, but couldn’t use them to get ahead of Vettel.

Hamilton ended the race fourth, but encouragingly for McLaren only 22s behind Button’s Brawn, a marked improvement over their earlier performance.

Raikkonen was sixth behind Barrichello, finally putting some points on the board for Ferrari, with Glock a disappointing seventh after leading. Alonso took the final point.

Nico Rosberg was ninth, almost a minute behind Button after an anonymous weekend for Williams. Team mate Kazuki Nakajima was the only retirement of the race, Williams choosing to retire his FW31 as its oil pressure was running high.

Nelson Piquet Jnr finished tenth, 13s behind Alonso and a much-needed improvement for the under-fire Brazilian. He successfully thwarted Webber’s recovery drive after his qualifying woes, consigning the Red Bull driver to 11th.

An early pit stop to replace a damaged tyre spoiled Heikki Kovalainen’s race – he finished 12th. Sebastien Bourdais was 13th ahead of Massa, who also came into the pits early after his KERS developed a problem.

He also survived a brush with Giancarlo Fisichella after the Force India driver turned in on the Ferrari at turn 11. That sent Fisichella off the track, and he returned in time to worry leader Button, who gave the VJM02 a wide berth as he lapped it.

The second Force India of Adrian Sutil was 16th, beating Sebastien Buemi’s Toro Rosso in a straight fight. After their collision on the first lap the BMWs finished last, 18th and 19th.

Button complete a straight run of podium finishes in the ‘flyaway’ race to put him in a very strong position as the championship heads back to Europe. Several teams are planning to bring new components to Barcelona, and we could see another shake-up of the running order. Until then, Button and Brawn are the team to beat.

Championship standings after Bahrain

Driver of the race

My pick for driver of the day is Jenson Button following his excellent passes on Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton which won him the race.

Your picks for driver of the day via Twitter:

Chittaranjan Button & Vettel always had da pace. Kimi, I think did well 2 bring ‘some’ pts. Esp. after his nick with Massa at da start.
MartinB1884 driver of the day for me was Button but honourable mention to lewis.
Handbag_Junkie Drive of day has to be Button, passing Lewis without benefit of KERS. Also must mention Piquet in 10th only 2 behind Alonso
RDFGrant got to be Raikkonen for driver of the day. He showed real hunger and excellent pace throughout to finish ahead of Glock.
aimi_g driver of the race is a close call between button and trulli for me, button had a brill race, and trulli kept up well.
somefool I’d have to go with Button. As that said on comms, won on first lap.
adamsapples Button all day long
brodyberg driver of race: raikkonen, took bad car to points and attacked and defended on the way about
noelinho No-one really sticks out today. Kimi, Fernando or Webber. perhaps?
MarkF1 without question it is Button.
GeneralKonsens button was great vettel very solid too

Who’s your driver of the day? Have your say in the comments.

Read more: Rate the race: Bahrain Grand Prix

Jenson Button, Sebastian Vettel, Jarno Trulli, Bahrain, 2009

This is all most of the drivers saw of Vettel during the race

Sebastian Vettel’s second Grand Prix win had a touch of deja vu about it – he started from pole position but the wet race got underway behind the safety car.

And at the end of it he had taken Red Bull to their maiden victory, just as he did for Toro Rosso at Monza last year. Webber followed him home in second as Red Bull scored an historic one-two in an incident-filled race.

Safety car start

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, Shanghai, 2009

The first eight laps of the race were spent behind the safety car, in scenes reminiscent of the Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji two years ago.

A couple of drivers even managed to go off the track while the safety car was out – including Felipe Massa and Adrian Sutil. Sutil made an early stop for more fuel and, on lap seven, Fernando Alonso did the same from second place.

Just as Alonso was heading into the pits came word that the safety car was coming in. His light fuel load had already compromised his race but had the team known the end of the safety car period was imminent perhaps they wouldn’t have brought him in. It left him last, albeit with a full tank of fuel.

Vettel was the only driver to enjoy a clear view of the track ahead when the race started and made best use of it, quickly pulling out three seconds over his team mate. Webber largely kept pace with his young team mate at first, while Jenson Button (who passed team mate Rubens Barrichello early on) fell to over seven seconds behind by lap 11.

Vettel takes control

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, Shanghai, 2009

Webber’s chances of catching Vettel were soon thwarted. A mistake on lap 12 allowed Vettel to double his lead to six seconds. Then on lap 12 Webber surprisingly made his first pit stop – two laps before Vettel came in, despite having gone to the grid with more fuel on board. Had Vettel done a better job of managing his fuel during the safety car period?

Two other drivers were on the move in the early stages. The first was Lewis Hamilton, who picked off Kimi Raikkonen at turn 10 shortly after the start. On lap nine he took Jarno Trulli for fifth, but two laps later a spin dropped him back to tenth. He continued in this ‘one step forward, two steps back’ fashion for much of the race.

