2009 Singapore GP: Reality Check

And we're racing under the lights in Singapore! Not the most fantastic circuit on the calendar racing-wise, but definitely a serious contender for the best looking one. Certainly helps that the grandstands were packed with fans, the overall atmosphere looked great.

A long, hot, and sweaty race for the drivers—they only just managed to complete all sixty-one laps under two hours in the humidity. Pity that we didn't get a little rain, I'm just a bit curious how a wet night race would look like. Oh well, there's always next year.

This was how everything played out at the Marina Bay the past few days:

Grosjean crashes his Renault at turn 17 during FP1. Plus 10. Priceless.
Very very dusty track. Minus 2. Someone take a vacuum cleaner out there.
Car bottoms sparking. Plus 2. Car exhausts flaring. Plus 2. Cool.
Mark Webber bins his car in FP2. Minus 2. Second red flag so far.
Button whining on team radio in FP3. Minus 2. He really needs to stop doing this.
Both Force Indias out in Q1. Minus 2. Aw man. I was hoping Spa and Monza weren't flukes.
Fisichella out in Q1. Minus 2. Damn, Ferrari is back to being sucky again.
Kimi out in Q2, P13. Minus 2. Sadness.
Button out in Q2, P12. Minus 5. That's not impressive.
Barrichello smashes into the wall halfway through Q3. Third red flag of the weekend. Minus 2.
Lewis on pole. Plus 1.
Rosberg qualifies P3. Plus 2. Best qualifying this season.
First twenty laps - nothing much happens. Minus 5. I'm bored.
Sutil takes out Heidfeld. Minus 2. Ooh that was unfortunate for Nick.
Rosberg crosses the white line on pit exit. Drive-through penalty.Minus 2. Nooooooo.
Alguersuari nearly leaves the pits with the fuel hose still attached. Minus 2. Another deja vu moment. We are certainly nostalgic in Singapore aren't we?
Vettel speeding in pit lane. Drive-through penalty. Minus 5. Noooooooooooooooooooo.
Mark Webber brake failure. Minus 5. Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
Both Toro Rossos retire. Minus 2. Someone hexed the Red Bull teams I think.
Lewis wins the race! Plus 2. Solid drive.
Glock takes P2. Plus 2. Super! Toyota needed this.
Alonso P3! Plus 5. Well done, Renault needed this even more.
Button comes in P5. Minus 1. Whoa, how lucky can this guy get? It's so fated that he wins the WDC.
Nakajima P9. Minus 1. He just missed out again.
Ferraris finish P10 and P13. Minus 2. Sigh.
Post-race: Webber complaining about having to yield to Glock and Alonso. Minus 1. He seems to like quoting Kimi as an example a lot recently eh? Kimi came back to win with one point in 2007, Kimi got away with running wide at Spa.

So that's it then for the second night race in history. The action continues in Suzuka next weekend. Not expecting the red cars to do great there, but never say never.

Cheers ;)