Singapore – Race: Vettel, the Night of the Hunter!

After the minute of silence declared in honor of Professor Sid Watkins, who passed away last week, joined by notably Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, and Bernie Ecclestone, the paddock can resume its normal activity and prepare for the departure of the 24 cars in the penetrating heat of the Singapore night. On the grid, Bruno Senna has been moved back five places following his gearbox change, which Pedro de la Rosa also carried out, but without consequences since the Spanish driver’s HRT was already in the last position.

Regarding strategic choices, the top eight on the grid are starting with the super soft (red) tires with which they qualified, the two Mercedes have also chosen to start with the same tires, having not completed any timed lap in Q3. Behind them, the Saubers have obviously fitted the soft tires, as have Nico Hülkenberg on his Force India, Jean-Eric Vergne on his Toro Rosso, the Marussias, and Pedro de la Rosa on his HRT.

At the start, Hamilton gets a good start, just like Maldonado, but the Venezuelan misses the first corner and is overtaken by Vettel and Button. In the first lap, Webber aggressively passes Grosjean. Further back, the two Caterhams collided, at least according to Kovalainen on his radio. Massa, relegated to the last position, goes through the pits. Hamilton is 1.2 seconds ahead of Vettel, with Button nearly two seconds behind the German. The reigning double world champion strings together the fastest laps, but the gap isn’t very significant with Hamilton’s McLaren.

Under the eyes of Katy Perry, Hamilton completes the fifth lap, having gained a few tenths on Vettel, at 1.7 seconds. The two men are in a league of their own at the start of the race, as Button and Maldonado are respectively 6.5 and 8.5 seconds behind the leader. At Lotus, the pit informs Romain Grosjean that they no longer have his telemetry. Kimi Räikkönen is being slowed down by Schumacher’s Mercedes. Massa, relegated to last position, can fully express himself and string together the fastest laps like pearls.

After 8 laps, Hamilton leads in front of Vettel (+1.7), Button (+6.5), Maldonado (+9.4), and Alonso (+12.7). The gaps are stabilizing between the top three, while Mark Webber, stuck behind Di Resta, is the first to pit. He switches to soft tires and rejoins behind Pic’s Marussia. At the front, Vettel makes a mistake in the Singapore Sling and loses 8 tenths on Hamilton. Struggling with his tires, the reigning double world champion pits for soft tires. He rejoins in 12th place behind Pérez, whom he passes a few corners later. Hamilton appears to be struggling with his tires in turn, with the Briton losing nearly a second per lap to Button and Maldonado. Alonso and Schumacher pit in turn.

On the 13th lap, Hamilton goes through the pits. He comes back out just ahead of Kimi Räikkönen, who is being closely followed by Sebastian Vettel. The Red Bull driver overtakes the Finn who still hasn’t stopped and now has his sights set on the McLaren of the 2008 world champion. Maldonado, in second, goes through the pits, as does Räikkönen. Vettel strings together the fastest laps and closes in on Hamilton, who regains the lead after his teammate’s stop. The leading quartet remains unchanged on the 15th lap, with Hamilton ahead of Vettel, Button, and Maldonado. Alonso passes Pérez, who is struggling on his soft tires, and finds himself in sixth behind Nico Hülkenberg, who also hasn’t stopped yet and whom he passes easily.

After 20 laps, the gap stabilizes between Hamilton and Vettel (+1.5), with the two men followed by Button (+5.1), Maldonado (+9.0), Alonso (+14.0), Di Resta (+20.2), Webber (+22.3), Rosberg (+28.1), Grosjean (+29.4), and Schumacher (+34.9). The seven-time world champion will have his work cut out as Räikkönen puts pressure on him, but more importantly, Senna is quickly catching up with the two men.

Drama in Singapore as Lewis Hamilton slows down and is forced to retire! A gearbox problem seems to be the cause of this premature stop. Sebastian Vettel takes the lead and slightly widens the gap with Button. Alonso, now fourth, picks up the pace behind Maldonado but the gap doesn’t decrease significantly. Webber kicks off the second round of pit stops on lap 29, opting for super soft tires for an aggressive race finish.

