In this piece, I will be assessing ten key features from each Grand Prix weekend from the 2010 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. Onto round fifteen, as the 2010 Singapore Grand Prix is examined more in-depth. The annual night race pilgrimage kept the world championship race wide open and still only one win cover the top five in the championship. All this, plus another diabolical performance from a former great and inadequacy from the Singapore marshals is to be looked at, as F1 heads into its final furlong.
Fernando Alonso – Never Write the Outsider Off
Previous experience of these situations could leave Fernando Alonso in an incredibly strong position, and his confidence and defensive drive that earned him a priceless victory in Singapore could be the crucial factor in his ambition to win a third world championship. When there were questions over Ferrari’s reliability, Alonso impressed me by taking complete control of the situation in qualifying, by insisting to do a banker Q2 lap, to guarantee a top ten grid slot. His gamble paid off and another well-measured lap in the final session earned the Spaniard his second successive pole position. On Sunday, despite having a faster Red Bull behind him and giving him not a moment to relax, Alonso showed total composure in such an intense environment to deliver the 25th GP win of his career, making up for his tainted success here two years ago. If he limits the damage at Suzuka, which is weak Ferrari circuit, then Alonso could be well placed to steal the prized asset off Red Bull and McLaren.
Lewis Hamilton – Game Over?
It has all gone wrong for Lewis Hamilton in the past three weeks, as he has seen his championship bid come close to being blown up in his face, with two DNF’s he simply couldn’t afford. At Monza, he stuck his car in a position where an accident was always going to happen, but in Singapore, he was just plain unlucky. Hamilton’s pace had been poor on the softer tyre, allowing Mark Webber to jump him on strategy. So, when Webber was baulked after the Safety Car by Lucas di Grassi’s sluggish Virgin Racing, Hamilton seized his chance into Turn 7, the best overtaking spot on the Marina Bay course. Television footage showed he was ahead and had every right to turn in, but Webber was never going to disappear, so Lewis may reflect on he should have given more space. The contact was minimal, but it broke the McLaren’s steering and forced Hamilton into his fourth non-finish of 2010. By the way he chucked his steering wheel out of the cockpit, maybe he had just realised that his hopes of winning a second championship are all but a distant dream.
Red Bull Racing – Getting Consistent Results Is Now Crucial
Singapore was meant to be a Red Bull circuit, after their domination of the other street circuits this year, Monaco and Valencia. The team arrived with new upgrades, but they came up against a resolute Alonso, who simply would not be beaten. Mark Webber struggled all weekend and the championship leader was always on his backfoot. Consequently, with his different tyre strategy and the clash with Hamilton, third place is an excellent result for his championship prospects. After a ‘messy’ qualifying session, with a touch against the Turn 11 guardrail costing him pole position, Sebastian Vettel excelled on Sunday afternoon and harried Alonso all day. Sadly, he couldn’t force a mistake out of the Spaniard, but his measured approach was nice to see, especially after his rash moves at Istanbul and Hockenheim cost him valuable championship points. Second place keeps him firmly in the hunt, and makes Christian Horner’s job far more difficult. Red Bull now have to maximise their strong, expected performance at Suzuka and score consistent results in the last three races to ensure both titles end in the bag. No mistakes can be made now, its crunch time.
Kovalainen’s Lotus Has A BBQ – Just Where Were the Marshals?
Heikki Kovalainen has excelled himself as the class of the ‘new teams’ in 2010, but he will be remembered for being the car that Mark Webber went spectacularly airborne over in the European Grand Prix, and for a fire in the dying stages of Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix that could have had far dire results. The issue happened with just two laps to go, when contact from Sebastian Buemi’s Toro Rosso spun the Finn around at Turn 8, and cracked a fuel pressure valve on his Lotus Cosworth. Cue a bonfire that got worse as Kovalainen entered the pit-straight and for a long while, there was a significant danger that the car could just go up completely. As Heikki jumped out of his BBQ, the slackness that the Singapore GP marshals showed was laughable and scary. Fortunately, the quick reactions of a Williams’s mechanic to give Kovalainen a fire extinguisher allowed Heikki to put out the flames himself. However, as much as Lotus should be fined for not bringing the car into the pits, the marshals should get a slap on the wrist from the FIA for their lack of assistance, because who knows what could have happened had someone come out of that last corner on oil at 150mph!
