Race – Alonso winner (surprise) at Fuji

Fernando Alonso won a surprising Japanese Grand Prix during the 16th round of the Formula 1 World Championship. The Renault driver benefited from the very poor start of the usual leaders to step onto the top of the podium for the second consecutive time. He outpaced Kubica (BMW) and Räikkönen (Ferrari). McLaren scored no points at Fuji.

The sun is not shining this afternoon at Fuji, but the weather is not threatening. It remains cool, and under these conditions, drivers heat up the tires very aggressively to achieve maximum grip.

At the extinction of the red lights, it’s the Ferraris that negotiate the start the best. Massa and Räikkönen find themselves level with the McLarens, leading at the first corner, but all four are carried away by their momentum. Kubica and Alonso, right behind them, take advantage and seize the lead of the race after the first corner. The start is also tumultuous in the pack since Nakajima, blocked, cannot brake hard enough and violently hits Coulthard. The Red Bull driver is sent into the tires, car destroyed.

Two turns later, in the « S », Hamilton attempts to gain an advantage over Massa and pushes him off track. The Brazilian struggles to stay on the track and resists Hamilton in the next corner. The Ferrari, right in the middle of the curb, is unbalanced. Massa cannot control the car and slightly touches the current championship leader. The McLaren spins out in the middle of the turn. Without any serious accident, Hamilton can restart at the back of the pack. For this maneuver, both men will be penalized with a Drive & Through (quick pass through the pits).

A lot of debris is on the track, notably Nakajima’s (Williams) wing, but the race officials do not want to deploy the Safety Car. On the next lap, almost all the debris has disappeared and the standings are clear: Kubica is leading, ahead of Alonso. Kovalainen is third in front of Trulli (Toyota), Räikkönen (Ferrari), Bourdais (Toro Rosso), Massa (Ferrari), Glock (Toyota), and Piquet (Renault), who also had a good start.

After a few laps, the gaps widened by about a second. Kubica seems faster than Alonso, but Kovalainen is kept at bay for 3 seconds. The Finn finished second here last year. Unfortunately, his chances of a podium evaporate on the 7th lap. The McLaren seems to experience a sudden loss of pressure. Kovalainen slows down and has to retire, smoke billowing.

Glock is also a victim of a problem with his Toyota. The German returns to his pit to retire, he was in the points. The last retirement at the start of this GP is Adrian Sutil (Force India), also a victim of mechanical issues. The young German probably had a puncture due to debris remaining on the track.

At the same time, Kubica is one of the first to enter the pit. Alonso then takes the lead of the race for two laps. The leaders pit in turn, and only Piquet remains among the top eight who hasn’t refueled. He is followed by his teammate, who managed to overtake Kubica during his pit stop. The Spaniard is heading toward another success… Behind, Piquet is also quick, taking advantage over Trulli. At mid-race, the standings seem to settle and once again see the Toro Rosso in the points. Bourdais ahead of Vettel. Mark Webber is temporarily in the points for Red Bull before Massa takes the eighth place in the final laps of the race.

With 20 laps to go, Alonso has more than an 8-second lead over Kubica and Räikkönen. The Finn is not satisfied with a third place and puts pressure on Kubica. He tries to overtake him several times and even makes a mistake once. Perhaps enough to convince him to hold onto his podium.

Behind, Piquet takes advantage to close in on the exhausts of Kubica and Räikkönen. He is fourth but does not seem to want to attack the two men and slows down to preserve his points. Trulli is far behind, followed by Bourdais and Vettel. The Frenchman is scoring points and may have just secured his place in F1 for the next season. However, he is under investigation by the FIA after making contact with Massa just after exiting the pits. A penalty or a fine is conceivable…

Massa also scores a point for Ferrari, despite his penalty, so he is eighth and ahead of Mark Webber. Heidfeld was invisible throughout the race. He started 16th on the grid but still finished 10th, just a few seconds behind Rosberg.

Hamilton finishes 12th, failing to climb back up the rankings despite his one-stop strategy after pitting to refuel following his first-lap incident. He finishes ahead of the Hondas of Barrichello and Button. Nakajima, the only Japanese driver on the grid, finishes last among drivers still in the race. He is 15th.

With two Grand Prix remaining in the season, Massa gains a point on Hamilton, still the leader. Thanks to his second place, Kubica becomes more threatening for the runner-up spot in the world championship, while Räikkönen returns to the points after 4 scoreless Grand Prix. On the team side: Ferrari regains the advantage lost to McLaren in Singapore, with BMW in third ahead of Renault.

**Results Race – Singapore GP – Sunday, October 12, 2008:**