Alonso Shines at Night

Renault’s Fernando Alonso scored a surprise success just when he most needed it, in one of the most eagerly anticipated Grand Prix in Formula One history, under the lights of Singapore on Sunday. And he owed much of it to team mate Nelson Piquet, whose crash on the 14th lap changed the face of the race.

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa led from pole position from McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari, and Alonso dropped way back when he was the first to stop as the result of an aggressive opening stint. Then Piquet had his shunt and out came the safety car. Fourth-placed Robert Kubica for BMW Sauber and Williams’ Nico Rosberg both pitted before the pit lane was officially opened, and when it was on the 17th lap, Massa’s race fell apart as he led Hamilton, Raikkonen, Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel and Toyota’s Timo Glock.

The green light within his cockpit told Massa he could restart, but the refuelling hose was still attached to his car. He knocked over a mechanic as the hose tore away, and fuel spewed everywhere. Subsequently he was given a drive-through penalty for another unsafe exit in front of the Force India of Adrian Sutil.

 

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Race Result - Singapore Grand Prix

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/Retired
1	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	61	1:57:16.304
2	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	61	+2.9 secs
3	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	61	+5.9 secs
4	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	61	+8.1 secs
5	15	Sebastian Vettel	STR-Ferrari	61	+10.2 secs
6	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	61	+11.1 secs
7	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull-Renault	61	+16.3 secs
8	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota	61	+18.4 secs
9	16	Jenson Button	Honda	61	+19.8 secs
10	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	61	+26.9 secs
11	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	61	+27.9 secs
12	14	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari	61	+29.4 secs
13	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	61	+35.1 secs
14	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Ferrari	61	+43.5 secs
15	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	57	Accident
Ret	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	50	Hydraulics
Ret	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Ferrari	49	Accident
Ret	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	29	Transmission
Ret	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	14	Engine
Ret	6	Nelsinho Piquet	Renault	13	Accident

Race Result - Italian Grand Prix

The youngest pole sitter became the youngest F1 race winner, another new name recorded in F1 record book. Sebastian Vettel wins the wet Italian grand prix, the fastest track in F1 calendar.

 

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/Retired
1	15	Sebastian Vettel	STR-Ferrari	53	1:26:47.494
2	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	53	+12.5 secs
3	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	53	+20.4 secs
4	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	53	+23.9 secs
5	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	53	+27.7 secs
6	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	53	+28.8 secs
7	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	53	+29.9 secs
8	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	53	+32.0 secs
9	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	53	+39.4 secs
10	6	Nelsinho Piquet	Renault	53	+54.4 secs
11	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	53	+58.8 secs
12	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota	53	+62.0 secs
13	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	53	+65.9 secs
14	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	53	+68.6 secs
15	16	Jenson Button	Honda	53	+73.3 secs
16	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull-Renault	52	+1 Lap
17	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	52	+1 Lap
18	14	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari	52	+1 Lap
19	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Ferrari	51	+2 Laps
Ret	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Ferrari	11	Accident

 

They laughed when Sebastian Vettel and Toro Rosso snatched pole position in qualifying - but that turned to cheers of admiration on Sunday when the 21 year-old German became Formula One’s youngest ever winner after a brilliant wet-weather victory at Monza.

Neither Vettel nor the underdog team put a wheel wrong, as superb driving, strategy and pit work brought them home comfortably clear of McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen and BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica.

In Vettel’s wake, team mate Sebastien Bourdais was left on the grid as the race started behind the safety car because of the rain that started half an hour before the kick-off. But even without his wingman, Vettel never had a problem in this one. Kovalainen’s expected challenge never materialised, leaving the Finn sorely disappointed. Kubica’s single pit stop was timed to absolute perfection, as he was able to refuel and switch from Bridgestone’s extreme wets to normal wets at the same time. Both Vettel and Kovalainen stopped twice.

Extracted from: http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2008/9/8385.html

2008 Belgian GP Race Result

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/Retired
1	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	44	1:22:59.394
2	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	44	+9.3 secs
3	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	44	+10.5 secs
4	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	44	+14.4 secs
5	15	Sebastian Vettel	STR-Ferrari	44	+14.5 secs
6	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	44	+15.0 secs
7	14	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari	44	+16.7 secs
8	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	44	+42.7 secs
9	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	44	+67.0 secs
10	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	43	Transmission
11	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull-Renault	43	+1 Lap
12	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	43	+1 Lap
13	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Ferrari	43	+1 Lap
14	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota	43	+1 Lap
15	16	Jenson Button	Honda	43	+1 Lap
16	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	43	+1 Lap
17	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Ferrari	43	+1 Lap
18	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	42	Accident
Ret	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	19	Gearbox
Ret	6	Nelsinho Piquet	Renault	13	Accident

Hamilton was initially classified first, but had 25 seconds added to his race time for gaining an advantage through cutting the final chicane. Glock was initially classified eighth, but had 25 seconds added to his race time for passing under yellow flags.

Massa wins Belgian GP, Hamilton penalised

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa has been declared the winner of Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix after McLaren’ Lewis Hamilton was handed a 25-second time penalty following the race. Hamilton drops to third place as a result, with BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld moving up to second. McLaren plan to appeal the decision.

Hamilton was penalised after stewards decided he had gained an advantage by cutting the final chicane in his late-race battle with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen. Raikkonen crashed out shortly after the incident, having the led the bulk of the race up to that point.

"I have often said that the race is not over until the official results are published and that was the case today," said Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali. "As usual, Ferrari will not comment on the stewards' decision. After the race, we were called to the stewards and we explained our position.

 

25 second penalty for Lewis Hamilton

Full story: http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2008/9/8334.html