Sebastien Buemi, who had started behind Hamilton, copied the McLaren driver by first passing Raikkonen and then going off. Buemi stuck at it, though, and got back ahead of the Ferrari on lap 11 – and Massa arrived in the other Ferrari to follow him through.

Buemi and Massa caught Trulli next and easily passed the struggling Toyota. Raikkonen and Hamilton were almost falling over themselves to get past Trulli. Heikki Kovalainen, Sebastien Bourdais, Timo Glock and Nakajima got by him too.

Toyotas and BMWs everywhere

Next to catch the Toyota was Robert Kubica and, perhaps caught out by how early Trulli was braking, slammed hard into the TF109 at turn 16. Kubica’s BMW almost flipped but stayed an all four wheels and remarkably, after a visit to the pits for a new nose, was able to continue. Trulli’s race was over, however.

Meanwhile their team mates were getting stuck into each other as well. Timo Glock dived down the inside of Nick Heidfeld at the hairpin but succeeded only in damaging his front wing and tipping Heidfeld into a spin. Surprisingly, Glock went unpunished for a tangle that looked a lot like Kovalainen’s collision with Webber at Spa last year.

On lap 17 the safety car was summoned to clear up the carnage. The Brawn cars, which had inherited the lead after the Red Bulls had pitted, now surrendered it by making their first pit stops.

Buemi also headed for the pits but this came after a tangle with the race leader Vettel. In another echo of Fuji ’07, the Toro Rosso driver hit his Red Bull stable mate from behind. Fortunately both were able to continue, Vettel reporting no noticeable damage, and Buemi needing a new nose.

The other Toro Rosso of Bourdais tripped up as the race got restarted, spinning at the hairpin.

Untouchable Vettel

Before the safety car period Hamilton had passed Raikkonen a second time, and then lost it with another excursion off the track. Finally on lap 22 he made it stick with a brave pass on the outside of turn seven.

Vettel quickly built up a lead over Button, who had leap-frogged Webber at the first round of stops. Button was 7.6s behind the leader on lap 26, with Webber bearing down on him less than two seconds behind.

On lap 28 Button ran onto the painted white line before the hairpin and slithered wide, allowing Webber back into second. But Webber himself ran wide on the following lap, allowing Button through again. Not wanting to give the place up the Red Bull driver attacked once more and, in a copy of Hamilton’s move on Raikkonen, took Button at turn seven. Emerging from a ball of spray, Button hardly saw his rival coming until they were side by side.

Rosberg gambles, Hamilton spins

Nico Rosberg, Williams, Shanghai, 2009

By lap 33 Vettel had a 17 second lead over Webber and 21 seconds over Button. Barrichello had dropped 16 seconds behind his team mate in fourth.

Alonso spent many laps stuck behind Buemi but finally found a way through and ascended to fifth before his pit stop. Buemi now took up fifth, ahead of Hamilton, Sutil and Kovalainen.

Vettel made his final stop on lap 37, falling behind Button, but easily able to re-pass the Brawn on lap 40 for the lead. Button’s stop two laps later allowed Webber back into second.

Shortly before this Nico Rosberg gambled on a switch to intermediate tyres. He was able to get within a second of the pace of those on full wet tyres, but the rain returned and the gamble backfired.

Hamilton’ single pit stop on lap 33 left him fifth but he was struggling with tyre wear. One mistake on lap 47 allowed team mate Kovalainen past, and another error two laps later – his fourth of the race – let Sutil by into sixth. Force India’s joy was short-lived however, as Sutil crashed out at turn five on lap 50.

The wreckage was covered under double waved yellow flags, meaning for the first time this year a race ended at racing pace.

Vettel’s second win

Vettel and Webber were able to manage their cars to the flag while Button, struggling with low tyre temperatures, was third.

Fourth for Barrichello keeps him second in the championship. A chaotic race had a surprisingly uniform conclusion – two Red Bulls, two Brawns and then two McLarens, Kovalainen beating Hamilton after finally getting further than lap one for the first time this year.

Glock recovered to take seventh ahead of Buemi who, aside from nearly swiping his victorious half-team mate out of the race, had a strong race in the kind of conditions where he made a name for himself in GP2 last year.

Alonso’s strategy gamble failed, leaving him ninth, ahead of Raikkonen. It was another miserable weekend for Ferrari as Massa retired on lap 23 having climbed from 13th to third.

Bourdais was once again out-shone by his rookie team mate and finished 11th. Heidfeld clocked up yet another finish but there was little else to smile about at BMW with Kubica behind in 13th.

Giancarlo Fisichella was 14th, failing to emulate his younger team mate’s speed in the wet but at least bringing the car home. Rosberg and Piquet were the last of the runners ahead of Sutil.

Button retains his lead in the championship but will Red Bull be able to repeat their wet weather performance in the Bahraini desert? We’ll find out in just seven days’ time.

More on the Chinese Grand Prix

• Championship standings after China
• Chinese Grand Prix results
• Ferrari’s nightmare season continues
• Vettel scores Red Bull’s maiden win
• Sutil crash costs Force India first point

Red Bull, Shanghai, 2009

Jenson Button coped with a late rain storm to win the Malaysian Grand Prix

Jenson Button made it two wins in a row for Brawn GP with another victory from pole position in Sepang.

