Fernando Alonso Shines as Ferrari are Plunged into Darkness

I must admit I wasn’t, and am still not, a fan of the Singapore GP, but my god, did it produce a race today!

Ferrari made errors that might well have cost them the championship, Hamilton managed a decent third, but most importantly for us Honda fans, Jenson Button finished a good ninth place, ahead of a Ferrari and a McLaren!

I apologise for sounding like a grumpy old git, but I truly believe that F1’s first night race in Singapore was not an illustration of the sport’s advancement; rather it was yet more evidence to support how ridiculous Formula 1 has become.

At a time when the western world is strapped for cash, Formula 1 hosts an overly extravagant show, lit by 1,600 diesel-powered lights, with next to no overtaking places. I was not looking forward to it.

Bernie Ecclestone proudly stated that these lights would need generators “the size of living rooms,” so this means that a sport that is already highly negative for the environment has gone a whole step further!

We were told that the whole point of this race is that we Europeans can, in the words of “F1 Racing” watch it “without having to set [our] alarms for stupid o’clock.” 

Or maybe, in true F1 style, it is mostly for the commercial benefit that the city of Singapore would receive from a potentially bigger audience.

My heart sunk into my boots when, in the qualifying build up, Nico Rosberg described the new circuit as being a cross between Monaco and Valencia.

This statement was practically confirmed by Martin Brundle when he stated that overtaking was going to be very difficult.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the Monaco GP, but that’s because it’s Monaco, brimming with history and tradition.  Why do we need more street races?  Surely we need more custom-built race circuits like Bahrain. 

To be honest, I don’t care about the race build up show; given the choice I’d rather see 20 cars race around an old airfield, if that meant there would be overtaking! Perhaps, we could have a Top Gear GP in Surrey?

That was the quick rant, but in this case I was clearly proven wrong by the race itself.  Honda had looked pretty strong in the race build up, with Jenson regularly putting in top 10 times; so qualifying looked promising for car No. 16. 

Sure enough on Saturday, Jenson was up to P10 at one point in Q1, and though he eventually finished the session in 14th, for the first time in a while Honda made it into Q2. 

Rubens Barrichello’s day was not as promising. Traffic and yellow flags made it difficult for the Brazilian, who ended up 18th. Things were made worse, when he was later given a 10,000-Euro fine for a pit lane drama with BMW’s Nick Heidfeld.

The hugely unfortunate fuel supply problem that finished Alonso’s chances of getting into Q1, (and most probably his chances of another front row start) gave an opportunity to a driver who might not usually get into the final round.  

Ironically that spot was given to the lucky championship leader Lewis Hamilton, who struggled in Q2.  Jenson had a chance to knock out his fellow Brit but, unfortunately, under-steer and low grip compromised his lap.  He finished a very respectable 12th and was pretty happy with the car’s performance.

I sat down to watch what I thought was going to be a very dull and dark 61 laps of processional driving.  Instead I got overtaking, crashes, safety cars and disaster! 

Rubens’s weekend was never looking too promising and sure enough on lap 17 he had to retire, as his engine was experiencing problems.

His weekend was summed up by his actions on the way back to the garages, when he had kindly intended to throw his gloves into the crowd and they ended up in the sea!      
Jenson, however, quietly got on with his race, pitting when he needed to and working well with the safety car periods.  He was certainly good for 10h place (which is about where Jenson had been all weekend) when a silly mistake from Raikkonen gifted him ninth place.

Alonso had also looked great all weekend. He, too, capitalised on good luck and drove very well to take his first win for a year.  I still think that Singapore was a massive waste of money, but hey, it put on a pretty good show!  

So, it was a mixed weekend for Honda; Rubens never seemed to get into it and Jenson performed well.  I was proven wrong and no doubt the best driver in the world at the moment deservedly won. 

It’s great to see such a nice and talented driver back on the top step again. Well done, Fernando, and as far as we Honda fans are concerned…well done, Jenson!