Renault’s revival a Singapore swing

“I predicted before the Singapore Grand Prix began that the driver who won it would turn out to be the one who made the fewest errors…and that’s just the way that things turned out, because that man was Lewis Hamilton.”

“Aside from race-winner Lewis, the drive of the Singapore Grand Prix arguably came from Fernando Alonso – who gave the Renault team the podium result that they’d have wanted and needed after all that adverse publicity during the week leading up to the race. It also goes to show that there are lots of very talented people working behind-the-scenes in any Formula 1 team, and that even if you take one or two ingredients away from the Renault recipe, it can still cook very nicely.”

“Alonso’s third place proved that both he and Renault are genuinely very quick around Singapore – ’09 showed that Fernando is a real star performer around this street circuit. Renault’s hard-won third place also gives them real hope for their 2010 campaign – it’s good news for the sport as a whole that the team has said it will be staying on in F1 into next year and beyond.”

“Alonso, against the odds, finished ahead of Sebastian Vettel, whose World Championship challenge took a real dent, here. For a while, during the middle of the race, it looked like the Red Bull driver might take a big chunk out of both the Brawn drivers’ Championship points lead…but he was forced to take a drive-through penalty after speeding in the pit-lane.”

“One of the stories to emerge from the Paddock following the race was the fact that Vettel’s speeding conviction wasn’t really his fault. It became public knowledge an hour or so after the chequered flag fell that the team had set his pit-lane limiter just a fraction too high, and that’s what got Sebastian into trouble.”

“Because he’s now a very familiar face, it’s sometimes easy to forget that Sebastian is still only 22. When we go to Japan next weekend, for instance, it will be the first time that he’s ever driven at Suzuka. Age aside, all driver’s are continually learning; Michael Schumacher once famously said that he was never either too quick or too old to ever stop learning.”

“Vettel still has a mathematical chance of becoming 2009’s World Champion driver, though; which unfortunately now can’t be said of Mark Webber. Mark’s race was brought to an early end due to brake problems. I’m confidently expecting both Red Bulls to be fast at Japan this coming weekend, because Suzuka – like Silverstone, which they dominated – is a circuit with long sweeping corners, which should suit their cars. Ferrari should be quicker there, too.”

“If Jenson Button wins the World Championship this year, he will certainly have had a little bit of good luck on his side. Having qualified 12th, he went on to beat his closest rival (and team-mate) Rubens Barrichello and actually extend his advantage in the drivers’ table.

“People in Formula 1 have notoriously short memories though, had Button’s season been the other way around – a solid start, followed from mid-season by six straight wins – his 2009 season would have people talking about it as one of the great World Championship campaigns.”

“Personally, I’m working hard to join him on the grid for 2010. One of the advantages for next year is the fact that there are going to be several new cars, as the size of the grid increases to 28 potentially, which should be good news for both drivers and fans…”