After 30 laps, Vettel leads ahead of Button (+2.9). Behind them, Maldonado and Alonso dive into the pits. Two different strategies: the Venezuelan leaves on super soft tires while the Spaniard puts on soft tires. The Williams driver finds himself stuck behind a Rosberg-Grosjean duo, battling for fifth place. It is therefore a fight shaping up between the Williams and the Ferrari.

On the 33rd lap, Karthikeyan crashes in the tunnel and the safety car enters the track! A tradition in Singapore. Vettel, Button, and Maldonado head to the pits, but Alonso stays on track, so the Spaniard is third. The cards are reshuffled as Vettel leads ahead of Button, Alonso, Di Resta, Hülkenberg, Webber, Pérez, Rosberg, Grosjean, and Maldonado. The Venezuelan must retire, on the orders of his team, due to a hydraulic problem.

On the 39th lap, and after more than fifteen minutes behind the safety car, Vettel resumes the race ahead of Button, Alonso, and the two Force India cars. Webber takes advantage of Hülkenberg and moves into fifth place. Behind, Pérez in seventh makes a mistake, allowing Rosberg and Grosjean to pass him. Vergne does not succeed, attempts to overtake the Mexican under braking but, behind him, Schumacher misses his braking and collides with the Toro Rosso. Both men retire in a shower of carbon fiber. Exiting their cars unharmed, they pat each other on the back in the runoff area. The safety car is out again in Singapore. Webber, Hülkenberg, and Pérez take advantage to refuel.

On the 43rd lap, the race is restarted. Vettel maintains the lead ahead of Button, Alonso, Di Resta, and Rosberg. At the first braking point, Räikkönen attacks Grosjean for sixth place, but the Frenchman closes the door. Further back, for ninth place, Senna is in contention with Massa. The two make contact but the worst is avoided as Massa manages to control his car. In the maneuver, the Ferrari driver passes, with Senna finally moving aside to avoid a collision. The Brazilian is now behind Ricciardo, in eighth position.

After 45 laps, Vettel leads Button (+1.9), Alonso (+5.9), Di Resta (+7.0), Rosberg (+9.1), Grosjean (+9.9), Räikkönen (+10.8), Ricciardo (+13.9), Massa (+14.2), and Senna (+15.1). Massa, on super softs, eventually passes Ricciardo and quickly pulls away. From 11th to 14th place, a train has formed composed of Kobayashi, Webber, Hülkenberg, and Pérez. Grosjean, following team orders, lets Räikkönen through as he is in contention for the title and needs to minimize the gap to Alonso. Pérez attempts to pass Hülkenberg but the two make contact: some damage to both cars, but nothing terminal. Further back, Webber attacks Kobayashi. The Japanese driver resists for a corner but can’t hold on. Seizing the opportunity, Hülkenberg dives inside but the Sauber driver taps him. With a damaged front wing, Kobayashi slows down, as does the German, who suffers a left rear puncture. Pérez gains two places in the affair.

After 52 laps, Vettel leads Button (+2.7), Alonso (+11.4), Di Resta (+13.4), and Rosberg (+20.7). It becomes clear that the race will exceed two hours and therefore will not reach the initially planned 61 laps. Webber passes Senna, who is struggling with his tires, for tenth place. At the front, Vettel increases his lead over Button. With four minutes remaining, an oceanic duel is shaping up for ninth place between Daniel Ricciardo and Mark Webber.

Sebastian Vettel wins in Singapore ahead of Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso. The German claims his 23rd victory and Red Bull’s 31st victory. More importantly, he closes in on the championship, coming within 29 points of Alonso, who salvages the race. The big loser of the day is Lewis Hamilton, who suffered a gearbox problem while leading the race.

2012 Singapore Grand Prix Standings: