Behind the scenes

One of the keys to the Singapore weekend was to keep the team on European time so that everyone felt fresh when they needed to perform. “All that went very well,” Timo said, “I arrived quite late into Singapore and slept at the right time. I already had experience of driving under floodlights in a Champ Car at Las Vegas, so that was no problem for me either. I did a bit of experimentation with my visor, trying an orange one on Saturday, but I think the biggest issue was the bumps. Probably the biggest challenge of all will be switching to Asian time because I’m staying in Singapore before I head to Japan on Sunday. I’ve now got to switch to sleeping at the local time. Hopefully I’ll be fully accustomed to it by the time I get to Tokyo!”

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Fermando Alonso scored his first victory since returning to Renault at the beginning of the year. The Spaniard was unlucky to be ruled out of Q2 by a fuel feed problem and started 15th on the grid.

He chose the super soft Bridgestone Potenza tyre and a short first stint and benefited when the safety car came out for team–mate Nelson Piquet Jr’s accident when Alonso had already made his first pit stop, after just 12 laps.

Lewis Hamilton qualified on the front row and ran second to Felipe Massa’s Ferrari in the early stages. When the safety car mixed up the order and Ferrari suffered bad luck in the pits, Hamilton adopted a more cautious approach and banked a secure six points for third place, extending his championship lead over Massa to seven points with three races remaining.

McLaren Mercedes also took over from Ferrari at the head of the Constructors’ Championship by a single point.

Massa built up an early lead over Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren but suffered a disaster at his first pit stop when he left the pit with the fuel hose still attached. He had to stop at the end of the pit lane and wait for mechanics to remove it.

To add insult to injury, he then received a stop/go penalty for unsafe release from the pits. A spin late in the race meant that he trailed home in 13th place. Team–mate Kimi Raikkonen ran a strong third in the early stages but was stacked behind Massa as everyone pitted under the safety car, then crashed with four laps to go while heading for fifth place.

Nico Rosberg achieved the best finish of his Formula 1 career when he finished second despite a stop–go penalty when he was forced to pit under the safety car before the pit lane was open. Robert Kubica, for BMW Sauber, suffered the same issue.

Panasonic Toyota Racing Team Principal Tadashi Yamashina said: “I have to say, some drivers’ races were ruined by the safety car rules and we have had a lot of intense discussion on this matter, so I think it is time that the situation was improved.”

Race Report

Panasonic Toyota Racing enjoyed a strong performance in the Singapore Grand Prix – Formula 1’s first–ever night race – but were slightly disappointed to have only one car in the points, after Timo Glock’s brilliant fourth place.

Timo drove superbly to take an impressive result after starting from seventh but it should have been two TF108s in the top six following a determined performance from Jarno Trulli, which ended in a hydraulic failure.

The Marina Bay circuit in Singapore provided a stunning backdrop for the historic race, although the track surface was bumpier than expected which gave the drivers an even harder task in extreme heat and humidity.

Timo qualified eighth and started seventh when Nick Heidfeld suffered a grid penalty. He made up more ground on the exit of turn three when he passed Heikki Kovalainen’s McLaren and harried Sebastian Vettel until the safety car came out for Nelson Piquet Jr’s accident.

When the pit lane opened, Timo and most of the leading cars pitted on lap 17, and when racing resumed he made another place when he passed Vettel.

Jarno was on a one–stop strategy and started on a very heavy fuel load, so his start was even more impressive when he moved from 11th to ninth, although he lost positions in the ensuing laps. He did not pit under the safety car and ran in the top three as a result, leading for several laps until his one and only stop.

Again he was on a heavy fuel load so needed to drive defensively, but produced a fighting display and was set for a top six finish. However, on lap 50 his TF108 developed a hydraulics problem and he was forced into the pits to retire.

He said: “I would have finished in fifth; that would have been good points from a weekend which has been quite hard for me. I am exhausted because I am so disappointed. I have been fighting really hard and doing a good job but when that bad luck comes you can’t do anything about it. I think I am owed a lot of good luck after that.”

Timo was up to fifth by that stage and moved into fourth when Kimi Raikkonen made a late final pit stop. A safety car in the closing stages bunched up the field and Timo scrapped with Lewis Hamilton before crossing the line for his third top four finish of the season.

“I am happy with the job I did; I made no mistakes and fourth is a good result,” said Timo. “It was quite tough out there in these conditions and with such a bumpy track the car was not very comfortable to drive; I am sure I will feel the effects. My goal at the beginning of the year was to score 20 points this season so I am very satisfied to achieve that with three races still to go.”

However, with Fernando Alonso winning, even Timo’s great performance could not stop Panasonic Toyota Racing dropping to fifth in the Constructors’ Championship, five points behind Renault.

Chairman and Team Principal Tadashi Yamashina added: “Now of course we turn our attentions towards the Japanese Grand Prix and we will be pushing ourselves really hard to get a good result at Fuji Speedway.”