But although the Malaysian Grand Prix was an action-packed affair it failed go the distance after a huge rain storm halfway through the race.

Rain had threatened the Malaysian round of the 2009 world championship all weekend long. In between the F1 sessions it fell in enormous bursts, flooding the circuits and making any competition impossible. But so far the cars had managed to stay dry.

When the F1 cars lined up on the grid on Sunday it was a virtual certainty that they would finally see some rain during the course of the race. The question was, when would it arrive?

Alonso’s awesome start

Fernando Alonso, Renault, Sepang, 2009

The cars took to the grid on dry rubber, with Jenson Button on pole position ahead of Jarno Trulli. But – most unusually – neither of the front-row starters led into the first corner. Nico Rosberg’s Williams mugged the pair of them from fourth on the grid, and disappeared off into the lead.

Fernando Alonso, despite a very heavy fuel load, made an incredible start in his KERS-powered Renault. The R29 scythed through the pack from ninth to briefly take third behind Trulli. But Button wasted no time and pounced on the Renault at turn 13 to take the place back.

Rubens Barrichello took up third behind Alonso, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen, Mark Webber and Timo Glock – the latter losing out badly from fourth on the grid. Lewis Hamilton was tenth behind Nick Heidfeld, but was quickly passed by Sebastian Vettel on lap three in his lightly-fuelled Red Bull.

As in Australia, McLaren were down to a single driver after just one lap – Heikki Kovalainen lost control of his MP4/24 while on the outside of Hamilton at turn five. BMW were in similar trouble, Robert Kubica’s race ending early with engine failure.

The lead trio began to break away quickly while a train of cars formed behind Alonso. Barrichello was first to get stuck in, diving down the inside of the R29 at the last corner, but running wide and allowing Alonso back through. Barrichello hit back at the next corner and this time he made the pass stick – but Button was now 6.5s up the road.

Next up was Raikkonen, who spent several laps looking for a way through and finally found one on lap ten. Two laps later Alonso ran wide at turn 13 allowing Webber to make a bid for sixth. the pair spent over a lap swapping positions until Alonso ran fractionally wide at turn one, allowing Webber to seal the deal. Now Glock set about trying to overhaul Alonso, but his task was made more difficult by the front wing damage he had incurred in contact with Webber.

Behind Glock was Vettel, the German having pounced on Nick Heidfeld when the BMW driver ran wide at turn four on lap eight. Hamilton also grabbed the opportunity to move up to tenth. That became ninth on lap 13 when Vettel became the first driver to make a scheduled pit stop – Sebastien Buemi having already been in after lap one for a new front wing.

The rain arrives

Jarno Trulli, Toyota, Sepang, 2009

Many teams had been expecting rain within a few laps of the start and it was a nervous time for the lightly-fuelled leaders as they made their pit stops under dark clouds but on a dry track. Rosberg had eked out a three second lead over Trulli by the time of his first stop on lap 15, and stayed ahead of the Toyota driver when Trulli pitted two laps later.

That released Button into clean air and he seized the opportunity a magnificent fashion, setting a fastest lap of 1’36.641 and, against expectations, staying on track two laps longer than Trulli did. That put the race in his hands as he returned to the track on lap 19 ahead of Rosberg and, after Barrichello’s stop on lap 20, leading the race.

With mischievous timing the rain now finally began to fall – three laps too late for Raikkonen, who’d made the bold gamble of switching to full wet-weather tyres on lap 18. The rain did not come soon enough or hard enough for the Ferrari driver.

Glock’s gamble

Timo Glock, Toyota, Sepang, 2009

Over half the field dashed into the pits on lap 22 – all of them for full wet tyres with one exception: Timo Glock. This proved a smart move, as the rain fell lightly at first. Glock coolly picked off one by one of his rivals as they nursed their wet weather tyres.

The varying performances of the cars at this stage made for great racing, particularly between Hamilton and Webber, who swapped positions for lap after lap. Hamilton used his KERS to great effect to pass Webber, but the Red Bull was vastly superior under braking into corners.

Webber briefly ran off the track at turn six, allowing Hamilton through again, but soon the Australian was back ahead once more and finally made the move work. Next he drove around the outside of Heidfeld at the final bend, taking fifth with total ease.

Barrichello was also making rapid progress, passing Trulli and Rosberg on lap 26, but spun on the next lap, dropping back down the order.

At around the same time Glock passed Trulli for second, and was now 28 seconds behind Button and lapping in the order of five to ten seconds quicker.

Button reacted quickly, darting into the pits for intermediates on lap 29. Several other drivers had already done likewise including Hamilton (taking on fuel to last until the end of the race) and Rosberg.

Button emerged from the pits just behind Glock but now came another twist in the weather – fresh, heavy rainfall. Button caught Glock by the end of his out lap, but as the Brawn car dived past at the final turn to take the lead, Glock calmly peeled off into the pits where full wet tyres awaited him – once again, the right tyres at the right time.

