2010 Singapore Grand Prix

Decent returns for Heidfeld and Klien. 👍
Excellent run to Q3 for Barrichello and Kobayashi. 👍
All 5 championship contenders at the front. 👍

Pretty straightforward qualifying really, nothing much to discuss as the drivers who got it most right are at the front. It was nice and exciting to see all 5 contenders qualifying close together, any one of them could have stolen pole position, intense stuff!

I love it when we get a high-pressure sitaution like tomorrow - turn 1 and your championship rivals are right next to you, who is going to crack?
I'm can't wait for tomorrow and the race start!
 
Ugh, Red Bull let me down a bit on a track that they should be dominating. Vettel in second, so hopefully he can get past Alonso. Webber needs to be faster if he want's to stay on top. He needs to at least get ahead of Hamilton, which won't be easy if it rains.

But none the less. The top five in the championship are the top five on the grid. This should be a very exciting race!
 
I really hope Alonso gets a puncture on the first lap. He cannot be allowed to score any more points this year. If he wins, the entire sport will be undermined because Ferrari bought a championship for $100,000.
 
The chicane at turn 10 is going to be chaos tomorrow.
 
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I really hope Alonso gets a puncture on the first lap. He cannot be allowed to score any more points this year. If he wins, the entire sport will be undermined because Ferrari bought a championship for $100,000.
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He's got Vettel next to him, doesn't he?:D
 
Vettel's gonna have a poor getaway, while Alonso flies away into the lead. Hamilton and Vettel will dice it into turn 1, while Webber has to hold off Button. Meanwhille, Massa charges his way back up the field.
 
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I really hope Alonso gets a puncture on the first lap. He cannot be allowed to score any more points this year. If he wins, the entire sport will be undermined because Ferrari bought a championship for $100,000.
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Enough of this. If that's how it's gonna be, then I hope Button has a puncture on the first lap, then an engine failure.
 
ROAD_DOGG33J
Hmm...I think it's more of a display of what happens when Alonso stays cool instead of boiling under.
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I think it's more a display of what happens when a driver gets it right more than anything else. Alonso is not one to really let his emotions get in the way of his driving on track, unlike what we've seen from Vettel. I also don't think it's fair to say that this one qualy session showed the difference between a Champion driver (Alonso) and one who is simply good (Vettel) either - as Anghammarad originally brought up. Alonso has made many uncharacteristic mistakes (of a Champion) this season that shouldn't be looked past or forgotten, and to be fair, Vettel has had some very impressive/near perfect laps in Q3 to snag pole this year as well.

interludes
I really hope Alonso gets a puncture on the first lap. He cannot be allowed to score any more points this year. If he wins, the entire sport will be undermined because Ferrari bought a championship for $100,000.
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Last race you were hoping for him to have a engine failure, now you're hoping for a tire puncture. The guy has really gotten under your skin it seems :lol:
 
Argh, DP again...sorry! :dunce:
 
Small_Fryz
What did he say?
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Tbh he didn't say much this time but when Schumi had that awesome drift through turn 1 he made a patronising comment about the astro turf "obviously" holding more water, making out Schumi wasn't smart enough to know it.

It's just something I've noticed every GP from him. He'll say something again tonight no doubt.
 
Anes
Tbh he didn't say much this time but when Schumi had that awesome drift through turn 1 he made a patronising comment about the astro turf "obviously" holding more water, making out Schumi wasn't smart enough to know it.

It's just something I've noticed every GP from him. He'll say something again tonight no doubt.
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Legard is the reason why I watch races with the excellent Radio 5 Live commentary instead.
 
timeattack07gt
Last race you were hoping for him to have a engine failure, now you're hoping for a tire puncture. The guy has really gotten under your skin it seems :lol:
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I don't so much have a problem with Alonso as I do Ferrari. I genuinely believe that if Alonso wins the World Championship because of what happened in Germany, it will seriously damage the sport and its credibility. We've had a fantastic season of racing, and we have one of the closest championship battles in years. The 2010 season has been one of the best seasons in twenty years or more. But all of that will mean nothing if Alonso wins the World Championship because, as I said, Ferrari will have bought the WDC. They should have been stripped of their points from Germany and banned for a race or two jsut to make absolutely certain that they could not win the championship.
 
Here's my prediction, Alonso will win the race from start to finisih, Vettel will loose out to Hamilton at the start, but will overtake him in the pits and reclaim second, Webber will make up 1 place at the start with Button having a shocker, and that's where he will stay.
 
