Singapore GP - Sunday, September 23rd 2012

Singapore GP: Sebastian Vettel wins again as Lewis Hamilton retires

Sebastian Vettel finally scored the second victory of his latest Formula 1 title defence in the Singapore Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver benefited from Lewis Hamilton's McLaren suffering a gearbox failure while holding a narrow lead.
Jenson Button claimed second in the other McLaren, with Fernando Alonso's third place maintaining the Ferrari driver's world championship cushion.
Front-row starter Pastor Maldonado had to retire with hydraulic failure having battled with Alonso for the final podium spot.
Hamilton and Vettel ran in close company prior to the McLaren's problem, although the Briton seemed under control.
Third-placed Button fell away at first, before regaining some ground as he got better tyre longevity than those ahead.
Vettel made his first pitstop two laps earlier than Hamilton, and though this initially looked costly as he dropped into time-consuming traffic, once he was in clear air his pace on fresh rubber was sufficient to make up all the time lost and keep him between the McLarens.
That position became the race lead on lap 22, when Hamilton's car ground to a halt with a gearbox failure.
Button then kept Vettel honest to the finish, without it ever looking like the Red Bull's lead was in jeopardy. By the end, Vettel had edged away into a very secure lead.
Vettel stayed cool through two mid-race safety car periods: the first for Narain Karthikeyan sliding his HRT into the barrels at the tunnel entrance, and the second when Michael Schumacher ploughed into Jean-Eric Vergne on the restart lap.
Those cautions resolved the third-place battle. When Maldonado, who had fallen from second to fourth at the start, pitted for a second time under the first safety car, he rejoined 10th while Alonso stayed out and moved up to third. That decision probably secured the place for Ferrari even before Williams ordered Maldonado to retire with a hydraulic problem before the green.
Paul di Resta kept the frontrunners in sight throughout to score an excellent fourth for Force India, outpacing fifth-placed Mercedes man Nico Rosberg.
Lotus salvaged sixth and seventh with Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean on its least competitive weekend of 2012 so far.
Ferrari's Felipe Massa picked up a puncture on lap one, yet fought back impressively to secure eighth. On the way, he overtook Bruno Senna with an incredible move that saw him bounce off the Williams and the wall before arriving at Turn 13 sideways but in front.
The safety car timing hurt Mark Webber's strategy, and the best he could manage was to battle through to 10th, right on Daniel Ricciardo's tail.
Among other incidents, Nico Hulkenberg clashed with both Saubers on consecutive laps late on, with Sergio Perez the only one involved to get away without having to pit for repairs.
Also notable was Timo Glock's 12th place, which moved Marussia ahead of Caterham in the constructors' standings.
 

RACE RESULTS

The Singapore Grand Prix
Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore;
61 laps; 309.316km;
Weather: Clear.

Classified:

Pos  Driver        Team                       Time
 1.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault           2h00:26.144
 2.  Button        McLaren-Mercedes           +     8.959
 3.  Alonso        Ferrari                    +    15.227
 4.  Di Resta      Force India-Mercedes       +    19.063
 5.  Rosberg       Mercedes                   +    34.784
 6.  Raikkonen     Lotus-Renault              +    35.759
 7.  Grosjean      Lotus-Renault              +    36.698
 8.  Massa         Ferrari                    +    42.829
 9.  Ricciardo     Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +    45.820
10.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault           +    47.175
11.  Perez         Sauber-Ferrari             +    50.619
12.  Glock         Marussia-Cosworth          +  1:31.918
13.  Kobayashi     Sauber-Ferrari             +  1:37.141
14.  Hulkenberg    Force India-Mercedes       +  1:39.413
15.  Pic           Marussia-Cosworth          +  1:42.925 (*)
16.  Kovalainen    Caterham-Renault           +  1:47.967
17.  De la Rosa    HRT-Cosworth               +     1 lap
18.  Senna         Williams-Renault           +    2 laps
19.  Petrov        Caterham-Renault           +    2 laps

Fastest lap: Hulkenberg, 1:51.033

(*) Pending 20-second penalty

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                         On lap
Vergne        Toro Rosso-Ferrari           38
Schumacher    Mercedes                     38
Maldonado     Williams-Renault             36
Karthikeyan   HRT-Cosworth                 30
Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes             22


World Championship standings, round 14:                

Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1.  Alonso       194        1.  Red Bull-Renault          298
 2.  Vettel       165        2.  McLaren-Mercedes          261
 3.  Raikkonen    149        3.  Ferrari                   245
 4.  Hamilton     142        4.  Lotus-Renault             231
 5.  Webber       133        5.  Mercedes                  136
 6.  Button       119        6.  Sauber-Ferrari            100
 7.  Rosberg       93        7.  Force India-Mercedes       75
 8.  Grosjean      82        8.  Williams-Renault           54
 9.  Perez         65        9.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari         14
10.  Massa         51       
11.  Di Resta      44       
12.  Schumacher    43       
13.  Kobayashi     35       
14.  Hulkenberg    31       
15.  Maldonado     29       
16.  Senna         25       
17.  Vergne         8       
18.  Ricciardo      6 