Rain stops play

Sepang, 2009

With the rain falling heavily now everyone who wasn’t already in the pits headed straight for them. Some, like Vettel, didn’t get there quickly enough and spun into retirement.

The safety car was sent out on lap 32 but it quickly became obvious that conditions were impossible, and the race was red-flagged. Even when the rain began to ease the huge areas of standing water on the circuit and low light made re-starting the race impossible.

The results were eventually given based on the finishing order on lap 31 – the lap before the red flag came out. That was especially unlucky for Glock, who had taken second from Heidfeld on the ‘phantom’ 32nd lap.

For the first time in 18 years, an F1 race had failed to complete at least 75% of its intended distance, and so half points were awarded.

The 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix will probably be remembered more for the unusual circumstances of its ending – and the fact that it could have all been avoided – rather than the fascinating race it was developing into in the early stages.

Two things won the race for Button – his remarkable pace ahead of his first pit stop, and that crucial pass on Alonso on lap one. But will he enjoy that kind of performance advantage at the next race in China, after the World Motor Sports Council have met to discuss whether his BGP001′s diffuser is legal or not?

If there was a touch of luck about Heidfeld’s second place he at least earned it by not throwing his car off the track late in the race. Glock’s race had the touch of the clairvoyant about it, and had the rain not been excessively hard at the end he was in a very solid position to challenge for a win.

Can Brawn keep up their winning streak? We’ll find out when the teams make an early return to Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix in two weeks’ time.

Malaysian Grand Prix

• Malaysian Grand Prix results
• Championship standings after Malaysia

Hamilton stalks Raikkonen at Spa and it's all about to kick off

Grid penalties, drive-through penalties, time penalties – hardly an F1 session passed this year without some driver falling foul of the stewards.

Penalties spoiled races and one particularly controversial one almost decided the drivers’ championship. Why were there so many this year?

Controversial penalty decisions – especially ones involving championship contenders – are nothing new.

In 2006 Michael Schumacher was thrown to the back of the grid at Monaco for blocking the track during qualifying, and Fernando Alonso was controversially penalised for impeding Felipe Massa in qualifying at Monza.

Alonso was at the centre of a penalty controversy last year as well, after blocking Lewis Hamilton in the pits at the Hungaroring.

This year we saw more penalties in what seems to be a growing trend for stewards to dish out punishments.

The big controversies

First, the headline-grabbers: Hamilton’s penalty at Spa cost him the race win. He was also penalised at Fuji for allegedly forcing Kimi Raikkonen off the track, and in the same race Sebastien Bourdais got a post-race penalty for a collision with Felipe Massa.

These were the most controversial calls of the season. At Spa, many felt Hamilton had ceded advantage back to Raikkonen after cutting the track; at Fuji, his team mate Heikki Kovalainen seemed to be the real culprit; and for Bourdais, many felt Massa was responsible for their collision, if blame could be placed at all.

A season in penalties

We seem to see more penalties each year. Not every penalty this season were as controversial as the three above, and many of these calls were correct, but it’s disappointing to see so many of them and you can’t always blame the drivers and teams for them.

Both McLarens picked up qualifying penalties in two separate races: Sepang, where both impeded traffic in qualifying, and Magny-Cours, where Kovalainen was again punished for impeding and Hamilton had a penalty from the previous race where he had crashed into Raikkonen. Nico Rosberg received the same penalty for hitting Hamilton.

Rubens Barrichello was disqualified in Melbourne for leaving the pit lane while the red light was on. Hamilton was penalised at Magny-Cours for going off the track to pass Sebastian Vettel. At Spa Kovalainen ran into Webber and was penalised, and at Fuji Massa got the same penalty for running into Hamilton.

During 2008 we also saw more of a new breed of penalties created in 2007, for pitting while the pit lane was ‘closed’ under the new safety car rules. Several drivers fell foul of this: Kovalainen at Melbourne, Nick Heidfeld at Catalunya, and Rosberg and Robert Kubica at Singapore.

Plus Glock at Melbourne and Spa, Massa at Valencia and Singapore, Raikkonen at Monte-Carlo, Nakajima at Sepang, Fisichella at Hockenheim, Bourdais at the Hungaroring… And this excludes misdemeanours in practice and penalties for engine and (new for 2008) gearbox replacements.

Inconsistency

Consistency – or the lack of it – was a big talking point, both in terms of what got punished and what punishments were used. Kovalainen received five-place grid penalties for his two acts of impeding during qualifying; Nick Heidfeld (at Singapore) got a three-place penalty. The stewards did not explain why.

Though Hamilton got a penalty for forcing Raikkonen off the road at Fuji, Raikkonen did not get the same for putting Adrian Sutil off the road (and out of the race) at Monte-Caro. Nor did Jarno Trulli for forcing Bourdais off at Interlagos.

Above all, there seems to be a desire to place blame where before certain decisions would be called ‘racing incidents’. Once the stewards choose to punish a driver, they are expected to do so for similar incidents in the future.