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I don't so much have a problem with Alonso as I do Ferrari. I genuinely believe that if Alonso wins the World Championship because of what happened in Germany, it will seriously damage the sport and its credibility. We've had a fantastic season of racing, and we have one of the closest championship battles in years. The 2010 season has been one of the best seasons in twenty years or more. But all of that will mean nothing if Alonso wins the World Championship because, as I said, Ferrari will have bought the WDC. They should have been stripped of their points from Germany and banned for a race or two jsut to make absolutely certain that they could not win the championship.
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The team orders rule is absolute bonkers. If a team needs to let their leading driver get maximum points, so he can go and take the championship, damn well let them do it. It's not like Ferrari cheated for the win, they were leading 1-2, far from anyone else. The sport's credibility is just fine.
 
I have no porblem with team orders when one driver is no longer a mathematical possibility of the championship. But Felipe Massa still stood a chance at winning, and if Fernando Alonso couldn't pass him unaided, how is he deserving of a World Championship? The World Champion is supposed to be the best driver, and needing the team to tell a driver to move over and let the other one through suggests that he is not the best driver since he couldn't get past on his own.

And yes, Ferrari did indeed cheat. The rules say that a team will not manipulate the outcome of the race; Ferrari broke those rules to give themselves an advantage, which is pretty much the definition of cheating. The fact that it only cost them $100,000 is the biggest joke of all, since it effectively means that Ferrari bought a WDC. They spend over four hundred million dollars in a single season; what's $100,000 to them? And if they did it once and got away with it, they'll do it again. If people are going to be buying titles like that, what's the point in racing at all?
 
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If people are going to be buying titles like that, what's the point in racing at all?
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If there's no point, you don't have to watch it.
 
The fact that Alonso is looking ever likelier to win the championship with every race, is like a bad nightmare coming to fruition:indiff: Ferrari are pathetic cheats, Alonso is IMO the most naturally gifted driver but does not deserve to win this year.

It was disappointing not to see Vettel get pole- another rookie mistake by misjudging the gap to Michael in his first run at Q3, leaving him no banker lap.

Mark never looked a chance, he just doesn't have the pace at this circuit for some reason, hasn't worked out the limit yet. Although he should have at least been on the 2nd row, 5th was an embarrassing result, shameful!
 
ROAD_DOGG33J
If there's no point, you don't have to watch it.
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There is a point. There should be a point. But if Ferrari are going to manipulate race results the way they did in Germany and they win a championship because of it, then there is no longer a point to it all.
 
interludes
I really hope Alonso gets a puncture on the first lap. He cannot be allowed to score any more points this year. If he wins, the entire sport will be undermined because Ferrari bought a championship for $100,000.
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Here we go again. We get it. You don't like Ferrari. No need to bring it up every race. Apart from your request being borderline wanting the driver to crash I think you would be having bad wishes on Ferrari regardless of the team orders thing this year. It is this kind of behavior that gives fans of teams a bad name. Support your own team. No need to put down other teams in the process.
 
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Funny... Klein is Senna's acid test... and Klein beat him in qualifying. Whoops. Still... wouldn't read too much into it... we'll see how they do tomorrow. Heidfeld back... yay! I almost choked with joy when I saw his name on the timing screens.

Anghammarad
Well I'm sorry if I stir it up a bit but this qualifying session really showed the difference between a champion driver (Alonso) and one who is simply good (Vettel). Alonso kept his cool in Q2 although the engine mapping went wrong and set good times. In Q3 he then just drove two sessions right on the limit of the car but never over it while Vettel made a beginners error in his first session in Q3 by not keeping enough distance to the car in front at the start and in the second session he just tried too hard. The Red Bull is without a doubt a faster car around Singapore but there is just as little doubt who is the better driver.
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Yeah... Vettel choked big-time. That's why he's five-tenths clear of his team-mate.

He made some mistakes, yes, but he kept it together and still came ahead of Hamilton.

I don't know about the Red Bull being superior, if Button out-qualified Webber and Hamilton came within a tenth of Vettel (in a McLaren that is obviously not suited for the track). I'd rate all three drivers at the top as being terrific... but the only way to know who's the best is to put them all in the same car.