By Matt Beer

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/102793 

Italian GP - Sunday, September 9th 2012

Italian GP: Lewis Hamilton holds off Sergio Perez to win as Fernando Alonso takes third

Alonso benefited from his closest title rival Sebastian Vettel being penalised for forcing him off the road as they battled mid-race and later retiring with a mechanical problem.
For much of the distance it looked like a straightforward McLaren one-two was in prospect.
Although Felipe Massa made a great start to immediately pass Jenson Button for second and then pressure Hamilton into the first chicane, the poleman was soon able to ease away. Button then overtook the Ferrari for second just before their pitstops.
But with 19 laps to go, Button was forced to park his McLaren on the approach to the Parabolica, with what was initially diagnosed as a fuel pressure problem.
That brought Massa back up to second, but with Alonso catching him.
The championship leader had gained two places off the start, before overtaking Kamui Kobayashi and Kimi Raikkonen in quick succession.
Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel then proved tougher opponents, though both were eventually conquered by the Ferrari. Along the way, Alonso ended up on the Curva Grande grass as Vettel defended - a move that would earn the champion a drivethrough penalty.
Vettel still looked set for sixth until being ordered to stop his car due to a developing technical problem five laps from home.
Massa gave Alonso an easy pass into second place, but by then a new threat was looming.
Unlike all the frontrunners, Perez had started on the hard tyres, allowng him to run until lap 29 before his first pitstop.
He rejoined in sixth, benefited from Vettel and Button's problems, and then started lapping 1.5 seconds faster than the hard-shod leaders as he thrived on the medium rubber.
Both Massa and Alonso were easily overtaken, and Perez then charged off after Hamilton.
The Mexican would run out of time to catch the McLaren, but still claimed his third podium of an excellent season.
Alonso and Massa finished third and fourth, ahead of Raikkonen's Lotus, which held off two-stopping Mercedes duo Schumacher and Nico Rosberg.
Mark Webber recovered from a slow start to get into the top six, only to spin his Red Bull out of the Ascari chicane in the final laps and then retire.
Force India's Paul di Resta took eighth, while his team-mate Nico Hulkenberg's charge from the back ended with a late technical problem.
Kamui Kobayashi in the second Sauber and Bruno Senna's Williams completed the points-scorers after a last-lap problem for Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo. The latter's team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne retired in dramatic style with an apparent suspension breakage approaching the Rettifilo.

RACE RESULTS

The Italian Grand Prix
Monza, Italy;
53 laps; 306.720km;
Weather: Sunny.

Classified:

Pos  Driver        Team                       Time
 1.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes           1h19:41.221
 2.  Perez         Sauber-Ferrari             +     4.356
 3.  Alonso        Ferrari                    +    20.594
 4.  Massa         Ferrari                    +    29.667
 5.  Raikkonen     Lotus-Renault              +    30.881
 6.  Schumacher    Mercedes                   +    31.259
 7.  Rosberg       Mercedes                   +    33.550
 8.  Di Resta      Force India-Mercedes       +    41.057
 9.  Kobayashi     Sauber-Ferrari             +    43.898
10.  Senna         Williams-Renault           +    48.144
11.  Maldonado     Williams-Renault           +    48.682
12.  Ricciardo     Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +    50.316
13.  d'Ambrosio    Lotus-Renault              +  1:15.861
14.  Kovalainen    Caterham-Renault           +     1 lap
15.  Petrov        Caterham-Renault           +     1 lap
16.  Pic           Marussia-Cosworth          +     1 lap
17.  Glock         Marussia-Cosworth          +     1 lap
18.  De la Rosa    HRT-Cosworth               +     1 lap
19.  Karthikeyan   HRT-Cosworth               +     1 lap
20.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault           +    2 laps
21.  Hulkenberg    Force India-Mercedes       +    3 laps
22.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault           +    6 laps

Fastest lap: Rosberg, 1:27.239

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                         On lap
Button        McLaren-Mercedes             32
Vergne        Toro Rosso-Ferrari           8


World Championship standings, round 13:

Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1.  Alonso       179        1.  Red Bull-Renault          272
 2.  Hamilton     142        2.  McLaren-Mercedes          243
 3.  Raikkonen    141        3.  Ferrari                   226
 4.  Vettel       140        4.  Lotus-Renault             217
 5.  Webber       132        5.  Mercedes                  126
 6.  Button       101        6.  Sauber-Ferrari            100
 7.  Rosberg       83        7.  Force India-Mercedes       63
 8.  Grosjean      76        8.  Williams-Renault           54
 9.  Perez         65        9.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari         12
10.  Massa         47
11.  Schumacher    43
12.  Kobayashi     35
13.  Di Resta      32
14.  Hulkenberg    31
15.  Maldonado     29
16.  Senna         25
17.  Vergne         8
18.  Ricciardo      4

By Matt Beer

http://www.autosport.com 

 

The Belgian Grand Prix - Sunday, September 2nd 2012

Jenson Button dominated a Belgian Grand Prix that began with a huge startline crash in which title contenders Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton were eliminated.

