Sunday, September 28, 2008
Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix: Renault's Alonso wins
Fernando Alonso racing at the Singapore Grand Prix
Fernando Alonso - the winner of the inaugural Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix after staying out of the drama that happened at the pit lane.
His 2-stop strategy is probably what brought him the win. Unlike the fate of Massa, Alonso's victory started with the opportunity to catch up when the safety cars came in when Nelson Piquet crashed his car into the wall.
He was clearly out of trouble while many others serve their penalties. Here is the series of penalties that occured:
1. Nelson Piquet caused the first accident with a severe car crash into the barrier
2. 2nd place Rosberg slapped into a 10-second stop penalty for coming into the pit lane before it had opened after the Piquet crash
3. Hamilton served his 10-second penalty for overtaking the safety car in rescue of Piquet.
4. Then came Massa commical error of leaving with his fuel hose still intact. This is followed by a penalty drive through the pit lane at 50 miles per hour
Below describes in detail how Alonso won at the twist of fate:
When Piquet's crash occurred, Massa was leading at the time with Hamilton second but at the restart, Rosberg was in front and Alonso fifth.
But Rosberg was subsequently slapped with a 10-second stop penalty for coming into the pits before it had opened after the Piquet crash.
The complicated scenario saw Toyota's Jarno Trulli in the lead on lap 28 but without having pitted with Alonso second, Rosberg third and Hamilton charging in sixth.
With Trulli taking his first pit stop soon after Alonso amazingly found himself in front just after the halfway mark with a 4.9 second lead over Rosberg.
Alonso came in for his second pit stop on lap 41 and came out still ahead, marginally ahead of David Coulthard and Hamilton.
Remarkably, when Coulthard pitted soon after, he too drove off with the fuel pipe attached, knocking over a mechanic who was stretchered off with an injured ankle.
There was more action to come.
Alonso was cruising with a 23 second lead when Adrian Sutil shunted his Force India into the wall, bringing the safety car out again and wiping out the Spaniard's advantage.
When they restarted with seven laps left it was a sprint to the finish and two-time world champion Alonso made no mistake, writing his name in the record books as the first winner of a Formula One night race.