Michael Schumacher – It Gets From Worse to Very Worse
I have tried to defend Michael Schumacher as much as possible throughout his dismal comeback year, but I have lost as much patience now as many with his lack of results. The start of his Singapore weekend was solid actually, as he made Q3 for the first time since July’s British Grand Prix and was matching Nico Rosberg throughout practice. The race was a different story. Schumacher had no pace on the option tyre, and was victim to a kamikaze overtaking attempt from Kamur Kobayashi that left the German in a spin, with damage. However, the damage looked very minimal and the way he drove back to the pits was as quick as a ill-handling supermarket trolley around Sainsbury’s! Later, he tried a move on Nick Heidfeld that had ‘disaster’ spelt all over it! Heidfeld was sent spinning into the tyres, whilst Schumacher drove his battling ram, which was a Mercedes back to the pits with a damaged front wing. So, it was a 13th place finish, and another disastrous day. I hope Michael makes the right decision at the end of the season, and realise at the age of 41, it simply isn’t worth the risk anymore. Carry on like this, and he will terminally damage his reputation as one of the greatest drivers of his generation.
Vitantonio Liuzzi – The Italian on Extremely Borrowed Time?
If Schumacher had problems, they are nothing compared to the issues currently experienced by Vitantonio Liuzzi at Force India. Another shocking weekend from the Italian, which heralded another crash and speculation mounts on whether he should see out the season. He was only 0.2 behind Adrian Sutil in qualifying and made a good start, passing Sutil and the race-rusty Nick Heidfeld. That is where it ended, as he took two bites out of Heidfeld’s Sauber in Turn 8, which left him with a damaged front wing and broken rear suspension. He pulled up on Lap 2, and brought the Safety Car out. With Force India almost looking certain to lose their position to Williams in the constructors championship, I think Vijay Mallya should be brave and give promising Scot Paul di Resta a chance in the final races for next season. Liuzzi is on extremely borrowed time, he will struggle to stay in F1 much longer.
HD Coverage – The New Future of Formula 1?
In an interview with the BBC’s Eddie Jordan on the F1 Forum, Bernie Ecclestone confirmed that he is planning to relaunch Formula 1 in high definition for the start of the 2011 season, a year earlier than initially anticipated. Good news for all motorsport fans, let’s hope the future is successful.
Felipe Massa – Luck Just Isn’t On His Side
Eight minutes into Q1 and Felipe Massa’s weekend was ruined by a gearbox problem, which left his Ferrari stranded on the circuit. At least it allowed the Brazilian to take a 9th engine, without a significant grid penalty, as he was starting last anywhere. However, his demise to the back of the field meant that Massa was no help to Alonso’s cause for the weekend. On Sunday, Ferrari smartly called him in on the first lap, to get onto the prime race tyre. Unfortunately, Liuzzi’s early incident brought out the Safety Car, which meant Felipe, was stuck in midfield, and not going anywhere fast. Tenth place became eighth when Adrian Sutil and Nico Hulkenberg were both penalised in the stewards room for cutting corners and gaining unfair advantages. However, this weekend summed up the fact that luck just isn’t on the side of Felipe Massa in 2010.
Nick Heidfeld & Christian Klien – Popular Figures Return
After a four-year absence, Christian Klien made a popular return to the GP paddock in Singapore, as Sakon Yamamoto went down with a bout of food poisoning on the eve of the event. Despite limited testing, Klien showed he still has natural ability and put Bruno Senna to shame all weekend, ending a full second faster in qualifying. His strong comeback ended on Lap 31, due to a hydraulic failure, but this performance has certainly put Klien in the reckoning for a full-time race seat in 2011. Nick Heidfeld also made a welcome return, replacing the underperforming Pedro de la Rosa at Sauber, though his comeback wasn’t as impressive as Klien’s. He qualified 14th, 0.8s behind Kamur Kobayashi in Q2 and had incidents with Adrian Sutil, Vitantonio Liuzzi and Michael Schumacher in a dramatic race, the one with his fellow countryman ending his event on Lap 36.
Korean GP – Will It Happen?
It is almost as disorganised as the build-up to the Commonwealth Games in India, as Korea faces a race against time to be ready for its inaugural event on October 24th. Bernie Ecclestone has sent some severe threats down the line that the race might be cancelled, should the organisers not get their act together. They face a crucial FIA Inspection in ten days time, just eleven days before the event is meant to run. As much as I want to see the extra race, we must think about safety in the sport, and I can’t see the event happening in 2010. Prove me wrong Korea, prove me wrong!
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