Alonso wins in Singapore
Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso staged a stunning recovery to secure a historic victory at an action-packed Singapore Grand Prix today.
The Spaniard had started Formula One’s first night race 15th on the grid after fuel feed problems brought an end to his qualifying campaign in the second session yesterday.
But the Renault driver produced a superb performance to secure his first win of the year.
Williams’ Nico Rosberg finished second while McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton took third to boost his lead in the drivers’ standings as he looks to mastermind a first world championship title.
Toyota's Timo Glock finished fourth while Sebastian Vettel followed up his Italian Grand Prix victory with a fifth place in his Toro Rosso.
BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld finished sixth, Red Bull’s David Coulthard took seventh while Kazuki Nakajima of Williams finished eighth.
But the race was a disastrous one for Ferrari as Felipe Massa could only finish 13th having started the race on pole while Kimi Raikkonen suffered a crash late on.
Massa had started the race superbly, streaking ahead of Hamilton straight away, but his hopes of a podium finish came to a disappointing end on lap 18.
The Brazilian entered the pit lane but was then shown the green light while the fuel hose was still attached.
Massa injured a member of his crew as he moved away before mechanics struggled to remove the hose to allow him to rejoin the race.
Raikkonen, meanwhile, suffered heartbreak late on when he launched from the second kerb on turn 10 and was unable to recover sufficiently before ploughing into the wall.
The victory was just reward for Alonso after dominating two of the three practice sessions prior to the race.
And the 27-year-old was naturally delighted with the win.
“It was fantastic,” he said. “I can’t believe it and I think I need a couple of days to realise we have won a race.”
FIA Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, Singapore Results:
Leading Positions after Race (61 Laps): 1 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1hr 57mins 16.304secs, 2 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:57:19.261, 3 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1:57:22.221, 4 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:57:24.459, 5 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:57:26.572, 6 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:57:27.405, 7 David Coulthard (Gbr) Red Bull 1:57:32.691, 8 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:57:34.793, 9 Jenson Button (Gbr) Honda 1:57:36.189, 10 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:57:43.206, 11 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:57:44.279, 12 Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:57:45.736, 13 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:57:51.474, 14 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India 1:57:59.875, 15 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari at 4 Laps
Not Classified: 16 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 50 Laps completed, 17 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 49 Laps completed, 18 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 29 Laps completed, 19 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Honda 14 Laps completed, 20 Nelson Piquet Jr (Bra) Renault 13 Laps completed
Leading Championship Standings after Singapore Grand Prix
Drivers: 1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 84pts, 2 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 77, 3 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 64, 4 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 57, 5 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 56, 6 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 51, 7 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 38, 8 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Scuderia Toro Rosso 27, 9 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 26, 10 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 20, 11 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 20, 12 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 17, 13 Nelson Piquet Jr. (Bra) Renault 13, 14 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Honda 11, 15 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 9, 16 David Coulthard (Gbr) Red Bull 8, 17 Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Scuderia Toro Rosso 4, 18 Jenson Button (Gbr) Honda 3
Manufacturers: 1 McLaren 135pts, 2 Ferrari 134, 3 BMW Sauber 120, 4 Renault 51, 5 Toyota 46, 6 Scuderia Toro Rosso 31, 7 Red Bull 28, 8 Williams 26, 9 Honda 14