Changes for 2009

The FIA were heavily criticised for their handling of some of the more controversial penalties – not just for whether they chose to punish a driver, but the lack of reasoning they gave behind their decisions, and how the governing body conducted itself when it was challenged.

When McLaren appealed the Spa penalty it was ultimately told its appeal was inadmissible, though it took several weeks for that to happen. We learned the FIA’s own race steward, Charlie Whiting, told McLaren during the race they were in the clear, preventing the team from being able to return the position to Raikkonen a second time and avoid a penalty. During the appeal, the FIA claimed former race steward Tony Scott Andrews supported its position, but McLaren produced evidence from Scott Andrews suggesting the FIA had lied.

FIA president Max Mosley and chief steward Alan Donnelly rubbished claims that the stewarding process was unfair. But the FIA later confirmed changes to its procedure for 2009, bringing in new stewards for training (incredibly, this doesn’t happen already) and providing more video evidence to the public.

At the beginning of the year, Mosley brought in Donnelly to improve the stewards process, lauding his experience from working for the International Olympic Committee. Many were quick to point out the name ‘Ferrari’ also appears on Donnelly’s resume. It was inevitable that was going to lead to accusations of bias – justified or not – and that is exactly what happened.

The governing body is also looking for solutions to the pit lane closure rules problem, two years after creating it.

Its changes for 2009 promise greater transparency and improved training for stewards. But the fundamental problem remains: the rules governing what is and what isn’t allowed on the race track remain poorly documented, and stewards too often give inconsistent decisions from one Grand Prix to the next.

Lewis Hamilton celebrates the stunning turnaround that made him world champion

Lewis Hamilton became F1’s youngest ever world champion as the destiny of the 2008 title switched between him and rival Felipe Massa on the final lap of the Brazilian Grand Prix.

In Massa was already over the finishing line when Hamilton took a crucial fifth place of Timo Glock as the German driver struggled on dry weather tyres as rain fell.

That gave Hamilton the priceless point he needed after 71 laps of incredible tension.

Start delayed

Felipe Massa leads the field at the start of the Brazilian Grand Prix

The race began and ended in unpredictable fashion – rain fell three minutes before the intended start. Race control delayed the start for ten minutes while almost every driver switched from dry to wet-weather tyres.

The only exception was Robert Kubica – but at the end of the formation lap he realised his mistake and pitted to take on dry weather rubber.

The top four got away cleanly – Felipe Massa held Jarno Trulli at bay at the first corner, and Heikki Kovalainen gave room to team mate Lewis Hamilton, allowing him to keep a hold on fourth. But behind the Finn Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso attacked, dropping him to seventh.

Nico Rosberg went deep into the first corner and slithered into the side of David Coulthard. It pushed the Red Bull into Rosberg’s team mate Kazuki Nakajima, but although the Japanese driver was able to continue, Coulthard’s final Grand Prix was over. Nelson Piquet didn’t make it past the first lap either – and it could prove his last F1 race too.

Hamilton drops back

Heikki Kovalainen briefly passed Fernando Alonso but lost the position

The safety car came out and after the pit lane opened Giancarlo Fisichella gambled on an early switch to dry weather tyres. It worked brilliantly, vaulting him up to fifth after everyone else had changed tyres.

Vettel and Alonso did so on lap nine, but Massa waited one lap later. This proved crucial as Hamilton waited until Massa had pitted to react, shadowing his title rival’s move. But having waited two laps longer than the drivers behind him to pit he lost position to both of them.

McLaren brought Kovalainen in on the same lap as Massa, after the Finnish driver had scrambled past Alonso at the restart only to lost the position again by running wide.

After the drivers had completed their change to dry weather tyres Massa resumed the lead from Vettel and Alonso, with Raikkonen down to fourth. Hamilton passed Trulli when the Italian went wide at turn one, and now the McLaren driver found the fifth place he needed occupied by Fisichella.

Hamilton bided his time as the track remained very slippery off-line. Finally on lap 17 he gingerly took the inside line away from Fisichella at the entry to the S do Senna. He was back in fifth place – and the title was back within reach.

Massa stretches his lead

Vettel had a crucial role to play later in the race in almost costing Hamilton the title. But for now, with a light fuel load, he was throwing everything he had at Massa. It was to no avail, and on lap 27 Vettel pitted – 11 laps before Massa needed to – wrecking Vettel’s hopes of repeating his Monza win.

That left Massa with a 4.1s lead over Alonso and the Renault driver’s hopes of beating the Ferrari took a battering when, on lap 34, Massa unleashed a lap of 1’13.755, almost half a second than anything so far in the race.

Alonso had a ten second advantage over Raikkonen, who in turn had five seconds on Hamilton, who was now up to fourth. Timo Glock was now threatening Hamilton, but his pit stop on lap 36 removed the pressure.

Massa pitted two laps later and took on enough fuel to last him until the end of the race. The rest did likewise – but most of them would end up coming back in one more time.

