Formula One | Singapore Grand Prix

Singapore

25-27th September 2009

Lap Distance 5.073 Km

Race 58 Laps 309.316 Km

Lewis Hamilton shot off the line like a bullet from a gun and continued to produce a flawless performance to win today's Singapore Grand Prix.The race was interrupted by a safety car period following an early clash between Adrian Sutil who spun and then collected a passing Nick Heidfeld, but although this allowed Vettel to close and pressurise Hamilton he was never seriously threatened. Timo Glock emerged in second place taking advantage of a drive through penalty awarded to Vettel for speeding in the pitlane. The penalty also allowed Fernando Alonso to slip past Vettel to claim the final podium place. Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello finished fifth and sixth with Button leapfrogging his team mate late in the race after Mark Webber suffered what looked like brake failure and spun rearward in to the tyre barrier causing a number of drivers including Barrichello to dive into the pits in case the Safety car was deployed. In the end it was not necessary and the move cost Barrichello position over Button. Heikki Kovalainen and Robert Kubica mopped up the remaining championship points in seventh and eighth. Kazuki Nakajima and Kimi Raikkonen rounded out the top ten. The race leaves Barrichello fifteen points adrift of Button in the title race as the season enters its closing stages.

After a promising start in the first free practice session in which the Brawns of Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button finished first and second fastest the duo were usurped by Red Bulls's Sebastian Vettel in the final session of the day. In the end analysis Button dropped to fifth and Barrichello eleventh fastest. It was Fernando Alonso who added a glimmer of cheer to the disgraced Renault Team now stripped of it's title sponsor as well as it's two senior figures as he ended the final session second fastest. Heikki Kovalainen was third fastest whereas team mate Lewis Hamilton struggled down in ninth place. Nick Heidfeld was fourth fastest for now sold BMW Sauber and Mark Webber rounded out the top six despite crashing his Red Bull into the wall causing what looked to be fairly light damage but enough to end his session. Nico Rosberg was the best placed Williams driver in seventh with team mate Kazuki Nakajima further down the order in fifteenth. Timo Glock was the leading Toyota driver securing the eighth best time with Robert Kubica closing out the top ten. Man of the moment Adrian Sutil was twelfth fastest with Ferrari recruit Giancarlo Fisichella performing little better than his harshly treated predecessor Luca Badoer finishing a lack lustre sixteenth.

After a strong final practice session it was Lewis Hamilton who stamped his authority on the Qualifying session for the Singapore Grand Prix. Hamilton was the only driver to get down into the 1m 47s bracket under the floodlights and he did it in style. Sebastian Vettel was second fastest for Red Bull with team mate Mark Webber ably supporting him with third best time. Nico Rosberg bounced back to form with a fine third place splitting the Red Bull cars. Rubens Barrichello was fifth fastest but blotted his copybook late in the session when he brushed a tyre barrier with the rear wheel of his Brawn, the car the flicked left and damaged the front end suspension, front wing and dislodging a front wheel. The shunt effectively brought the session to an end as there was insufficient time remaining for anyone else to complete another timed lap. To add to Barrichello's woes he had a gearbox change ahead of the session and will drop five grid places as a result. Fernando Alonso was sixth fastest for for a Renault Team desperate to forget the trauma of the last week and Timo Glock was seventh for Toyota. The BMW Saubers of Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica ended the final shoot out eighth and ninth with Heikki Kovalainen rounding out the top ten. Notably missing from the final soot out were Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen. Button now faces the prospect of again having to battle his team mate from behind as even with his five place penalty he will be two places ahead of the championship leader on the grid. It was another dismal performance from Giancarlo Fisichella who was eighteenth fastest in the Ferrari and looking no better than the much criticised Luca Badoer.

01 R Barrichello
1m 50.179s
02 J Button
1m 50.356s
03 M Webber
1m 50.416s
04 F Alonso
1m 50.567s
05 S Vettel
1m 50.614s
06 H Kovalainen
1m 50.699s
07 L Hamilton
1m 50.715s
08 R Kubica
1m 50.815s
09 K Raikkonen
1m 50.865s
10 K Nakajima
1m 51.089s
11 N Rosberg
1m 51.427s
12 A Sutil
1m 51.544s
13 S Buemi
1m 51.643s
14 N Heidfeld
1m 51.656s
15 T Glock
1m 52.083s
16 J Trulli
1m 52.135s
17 G Fisichella
1m 52.390s
18 V Liuzzi
1m 52.905s
19 J Alguersuari
1m 53.232s
20 R Grosjean
1m 53.458s

01 L Hamilton
1m 47.891s
02 S Vettel
1m 48.204s
03 N Rosberg
1m 48.348s
04 M Webber
1m 48.722s
05 R Barrichello
1m 48.828s
06 F Alonso
1m 49.054s
07 T Glock
1m 49.18s
08 N Heidfeld
1m 49.307s
09 R Kubica
1m 49.514s
10 H Kovalainen
1m 49.778s

Eliminated Q2
11 K Nakajima
1m 47.013s
12 J Button
1m 47.141s
13 K Raikkonen
1m 47.177s
14 S Buemi
1m 47.369s
15 J Trulli
1m 47.413s

Eliminated Q1
16 A Sutil
1m 48.231s
17 J Alguersuari
1m 48.34s
18 G Fisichella
1m 48.35s
19 R Grosjean
1m 48.544s
20 V Liuzzi
1m 48.792s

01 S Vettel
1m 48.65s
02 F Alonso
1m 48.924s
03 H Kovalainen
1m 48.952s
04 N Heidfeld
1m 49.098s
05 J Button
1m 49.311s
06 M Webber
1m 49.317s
07 N Rosberg
1m 49.333s
08 T Glock
1m 49.342s
09 L Hamilton
1m 49.358s
10 R Kubica
1m 49.609s
11 R Barrichello
1m 49.616s
12 A Sutil
1m 49.710s
13 J Trulli
1m 49.795s
14 K Raikkonen
1m 49.941s
15 K Nakajima
1m 50.023s
16 G Fisichella
1m 50.253s
17 S Buemi
1m 50.527s
18 V Liuzzi
1m 50.605s
19 R Grosjean
1m 50.972s
20 J Alguersuari
1m 51.423s

01 L Hamilton
1m 47.632s
02 S Vettel
1m 47.909s
03 N Rosberg
1m 48.332s
04 H Kovalainen
1m 48.420s
05 R Kubica
1m 48.501s
06 N Heidfeld
1m 48.526s
07 R Barrichello
1m 48.551s
08 T Glock
1m 48.673s
09 S Buemi
1m 48.754s
10 J Trulli
1m 48.757s
11 K Nakajima
1m 48.831s
12 K Raikkonen
1m 48.864s
13 M Webber
1m 48.876s
14 J Button
1m 48.921s
15 F Alonso
1m 49.032s
16 V Liuzzi
1m 49.055s
17 A Sutil
1m 49.122s
18 J Alguersuari
1m 49.399s
19 R Grosjean
1m 49.641s
20 G Fisichella
1m 50.039s

01 L Hamilton
02 T Glock
03 F Alonso
04 S Vettel
05 J Button
06 R Barrichello
07 H Kovalainen
08 R Kubica
09 K Nakajima
10 K Raikkonen
11 N Rosberg
12 J Trulli
13 G Fisichella
14 V Liuzzi

Retired
L3 R Grosjean
L19 N Heidfeld
L23 A Sutil
L45 M Webber
L47 S Buemi
L48 J Alguersuari

Fastest Lap
F Alonso
1m 48.240s L53