Red Bull were really shrewd in that as soon as Piquet crashed, they reacted straight away and brought both their men in. They anticipated that the Safety Car would have to be deployed. Initially, after Piquet crashed they was a slight delay before the Safety Car was deployed. This meant there was time for the Red Bull drivers to pit before the Pit Lane was closed.

This allowed them to move up the order and they could have got a giant haul of points. Unfortunately, Mark Webber had a gear problem and was potentially on target for eight points. David Coulthard was running third but a botched pit stop, and then brake problems in the last part of the race meant he could only snatch two points for the team.

It could have been so much better and Red Bull and could have put themselves back into contention for fourth place in the Constructors.

Great drive by Rosberg but was he helped out by the Stewards?

Rosberg got a much-needed result in Singapore. Overall this has been a very disappointing season for him and Williams. During the season, Rosberg has fallen off the radar of other teams after such a great season in 2007.

Here though he qualified solidly in the top 10, and took the lead thanks to the Safety Car period. Unfortunately he had to pit whilst the pits were closed. This meant he would incur a 10-second stop/go penalty more or less straight away and have to sacrifice this lead.

However, the stewards took around 15-20 minutes to give him the penalty in which time he built up a huge gap over Fisichella in 3^rdplace who was holding a lot of drivers up. This allowed Rosberg to take his penalty and still come out in second ahead of Hamilton.

There is no doubt that Rosberg drove exceptionally well. Question marks hang over the amount of time it took the stewards to give a penalty for something that is so clear-cut.

There is no need to deliberate over whether Rosberg pitted whilst the pit lane was closed. Why was the penalty not given immediately?

Had the penalty been given straight away Rosberg’s race would have ended up being completely different. He would have been lucky to come away from the race with any points at all. On another note Hamilton would have finished 2^nd. Some cynics may say that the Stewards have done Hamilton once again and cost him 2 points.

Final Verdict

The first-ever Singapore GP produced a dramatic race. The track was a real unique challenge for the teams and drivers.

This is by far the best new addition to the F1 calendar we have had for quite some time, and goes straight into my top 5 current F1 tracks. Singapore could challenge Monaco for F1’s best street race although I think Monaco will always have the edge due to its rich history and heritage. Everyone will look forward to coming back to Singapore next season.

This race should have been a great win for Ferrari, giving them a hand on both trophies. However, one small human error has given Hamilton and McLaren the advantage going into the final three races. The Ferrari really worked around Singapore, the McLaren didn’t look as strong.

The next two races should suit McLaren, and in Fuji, a dry race is as rare as a wet race in other places. Ferrari have to try and simply stay in touch, or hope McLaren slip up, to have a chance of taking both titles in Brazil. It is still possible for Ferrari, but they have made it much harder for themselves.

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