Alonso and Hamilton pitted together on lap 40 – Hamilton now so far behind that he only arrived in the pits as Alonso was leaving. Vettel staved off his final pit stop until lap 51, and that dropped him from second to fifth, behind Hamilton.

The middle part of the race had been quiet, even processional. But the first hints that was about to change came as the teams woke up to the likelihood of a second, late rain shower.

The rain returns

As rain began to fall on lap 63 Massa led Alonso, Raikkonen and Hamilton. The McLaren driver had only one second’s advantage over Vettel, but he knew that even if he lost the place he would still be champion.

Some drivers switched to wet weather tyres as early as lap 64. Nakajima and Fisichella were the first ones in. Two laps later the leaders took the gamble: Alonso and Raikkonen darted for the pits. Then the Hamilton-Vettel battle for fourth appeared in pit lane as one – Hamilton breaking out of his pattern of mirroring Massa.

Massa was in on lap 67, with four remaining. Now everyone had pitted except the two Toyotas – and this was crucial, because now Glock was ahead of Hamilton.

Two stunning twists

After his early tyre blunder Kubica was fighting back and on lap 69 he unlapped himself from Vettel. Then he did the same with Hamilton, forcing the McLaren wide at Junaco. This was disastrous for Hamilton – as Vettel followed Kubica through to take fifth.

Hamilton was now demoted to sixth and staring championship defeat in the face. Around the final two laps Vettel’s Toro Rosso was tantalisingly out of reach.

On the McLaren radio Martin Whitmarsh was telling Hamilton to keep it cool – because the Toyotas were starting to struggle. His problem was Glock was coping with the conditions far better than Trulli – lapping five seconds faster than his team mate on lap 70.

But the 71st lap proved one too many for them. Robbed of tyre temperature and grip, the two floundered to the line. First Vettel, then Hamilton reached Glock in the final sector of the final lap – and both drove past him with ease.

As Massa crossed the finish line the Ferrari pit and the crowd erupted in celebration. But the cheers stopped as Vettel and Hamilton headed for the line with Glock in their mirrors: Vettel fourth, Hamilton fifth – and world champion by a single point.

Championship changes hands twice in the final three laps (Video)

A sad winner

Despite the disappointment, Felipe Massa still smiled more than Kimi Raikkonen

Massa could scarcely hold back the tears on the podium – but he was weeping with sadness, not joy. Not his home victory nor Ferrari’s 16th constructors’ title could ease the pain of having the drivers’ championship torn from his grasp at the last gasp.

He was flanked by Alonso and Raikkonen. Glock held on to sixth ahead of Kovalainen – so his gamble actually paid off – and Trulli took the final point ahead of Mark Webber. Nick Heidfeld completed the top ten.

Kubica finished 11th ahead of Rosberg, Button and Bourdais – the latter losing a potential points finish after a lunge by Trulli forced him off the track at turn one. Revenge for Shanghai? Perhaps, but unlike Hamilton at Fuji, there was no punishment for Trulli.

Barrichello finished what could be his final race in 15th, ahead of Sutil, Nakajima and Fisichella.

In the pits Hamilton and McLaren were celebrating. Their driver hadn’t realised he was champion until well after crossing the finish line – but as the shell shock he wasted no time in catching up with the celebrations. He wasn’t the only one left reeling by this flabbergasting end to the season.

2008 Brazilian Grand Prix result

Lewis Hamilton and McLaren celebrated the team's first title in nine years

1. Felipe Massa, Ferrari
2. Fernando Alonso, Renault
3. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari
4. Sebastian Vettel, Toro Rosso-Ferrari
5. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren-Mercedes
6. Timo Glock, Toyota
7. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren-Mercedes
8. Jarno Trulli, Toyota
9. Mark Webber, Red Bull-Renault
10. Nick Heidfeld, BMW
11. Robert Kubica, BMW
12. Nico Rosberg, Williams-Toyota
13. Jenson Button, Honda
14. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso-Ferrari
15. Rubens Barrichello, Honda
16. Adrian Sutil, Force India F1 Team-Ferrari
17. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams-Toyota
18. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India F1 Team-Ferrari

Not classified

Nelson Piquet Jnr, Renault – 0 laps
David Coulthard, Red Bull-Renault – 0 laps

Lewis Hamilton was untouchable in the Chinese Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton dominated the Chinese Grand Prix and heads into the final race of 2008 with a strong chance of claiming the title that eluded him last year.

At the scene of his disastrous retirement last year, Hamilton simply ran away with the race this time, leaving the Ferraris to swap positions late in the race to limit the damage to Felipe Massa’s title chances.

After all the hype and tension building over the race start the Grand Prix began in an orderly fashion – the top five crossed the line at the end of lap one in the same order they started. Hamilton got a clean start and team mate Heikki Kovalainen did even better, picking off Fernando Alonso around the outside of turn one.

Alonso came back at Kovalainen though, hustling him around the first lap until Kovalainen ran wide at turn 14, allowing the Renault driver bck ahead.