That said, Alonso is millimeter perfect around this track. Incredible pole... even more incredible that his last flyer could have been faster if he hadn't made a slight error... and that he was still faster than anyone else on that last lap.

timeattack07gt
I think it's more a display of what happens when a driver gets it right more than anything else. Alonso is not one to really let his emotions get in the way of his driving on track, unlike what we've seen from Vettel. I also don't think it's fair to say that this one qualy session showed the difference between a Champion driver (Alonso) and one who is simply good (Vettel) either - as Anghammarad originally brought up. Alonso has made many uncharacteristic mistakes (of a Champion) this season that shouldn't be looked past or forgotten, and to be fair, Vettel has had some very impressive/near perfect laps in Q3 to snag pole this year as well.
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Agree with this... well... for now... Alonso's been tempermental at points during this season, and we've seen him make some uncharacteristic errors... but these past few races, he's really put his head down and has driven absolutely stunningly.

Hasn't hurt that the Ferrari has gotten better, too... and Massa rolling over for him was probably a big confidence booster... :lol:

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Going to be a really dangerous start tomorrow for Alonso. The Mclarens are really quick off the line, so it's going to be a drag-race to the first corner for all drivers in the top five.
 
J-PaP
Here we go again. We get it. You don't like Ferrari. No need to bring it up every race. Apart from your request being borderline wanting the driver to crash I think you would be having bad wishes on Ferrari regardless of the team orders thing this year. It is this kind of behavior that gives fans of teams a bad name. Support your own team. No need to put down other teams in the process.
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If it were any other team - McLaren, Williams, Toro Rosso, even Hispania - who were doing it, I'd be saying exactly the same thing.

And I certainly don't want Alonso to crash. Not only is it in bad taste, it would also be too quick. I want him to get a slow puncture, forcing him to pit and then drive the entire race outside the points knowing that the championship is slipping beyond his reach and there is nothing he can do about it.

ROAD_DOGG33J
If there's no point, you don't have to watch it.
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I'm not saying that there is no point, but there is a risk of there no longer being a point.
 
MarkWebber
Alonso is IMO the most naturally gifted driver but does not deserve to win this year.
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Um...isn't the point of the WDC to see who's the better driver? As far as I know, Ferrari's decision may pay off at the end.

Please I want another 2008 Brazil GP finish (but this time I'd like to see the Ferrari winning at the last corner).

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forcing him to pit and then drive the entire race outside the points knowing that the championship is slipping beyond his reach and there is nothing he can do about it.
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Well, he could win it in 2011, you know...it's not like this is his last year.
 
orimarc

Um...isn't the point of the WDC to see who's the better driver? As far as I know, Ferrari's decision may pay off at the end.
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Ferrari broke the rules, hence any winner of the DC is not deserving, they may be the best, but not the fairest
 
This will be an awesome race I think. They were expecting it to rain in the day (probably about this time) so the track won't be dry for the start of the race. I think this will help Button because it will give him the chance to make another good choice on tyres. Alonso and the Vettel are seriously quick around this track. I think Webber has been a little bit off the pace this weekend but his consistency throughout the race might get him a podium. Hamilton always gets a good start so he may have a chance to be leading by the first corner. And it will be fun to watch Massa try and come through the field in a track that is said to have no overtaking places.
 
Please rain, Please rain, Please rain.
 
MarkWebber
Ferrari broke the rules, hence any winner of the DC is not deserving, they may be the best, but not the fairest
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Winning anything is hardly "fair".
 
Peter
The team orders rule is absolute bonkers. If a team needs to let their leading driver get maximum points, so he can go and take the championship, damn well let them do it. It's not like Ferrari cheated for the win, they were leading 1-2, far from anyone else. The sport's credibility is just fine.
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Whether the rule is bonkers or not, don't let your 2nd driver get rogered by your #1 in such a public manner. If they'd done it in the pits, no one would have known or cared as much.

Respect the rules, it's quite a simple part of sport. Albeit, not something Ferrari have ever done.

Alonso is 20 points off the lead at the moment, I think he has a chance, but I don't think he'll win the title. Karma dude.
 
Eddie Jordan in the BBC qualifying coverage said something unusual,

That Hong Kong was in the bidding to host a street race along with Singapore and New York.

Did he make a mistake because I never heard and cannot find any information that Hong Kong wanted to host an F1 race. A race there would have been amazing and I think I would have preferred it over Singapore.

Robin.
 
But what if Alonso wins the driver's championship by 8 point?

He would surely have finished second in Germany at the very least which would have given him 18 instead of 25 points.

Edit: BTW, I think that Hamilton will win the championship. Alonso is on his last engine, Vettel will orchestrate his own undoing by being Vettel and Webber will buckle under the pressure. Button simply doesn't have it.
 
Weather forecast for the race: Rain. That is the most I know, the source is from the F1 official website.
 
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