Singapore GP – Race: Vettel one point from title, Button hangs on

The Singapore Grand Prix took place this afternoon, and the tension was palpable before the start, with the possibility of a second world title for Sebastian Vettel being greater than ever.

The tires used this weekend are the super-soft for the option tires and the soft for the prime tires. Each driver will have to use both specifications, and some have preferred to fit the harder compounds for the start of the Grand Prix.

At the start, Nico Rosberg has to cut the first chicane while Lewis Hamilton gets boxed in, with Jenson Button taking second place ahead of Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber. The only victim of this first lap is Daniel Ricciardo, who has to pit with his front wing trapped under his car. Michael Schumacher causes Lewis Hamilton to lose another place, dropping him to 8th even though he started from fourth position. After 4 laps, Sebastian Vettel sets the fastest lap again and extends his lead to 4.4 seconds while the DRS is activated. The 2008 world champion uses the system to overtake Michael Schumacher and chases down Nico Rosberg, pulling the same move on him.

A little further back in the pack, Bruno Senna is battling with Sebastien Buemi and Kamui Kobayashi while Jarno Trulli is ahead of Jaime Alguersuari and Vitaly Petrov. At the front of the race, Sebastian Vettel has an 11-second lead as Nico Rosberg enters the pits. Lewis Hamilton is close to Felipe Massa while Mark Webber makes a very nice overtaking move on Fernando Alonso, and the Spaniard heads to the pits to switch to prime tires. Timo Glock is forced to retire and pulls into an escape route to avoid hindering anyone. Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton enter the pits side by side, and while the Brazilian makes a swift stop to switch to prime tires, Lewis Hamilton loses a bit of time staying on option tires.

The Brit attempts an overly audacious overtake and damages his front wing on Felipe Massa’s right rear wheel, causing a slow puncture. Both drivers are forced to make a second pit stop. Meanwhile, Mark Webber opts for the prime tires. Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button pit on the same lap, the 14th. Lewis Hamilton is penalized for his mistake with Felipe Massa by a drive-through. There’s a great battle between Michael Schumacher, Adrian Sutil, and Kamui Kobayashi for the eighth place. Jaime Alguersuari manages to overtake Jarno Trulli for 11th place. On the 17th lap, only Paul di Resta, in 3rd position, hasn’t pitted yet. He does so on the 19th lap after being overtaken by Fernando Alonso with the help of DRS.

Discussion between Sebastian Vettel and his race engineer about fuel consumption, which is perfect, while Mark Webber is stuck behind Fernando Alonso, who is fiercely defending his position. Nico Rosberg and then Michael Schumacher make a second stop, while Lewis Hamilton overtakes Felipe Massa, who returns to the pits followed by Fernando Alonso, leaving the track clear for Mark Webber. Michael Schumacher and then Felipe Massa set the fastest lap on new tires. After a battle between Nico Rosberg and Sergio Perez, which ends with the German overtaking, Michael Schumacher ends up behind Sergio Perez, who is much slower. The seven-time world champion, in an overtaking attempt, finds himself a few centimeters from the Sauber driver, unfortunately using him as a ramp before ending his race in the wall. Michael Schumacher’s second race in Singapore is compromised once more with a Sauber. This causes a safety car deployment yet again in Singapore, prompting almost all the drivers to stop.

The safety car pulls away on the 33rd lap and several lapped drivers are between Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button, allowing the reigning world champion to extend his lead immediately, while Mark Webber makes a fine move on Fernando Alonso for 3rd place. At the end of this restart lap, Sebastian Vettel sets the fastest lap at 1:51.139 while Jenson Button is lapping at 1:56. Already a 9-second lead for Sebastian Vettel, who, if the race ended in this order, would only be competing with Jenson Button for the world championship title with a 124-point lead.

After 3 laps, the Red Bull driver has already left his closest pursuer 12 seconds behind, while an intense battle is raging for 5th place between Paul di Resta, Nico Rosberg, Adrian Sutil, and Lewis Hamilton. The latter makes a nice series of overtakes to reclaim 5th place. Kamui Kobayashi is penalized for not respecting blue flags, while Nico Rosberg and Perez are under investigation for the incident preceding Michael Schumacher’s accident. Mark Webber, on the other hand, is pushing hard to catch up with Jenson Button, to ensure the driver’s title for Red Bull Racing. If the Australian finishes in second place in this Grand Prix, he would be the only one still capable of fighting for the driver’s championship against Sebastian Vettel this year.

But after a few laps, the gap seems to have stabilized as we learn that a final stop might be necessary to finish the race. And it’s Mark Webber, the first front-running driver to stop and switch to the option tires. An aggressive choice for the Australian, who comes out behind Lewis Hamilton struggling with his car before being overtaken. Jenson Button follows suit, along with the other McLaren driver who chooses the prime tires, unlike his teammate. With a 35-second lead over Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel also decides to stop for the super-soft tires. The Red Bull driver narrowly avoids a collision with a Team Lotus driver who comes out alongside him, but without incident. Heikki Kovalainen would have regretted it if there had been an issue, as Fernando Alonso switches to prime tires.

Jenson Button sets the fastest lap in the race to pull away from Mark Webber, but Sebastian Vettel shatters his record with a time of 1:48:688. The Red Bull driver beat the Briton’s record by almost two full seconds while Jarno Trulli is running slowly. Further back in sixth place, Lewis Hamilton easily overtakes Nico Rosberg, who hasn’t pitted, and does the same with Paul di Resta afterward. Jenson Button picks up the pace again to try to catch Sebastian Vettel and breaks his own record. The incident between the 2010 world champion and Heikki Kovalainen during his pit exit will be investigated after the race. Jenson Button is gradually closing the gap on Sebastian Vettel, but not quickly enough to catch the German before the end of the race.

Sebastian Vettel is hindered by the traffic in front of him, and Jenson Button gains a lot of time, closing the gap to 3.7 seconds. However, the Briton also gets caught in the traffic and loses two seconds behind the Williams drivers. Yellow flag on the penultimate lap, Jaime Alguersuari hit the barrier, ending his race and obstructing the Red Bull driver’s attempt to improve, who finds himself behind 5 cars. Sergio Perez almost causes a similar incident with Sebastian Vettel, while Felipe Massa and Nico Rosberg are overtaken cleanly.

Sebastian Vettel wins for the ninth time this season and Jenson Button, in second place, is the only driver capable of challenging Sebastian Vettel for the title, who will need to score at least 1 point in the next 5 Grand Prix to become the youngest double world champion in history. Mark Webber finishes in 3rd place ahead of Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, these three drivers are the big losers of this Grand Prix, as they are no longer in the running for the world championship title.

Results of the 2011 Singapore Grand Prix: