Formula One news
Hamilton wins night race in Singapore
27 September 2009 / Results / PhotosChampion Lewis Hamilton has recorded his second race win of the 2009 campaign after controlling proceedings from pole position in Singapore. The Englishman crossed the line first ahead of a career best-equalling Timo Glock in second whilst Fernando Alonso confirmed Renault's first podium of the season. Jenson Button benefitted from Mark Webber's crash to beat Brawn team-mate Rubens Barrichello.
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The run-up to the 2009 Singapore Grand Prix has been conquered by events which took place in last year's night race as the Renault 'Crashgate' scandal dominated headlines; with main men Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds having now left the team, the irony could not have been in higher supply as Romain Grosjean collected the Turn 17 wall on Friday.
Lewis Hamilton was handed pole position on Saturday night as Rubens Barrichello's crash brought an early end to the qualifying session. The Englishman lined up alongside Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull with Nico Rosberg third for Williams in a race which would contain a cocktail of incidents, accidents and mechanical troubles, all under lights.
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| Hamilton leads Rosberg as Alonso and Webber tussle for third |
All twenty cars started cleanly as the five red lights went out, including Nick Heidfeld whose promising grid slot of seventh was lost when post-qualifying investigations found the BMW to be underweight, meaning he set off from the pit lane. Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber caused most of the first lap drama, running side-by-side through Memorial corner as the Australian stole fourth position. The Red Bull driver had to give the place back a short number of laps later, however, as Timo Glock benefitted to take fourth - having passed Alonso - with the Spanish moving to fifth.
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| Nick Heidfeld watches replays of Sutil taking him out of the race |
One Safety Car was deployed during the race after a predictable incident occurred between Adrian Sutil and Jaime Alguersuari. To end a highly exciting scrap which had also seen Fisichella and Liuzzi make contact, the German dived up the inside of the Barcelona pilot into Turn 14, only to run over the inside kerb and spin the Force India. When rejoining, a spin-turn into the path of Nick Heidfeld did not help either man's cause as the BMW's right-rear wheel was hit. Both cars were out, with Heidfeld recovering to a safety road and Sutil the pit lane.
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| Rosberg made a costly error by crossing the pit exit line |
With temperatures at 30°C (86°F) all evening, Nico Rosberg appeared to be the only man who could challenge Hamilton for victory although straying over the white pit lane exit line resulted in a drive-through penalty for the Williams driver. The German was instructed by his team to pit immediately as the Safety Car peeled off but elected to come in two laps later, leaving Hamilton ahead of Vettel at the front.
The order remained very much the same until the lack of a Safety Car after Mark Webber's Red Bull flew off the circuit at Seares corner. The Australian, victim of a right-front brake disc explosion, reversed into the Turn 1 barriers at high-speed to bring a sad end to his Drivers' Championship challenge. Also in the wars and first out of the race was Romain Grosjean - with brake troubles - as Toro Rosso retired its two cars alongside each other in the pits with similar difficulties for Alguersuari and gearbox issues for Buemi.
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| Webber flew off the circuit at Turn 1; his title attack is over |
With many, including race leader Hamilton, rushing into the pit lane with a Safety Car expected, a potential championship-changing moment occurred as Rubens Barrichello also came in. However, yellow flags did not convert to 'SC' boards and Jenson Button subsequently leapfrogged his Brazilian team-mate, whose car stalled.
Fernando Alonso enjoyed a time at the head of the field after Hamilton's final stop although the Englishman's evening continued to run like clockwork as his ex-team-mate came in. Having benefitted from a Safety Car in a less sinister way than last year, Alonso collected Renault's first podium of the season behind Timo Glock, who equalled his Hungary 2008 best of second for Toyota.
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Sebastian Vettel - despite a drive-through penalty for pit lane speeding - kept both his and Red Bull's championship hopes alive with fourth although he, Button and Barrichello all struggled with brake problems in the final ten laps. Heikki Kovalainen once again scored a top eight finish for McLaren as Robert Kubica picked up the final World Championship point in eighth.
With only a trio of races now remaining, Jenson Button holds a 15-point championship lead over Rubens Barrichello and can therefore clinch the title in Japan next weekend by scoring at least five points more than his team-mate. F1's return to Suzuka begins with Free Practice 1 on Friday.
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