We start our analysis of the good, the bad and the ugly from the Singapore Grand Prix with the fastest teams, known in these here parts as the Top Dogs.
Red Bull
- Sebastian Vettel: Quali – 1st, Race – 1st
- Mark Webber: Quali – 2nd, Race – 3rd
Another race, another dominant display. Let’s look at this objectively; once the red lights went out, Sebastian Vettel held on to the lead at Turn 1 and was gone. He was barely seen on the TV coverage until the chequered flag. The German is just on another planet in terms of pace and when the second title comes it will be fully deserved.Luckily for all the team’s sponsors, Mark Webber got a bit more airtime by scrapping away with Fernando Alonso for the last podium position. There were several brave moves by the Aussie, including a wince-inducing late-of-the-late-brakers move down the inside of the Spaniard after the safety car came in, which had this Badger writer hiding behind a cushion in fear.
To be honest, this was just Belgium re-enacted with the lights turned down. Oh, and Jenson Button wedged in between both drivers. They are the fastest thing on track at the moment and we haven’t even got to most of their favourite playgrounds yet. Scary stuff.
Badger’s Best: Vettel
McLaren
- Lewis Hamilton: Quali – 4th, Race – 5th
- Jenson Button: Quali – 3rd, Race – 2nd
Well, Martin Whitmarsh wanted the old Lewis Hamilton back and got it in spades, including both the repair bills and explanations to the media. Why spend a race distance chugging along in 6th when you can go for 2nd at the first corner, right?In all fairness, if it had been a Bridgestone on Massa’s car then it would’ve held up a little better and not ruined his race. But, as it was, his Pirelli gave way and Hamilton had to serve a penalty. Both came out way down thanks to the incident, but Lewis fought hard to get back up to a respectable 5th place after slicing through the field a bit. Oooh, that’s what Martin meant.
As for Jenson, it was pretty much plain sailing once Lewis made Webber brake a bit earlier into Turn 1. This gave him free reign to take 2nd place, a position he was never in any danger of giving up thanks to the Webber-Alonso duel and the Massa-Hamilton fireworks. Cool, calm, collected – that’s what gets you places. Take note, Lewis.
Badger’s Best: Jenson Button
Ferrari
- Fernando Alonso: Quali – 5th, Race – 4th
- Felipe Massa: Quali – 6th, Race – 9th
Not a great weekend for the Prancing Horse – but then again, how many times have we said that already this season? Alonso said he “gave 120%” for his qualifying lap on Saturday, which got him 5th place just ahead of his teammate. In the race the Ferrari ate up its Super Softs quicker than anyone else to the point where the Spaniard was becoming a bit of a roadblock, instead of a threat. Finishing 4th when starting 5th is alright, but we’ve just learned to expect that little bit more.Now to Felipe; you have to feel for the Brazilian, who is always driving under pressure considering his team, team-mate, etc. That’s now twice he’s had his race ruined in consecutive races. It’s just a bit too much, and to have Hamilton basically bully him on Saturday and Sunday? Well, we’d be a little miffed too.
Badger’s Best: Fernando Alonso
Force India
- Adrian Sutil: Quali – 9th, Race – 8th
- Paul Di Resta: Quali – 10th, Race – 6th
An impressive team effort from Force India this weekend and one that Renault and Sauber would sell their grandmothers for at the moment. Yes, they may have caused a bit of an argument by not going out in Q3, but why waste tyres if you aren’t going to improve your position? Exactly.We’ve warming even more to Paul, especially seeing as it was his first time at the toughest race of the season, and gave a pretty mature drive for a rookie. Got the rub of the green with the incidents in front of him, but he didn’t hit anything and kept the car on the road when under pressure. Great stuff.
Kudos to Adrian for letting Paul through when he needed to – a good move for the team that led to an impressive points haul. Can they get 5th in the table though?
Badger’s Best: Paul Di Resta