With Sebastian Vettel coming through to finish second, the incident meant Alonso saw his championship lead slashed to 24 points.

The accident started when Lotus driver Romain Grosjean moved across the track on the approach to La Source and squeezed Hamilton's McLaren.

The two made contact and ploughed into the cars ahead in dramatic fashion. Alonso and Sergio Perez were also eliminated, while slow-starting front-row man Kamui Kobayashi and Pastor Maldonado (who jumped the start) both picked up damage.

The latter pair rejoined, but Maldonado was soon out following a restart clash with Timo Glock's Marussia.

The accident totally reshuffled the race order, with Button leading Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus, Force India duo Nico Hulkenberg and Paul di Resta, Michael Schumacher's Mercedes and Toro Rosso pair Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne.

The Red Bulls were delayed in the chaos, leaving Mark Webber in eighth and Vettel 12th. Button charged away from the outset, making a one-stop race work to perfection as he followed up his maiden McLaren pole with his first win since the season-opener in Australia. Raikkonen lacked pace early on and was overtaken by Hulkenberg and Schumacher. An early first stop helped the Lotus regain ground, but the best strategy appeared to be to pit once.

A combination of that tactic and several early passing moves helped Vettel emerge in a clear second place. Schumacher also tried to pit once, but found himself under big presser from two-stoppers Raikkonen and Hulkenberg.

This led to some spectacular racing, including Raikkonen overtaking Schumacher around the outside into Eau Rouge, as the seven-time champion twice managed to fight back past his rivals using DRS. Eventually he had to admit defeat and pit again. By then Raikkonen was long gone and heading for the final podium spot, ahead of Hulkenberg, Ferrari's Felipe Massa, and Webber. Schumacher salvaged seventh, as the Toro Rossos and di Resta fell back to the tail of the top 10. Nico Rosberg and Bruno Senna also had to make late tyre stops, leaving them outside the points.

Caterham briefly looked like it might achieve an upset as Heikki Kovalainen emerged in 10th on lap one. But he soon fell back and would later have two spins and a pitlane clash with Narain Karthikeyan.

RACE RESULTS

The Belgian Grand Prix
Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium;
44 laps; 308.052km;
Weather: Sunny.

Classified:

Pos  Driver        Team                       Time
 1.  Button        McLaren-Mercedes           1h29:08.530
 2.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault           +    13.624
 3.  Raikkonen     Lotus-Renault              +    25.334
 4.  Hulkenberg    Force India-Mercedes       +    27.843
 5.  Massa         Ferrari                    +    29.845
 6.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault           +    31.244
 7.  Schumacher    Mercedes                   +    53.374
 8.  Vergne        Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +    58.865
 9.  Ricciardo     Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +  1:02.982
10.  Di Resta      Force India-Mercedes       +  1:03.783
11.  Rosberg       Mercedes                   +  1:05.111
12.  Senna         Williams-Renault           +  1:11.529
13.  Kobayashi     Sauber-Ferrari             +  1:56.119
14.  Petrov        Caterham-Renault           +     1 lap
15.  Glock         Marussia-Cosworth          +     1 lap
16.  Pic           Marussia-Cosworth          +     1 lap
17.  Kovalainen    Caterham-Renault           +     1 lap
18.  De la Rosa    HRT-Cosworth               +     1 lap

Fastest lap: Senna, 1:52.822

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                         On lap
Karthikeyan   HRT-Cosworth                 30
Maldonado     Williams-Renault             5
Perez         Sauber-Ferrari               1
Alonso        Ferrari                      1
Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes             1
Grosjean      Lotus-Renault                1

World Championship standings, round 12:

Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1.  Alonso       164        1.  Red Bull-Renault          272
 2.  Vettel       140        2.  McLaren-Mercedes          218
 3.  Webber       132        3.  Lotus-Renault             207
 4.  Raikkonen    131        4.  Ferrari                   199
 5.  Hamilton     117        5.  Mercedes                  112
 6.  Button       101        6.  Sauber-Ferrari             80
 7.  Rosberg       77        7.  Force India-Mercedes       59
 8.  Grosjean      76        8.  Williams-Renault           53
 9.  Perez         47        9.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari         12
10.  Schumacher    35
11.  Massa         35
12.  Kobayashi     33
13.  Hulkenberg    31
14.  Maldonado     29
15.  Di Resta      28
16.  Senna         24
17.  Vergne         8
18.  Ricciardo      4

By Matt Beer

http://www.autosport.com