Formula 1 - Singapore Grand Prix 2013

Dominant Sebastian Vettel wins Singapore night race

The Singapore Grand Prix is arguably one of the most spectacular races of the season, as it is a night race and the racing cars speeding past appear for once under a completely different light. But what is true for the spectator is not true for the driver: "The most difficult race of the season is Singapore," explained Nikki Lauda. "The temperatures of around 30° Celsius, the unevenness of the track and driving at night push the drivers to their absolute limits."

Starting grid
Vettel on pole, Rosberg next to him, Grosjean in third alongside Webber: these are the first four on the grid for the Singapore Grand Prix, with Grosjean the surprise. Now that it is known that Raikkonen will leave Lotus for next season, Lotus is obviously fully focused on its future driver. Alonso on 7 behind his colleague Massa. This raises questions! Why is Massa faster than Alonso? Could it be the car? Räikkönen suffered from back pain in qualifying due to a fall in the stairwell, as was reported, and will start from 13th place on the grid. An unlucky number?

Dominant Vettel, struggling competition
According to Nikki Lauda, Rosberg could win the race if he moved ahead of Vettel and took the lead. Rosberg starts the race with this orientation. As the red light goes out, he pulls over to Vettel's right and manages to get ahead of Vettel in the first corner. But he's too fast coming into the corner, can't catch the car and Vettel pulls past him again and leads after turn three. Alonso is the real winner of the start because he stays on the outside of the corner and passes the competition, gaining third place in the process. Already on the first lap, the 2012 world champion distances his first pursuer by 1.9 seconds. Simply madness!!! At lap 10 the time stops with more than 7 seconds ahead of Rosberg, Alonso follows with more than 3 seconds distance to Rosberg.

The race decided early
After 20 laps, Sebastian Vettel leads by over 8 seconds from Nico Rosberg and almost 17 seconds from third-placed Fernando Alonso, who struggles behind Paul di Resta after his first pit stop and only passes him when the latter turns into the pit lane for a tire change on the 21st lap. But on lap 25, Daniel Ricciardo overestimates his Torro Rosso, goes straight in a corner and sinks his car into the guard rail. The yellow flags are then waved and Bernd Mayländer takes to the track in his Mercedes, as he has done in each of the Singapore races so far. This changes the course of the race in a decisive way. Alonso, Grosjean, Massa, Button and Räikkönen use this safety car phase to change tires. Vettel, Rosberg, Webber and Hamilton, on the other hand, stay out. On lap 31, Vettel wins the flying restart and again catches the chasers off guard. He tries to build up a lead so that he won't be caught behind Alonso after the upcoming pit stop.

Pit stop during safety car pays off
Rosberg, Hamilton and Webber have to pit for the second time around 20 laps before the end to change tires. And this causes them to lose many places and with them the chance of a podium finish. The only one who can afford such a risky venture is Sebastian Vettel. The man from Heppenheim continues to lead the field even after his second pit stop, because since the safety car phase he has been almost two seconds faster than the competition every lap. Webber, Rosberg and Hamilton are slowly working their way back up from interim 11th place. Kimi Räikkönen overtakes Jenson Button on the 55th lap to secure a podium spot. Webber is obviously having problems with his car and is passed to the back on the last lap. Rosberg and Hamilton pass him. This does nothing to change a commanding victory for Sebastian Vettel ahead of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen. Alonso remains consistently on Vettel, but with a 60-point gap far from a possible world championship title. Räikkönen is today's surprise guest on the podium. The safety car poker paid off and 13th place on the grid is a lucky charm in his case. After the race, Nikki Lauda comments on the wrong decision at the Safety Car to leave the drivers out as a team mistake. "We hope things will work out better next time and Nico or Lewis will be on the podium again."
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Race ranking

1 Sebastian Vettel ,Time: 1:59:13.132
2 Fernando Alonso ,Time: + 32.627
3 Kimi Raikkonen,Time: + 43.920
4 Nico Rosberg, time: + 51.155
5 Lewis Hamilton,Time: + 53.159
6 Felipe Massa, time: + 1:03.877
7 Jenson Button, Time: + 1:23.354
8 Sergio Perez, Time: + 1:23.820
9 Nico Hülkenberg, time:+ 1:24.261
10 Adrian Sutil, time: + 1:24.668
11 Pastor Maldonado, Time: + 1:28.479
12 Esteban Gutierrez, time: + 1:37.894
13 Valtteri Bottas, Time: + 1:45.161
14 Jean-Eric Vergne, Time: + 1:53.512
15 Mark Webber, time: + 1 lap
16 Giedo van der Garde, time: + 1 lap
17 Max Chilton, time: + 1 lap
18 Jules Bianchi, Time: + 1 lap
19 Charles Pic, time: + 1 lap
20 Paul di Resta, time: + 7 laps

Failures
Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso, accident, lap 25
Romain Grosjean, Lotus, defect, lap 38

Ranking World Cup riders

1st Sebastian Vettel, 247 points
2nd Fernando Alonso, 187 points
3rd Lewis Hamilton 151 points
4th Kimi Raikkonen, 149 points
5th Mark Webber, 130 points
6th Nico Rosberg, 116 points
7th Felipe Massa, 87 points
8. romain grosjean, 57 points
9th Jenson Button, 54 points
10th Paul Di Resta, 36 points
11th Adrian Sutil, 26 points
12th Sergio Perez, 22 points
13th Nico Hülkenberg, 19 points
14th Daniel Ricciardo, 18 points
15th Jean-Eric Vergne, 13 points
16th Pastor Maldonado, 1 point
17th Esteban Gutiérrez, 0 points
18th Valtteri Bottas, 0 points
19th Jules Bianchi, 0 points
20 - Charles Pic, 0 points
21st Giedo Van der Garde, 0 points
22nd Max Chilton, 0 points

Ranking WMTeams

1st Red Bull Racing, 377 points
2. Ferrari, 274 points
3rd Mercedes AMG F1 Team, 267 points
4th Lotus F1 Team, 206 points
5. McLaren Mercedes, 76 points
6th Force India F1 Team, 62 points
7th Torro Rosso, 31 points
8th Sauber F1 Team, 19 points
9. Williams F1 Team, 1 point
10th Marussia F1 Team, 0 points
11th Caterham F1 Team, 0 points

Links of drivers and teams

Formula 1 calendar links