The only drivers to misbehave were Sebastian Bourdais and Jarno Trulli, who tangled at the first turn. Trulli spun off and pitted with damage at the end of the lap. He limped around another tour with a visibly damaged sidepod, then retired.

Hamilton gets away

The Ferraris simply couldn’t live with Hamilton’s pace in the opening stint. Each time around, the MP4/23 was another two or three tenths further ahead, so that by lap 13 Raikkonen was 4.1s behind.

Massa was having just as much trouble keeping up with Raikkonen, losing just as much time to his team mate in the same 13 laps. But the driver really struggling in the opening phase was Heikki Kovalainen. His brake had visibly been smoking on the grid and he lost around 1.5 seconds per lap to his team mate in the opening stint.

Mark Webber, who started 16th after an engine penalty, made excellent progress in the opening stint. He leapt up to 12th at the start, then picked off Timo Glock, Rubens Barrichello, and Nelson Piquet Jnr to take ninth.

Kovalainen hits trouble

Webber was clearly running light and made his first pit stop on lap 13. But Massa and Alonso came in the next time around. McLaren – possibly reacting to Massa’s stop – brought Hamilton in on the next tour, and Raikkonen pitted at the same time.

This made no material difference to the running order, however. Massa briefly fell behind Robert Kubica, who was running heavy after uncharacteristically qualifying outside the top ten, but it made little difference to his race pace.

Kovalainen pitted on lap 17 but the tyres he took on wouldn’t last the stint. On lap 35 he limped in with a puncture front-right tyre – the same corner of the car where he seemed to have a brake problem earlier in the race. Fifteen laps later Kovalainen came back in to retire.

Hamilton consolidates lead

Hamilton began his second stint with an out lap 1.2s faster than Raikkonen’s. He quickly increased his lead to over seven seconds and kept it at that level.

Meanwhile Ferrari began manoeuvring their drivers to get Massa into the second place he needed to minimise the damage in the championship to Hamilton. Their problem was that Raikkonen had a seven second advantage over Massa, which had been eight seconds until he lost a lot of time lapping Giancarlo Fisichella’s Force India.

Raikkonen lost several seconds during his final pit stop but still found himself over two seconds ahead of Massa. Over the following laps the gap sporadically decreased and finally Raikkonen slowed right down and Massa took second.

Aside from Webber’s moves and a brief pass-and-re-pass between David Coulthard and Bourdais, the Ferrari shuffle was one of very few overtaking moves in a surprisingly calm race.

Hamilton, though, was dominant throughout: he won from pole and set fastest lap, and was fastest in every session bar one. Just as he did at Silverstone, he responded to the criticism and pressure of the previous races with an utterly consummate performance.

But with Massa second and Raikkonen third neither of the titles are decided yet: but Ferrari look as comfortable at the top of the constructors’ leader board as Hamilton does in the drivers’ title race.

Alonso was fourth ahead of the two BMWs, cementing Renault’s resurgence in form. Heidfeld finished fifth ahead of Kubica, whose slim title hopes were finally extinguished.

Timo Glock claimed seventh ahead of Nelson Piquet Jnr, with Sebastian Vettel out of the points.

Coulthard was tenth, suggesting that Webber’s strategy of fuelling light had been a mistake. The Australian finished 14th, behind several cars he had overtaken. Between them were Rubens Barrichello, who put in an excellent performance for Honda, Kazuki Nakajima and Sebastien Bourdais.

Nico Rosberg, Jenson Button and Giancarlo Fisichella rounded off the finishers, with Adrian Sutil joining Kovalainen and Trulli in retirement. It was the sixth mechanically-induced retirement of the year for the Force India man.

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Fernando Alonso won for the second race in a row

Lewis Hamilton has been accused of being too hot-headed and risking too much in championship deciding situations. Felipe Massa has been criticised for making mistakes in wheel-to-wheel battles.

Watching the Japanese Grand Prix, it wasn’t difficult to understand why. As the two championship contenders provoked controversy in the opening laps, Fernando Alonso motored through to claim a second, richly deserved victory.

A chaotic start

Lewis Hamilton threw away his hard-earned pole position the instant the lights went out as Kimi Raikkonen zapped past him. Not for the first time, Hamilton seemed to lose sight of the fact that his championship rival was Felipe Massa, not Raikkonen, and risked everything in a do-or-die move to recapture the lead.

He dived for the inside, smoke pouring from locked wheels, and ran wide, forcing Raikkonen to take evasive action. Massa, who was also at the outside of turn one, was similarly delayed, and the mess allowed Robert Kubica and Fernando Alonso into the lead from sixth and fourth on the grid respectively.

Hamilton made a slow recovery and was passed by Heikki Kovalainen, Jarno Trulli and the Ferraris. But on the second lap he got a clear run up the inside of Massa at turn ten and was through. Massa tried to come back at him at the following left-hander, but with two wheels on the kerb and two wheels on the grass he tipped Hamilton into a spin and down to last

McLaren responded by pitting Hamilton straight away to discard his badly flat-spotted tyres and inspect the damage from the collision with Massa – which included the barge boards and part of the floor. When he returned to the track he was 52 seconds behind leader Kubica.

Hamilton was not the only driver in trouble on the opening lap. David Coulthard was swiped sideways into the barrier at the exit of turn one. Kazuki Nakajima lost his front wing and had to pit for a replacement – an ironic development for the Japanese driver at his home race, since he had eliminated Alonso during his home event at Valencia on the first lap.

Penalties

Within a few laps Massa and Hamilton were hit with penalties: Hamilton for the turn one incident, Massa for hitting Hamilton.

That sent Massa plunging down the order from sixth to 14th and cost Hamilton even more time.

Massa and Hamilton’s Fuji crash – the penalty they got right (Video)
Hamilton and Raikkonen’s Fuji clash – the penalty they got wrong (Video)

Alonso gets ahead

Meanwhile Raikkonen had passed Jarno Trulli for fourth on lap seven with a neat move at turn ten. That became third when Kovalainen came to a halt on lap 16 with what turned out to be engine failure.

Up front Kubica was leading Alonso but unable to pull away quickly despite having slightly less fuel. The BMW driver made his first pit stop on lap 15 and although the Renault only stayed out one lap longer, it was enough for Alonso to leapfrog ahead of Kubica. This pit stop switch-around decided the winner of the race.

Jarno Trulli took over the lead (Raikkonen having pitted), and Sebastien Bourdais and Nelson Piquet Jnr also took turns to head the field. But once the first round of pit stops was over, Alonso was firmly in control.

More trouble for Massa

Massa’s penalty and pit stop left him 13th with Hamilton just 10 seconds behind. After being briefly stuck behind Jenson Button he found a way through and Hamilton followed a few laps later.

Hamilton made his final pit stop on lap 41, leaving him with a 26-lap run to the flag. Massa, however, didn’t have to make his last stop until lap 52 and he was setting fastest laps in the run-up to it as the chance of a point or two beckoned.

But on lap 50 Sebastien Bourdais came out of the pits in front of him and the pair collided at the first corner, Massa spinning around. After the race the stewards added 25 seconds to Bourdais’ time.

Bourdais gets 25s penalty

Kubica holds off Raikkonen

Raikkonen emerged from his final pit stop directly behind Kubica in a battle for second place. The Ferrari was clearly quicker than the BMW, and the long, wide straights of Fuji gave him little chance to run an hide.

Still, Kubica gave a master class in defensive driving: he covered the inside of the hairpin when he had to, and took care to slow Raikkonen’s pace at the apex of the corner to deny him a run at the next bend.

After several laps of careful and utterly clean defending by Kubica, Raikkonen’s attacks began to fade and he settled back into the third place he would keep until the flag.

Further back Massa was finding his rivals’ defensive tactics either irrelevant or inadequate. He made light work of the other BMW of Nick Heidfeld, passing him on the main straight as if his Ferrari had an extra gear.

That brought Massa onto the tail of Mark Webber on lap 64. Webber covered the inside line on the right but Massa dived to Webber’s extreme right, over the pit lane exit, to get alongside the Red Bull.

Had Webber continued straight ahead Massa would have been obliged either to lift the throttle or run out of road. But Webber backed down, pulled left and gave Massa the space to take the position.

Alonso wins

Alonso took the chequered flag after 67 laps to score his second consecutive win of the season. At Singapore he rode his luck, but here he beat Kubica in a straight fight and capitalised magnificently on Ferrari and McLaren’s problems.

Kubica’s defence of second place was gritty stuff, and the eight points leaves him 12 behind Hamilton with two races to go. But for that penalty at Singapore, he would be an extremely convincing championship contender.

Raikkonen salvaged third for Ferrari and that, along with Massa’s seventh place (promoted from eighth after Bourdais’ penalty) put the Italian team back in the lead of the constructors’ championship. After Ferrari’s failure to score in Singapore, the same fate befell McLaren at Fuji.

Nelson Piquet Jnr took fourth on merit despite a hiccup on lap 62 when he spun at turn five, losing four seconds. He still kept Jarno Trulli behind which was a major blow for Toyota on home ground. With Timo Glock retiring early on, Toyota are now 16 points behind Renault in the battle for fourth in the constructors’ championship.

Sebastian Vettel was promoted to sixth ahead of Massa and Webber. Heidfeld was tenth, Nico Rosberg 11th and Hamilton was the final runner on the lead lap – he un-lapped himself from Alonso on the final tour in the forlorn hope four or more driver might stop on the last circuit.

Both the Honda drivers oddly set their fastest laps of the race on the final lap, Rubens Barrichello 0.7s ahead of Jenson Button after a miserable home outing for the team. Nakajima limped in 15th and last in his first home race, though he at least fared better than the Force Indias, neither of which finished.

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

Update: Several months after the race it was discovered Renault instructed Piquet to crash to help Alonso win. The race finishing positions were not altered.

Fernando Alonso's win was his first since Monza last year