SINGAPORE: Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel survived an incident-packed Singapore Grand Prix to reignite his world title defense with a thrilling victory yesterday.
After two safety cars, crashes and the shock retirement of title-challenger Lewis Hamilton, Formula One’s youngest double champion finished in front of McLaren’s Jenson Button for only his second win of the season.
Championship leader Fernando Alonso was third, claiming his eighth podium of the season in the dramatic night race around the narrow, demanding street circuit through the heart of downtown Singapore.
Force India’s Paul di Resta took an impressive fourth and Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg was fifth, ahead of Lotus’s former world champion Kimi Raikkonen.
Romain Grosjean, Felipe Massa, Daniel Ricciardo and Mark Webber rounded out the top 10 in a race that did not even reach the 61 allotted laps after hitting its two-hour time-limit, meaning it was halted after 59.
With the win, Vettel climbs to second in the standings behind the consistent Alonso, who has a reduced lead of 29 points. Raikkonen lies third and the unlucky Hamilton drops down to fourth.
“This has been one of toughest races of the year, to be honest,” said Vettel, last year’s winner in Singapore. “There are so many bumps, there’s no room for mistakes and it just seems to go on forever... I’m just incredibly happy.” Hamilton made a smooth start from pole accompanied by Williams driver Pastor Maldonado, but a misjudgment on the first corner cost the Venezuelan two places as Vettel and Button sailed through.
Several cars ran wide on the first two corners and Caterham’s Vitaly Petrov lost some of his front wing, but an investigation found no cause for punishment.
Ferrari’s Massa was the big loser in the early jostling as he dropped to the back after pitting with a puncture. At the front Hamilton and Vettel, swapping fastest laps, were peeling away from Button.
Red Bull driver Webber came in for soft tires on lap nine, setting a trend followed by the leading drivers. Meanwhile his teammate Vettel overcame a scare at turn 10, the notorious “Singapore Sling.” Sauber’s Sergio Perez also had a problem at the tough corner and Maldonado would have had his heart in his mouth as he pounded the brakes and narrowly averted a slide heading wide into a left-hander at the end of a long straight.
Hamilton pitted from the lead on lap 12 but was soon back in front, ahead of Vettel. But disaster struck on lap 23 when a gearbox failure put him out of the race, prompting gasps from the crowd.
Vettel was now in the lead for one of the rare occasions this season, but HRT’s Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan added a fresh twist when he ploughed into a barrier and stopped on the track, prompting the safety car. Most cars took the opportunity to pit. But Maldonado, after complaining of a hydraulic problem, rolled his car into the garage and out of the race.
Button nearly collided with Vettel before the safety car left the track — and straight after the resumption Schumacher ploughed dramatically into the back of Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne, smashing the front wheels off his Mercedes.
Despite the front of Schumacher’s car briefly becoming airborne, both drivers emerged unharmed. With the safety car out again, Petrov also retired.
Massa made contact with Bruno Senna as he barged past his Brazilian countryman and only just retained control of his car in a wild maneuver that took him up to ninth.
Vettel set consecutive fastest laps as he scented his second victory in a row in Singapore, with a lead of nearly two seconds over Button heading into the final 15 laps. Alonso was seven seconds adrift in third.
Perez lost bodywork in a misguided attempt to squeeze past Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg, and Webber caused chaos with a bold move past Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi.
But the race was now Vettel’s to lose and he brought calm to the chaotic grand prix with a smooth ride to the abbreviated finish.
Vettel reignites title push with dramatic Singapore win
Vettel reignites title push with dramatic Singapore win
Salama smashes course record with sensational 60 at Madinaty
- Spaniard cards 10-under-par round with 9 birdies and a chip-in eagle to lead by four in Egypt
CAIRO: Spain’s Juan Salama fired a sensational 10-under-par course record of 60 to take a four-shot lead after the opening round of the Egypt Golf Series.
Salama’s stunning round at Madinaty Golf Club bettered the previous record of 63 and included nine birdies and a chip-in eagle on the par-five ninth — his final hole of the day after the field started on the 10th.
The Spaniard, who finished runner-up to Jack Davidson in last week’s play-off at Address Marassi, dropped his only shot of the day on the eighth hole, meaning a par there would have given him the magical 59.
“It was definitely an early start today — I was up at 3:45 a.m. stretching, breakfast at 4:30, and we arrived at the course around 5:30, so I was warming up in the dark, which was pretty crazy,” said Salama.
“But it actually went really well. I love being first out because the greens are perfect with no footprints and the ball rolls beautifully. The conditions here at Madinaty Golf Club have been fantastic all week.
“I made nine birdies with just one dropped shot, and on the last hole I really fancied the chip-in for eagle. My personal best round is nine under, so I went for it and it paid off. I feel like my game has been in a really good place the last couple of weeks. I’ve been working hard, my family has been a huge support, and my wife keeps me very disciplined, so it’s nice to see that work paying off.”
Last week’s winner Jack Davidson is the closest pursuer after a six-under 64 that included seven birdies and just one dropped shot at the par-five 13th — his fourth hole of the day.
“It was a similar situation to last week, chasing Juan Salama again, but I’m really happy with six under,” said Davidson. “The wind made it tough at times, but I managed to hole a few nice putts and keep the momentum going after last week’s play-off win.
“The up-and-down on eight was a big moment. It’s one of the hardest holes on the course, so saving par there and going on to make birdie at the last was huge. With an early tee time tomorrow, hopefully we get slightly better conditions and fresher greens.”
Four players currently share third place at five under par: Argentina’s Gaston Bertinotti, Wales’ Owen Edwards, Germany’s Tim Tillmanns and Italy’s Ludovico Addabbo, who sits second in the MENA Golf Tour Rankings.
“It was a great round, to be honest. I played really solid,” said Bertinotti. “The course was playing pretty tough — really firm and fast, especially on the downhill shots — and the wind picked up after the fourth hole, which made things even more challenging.
“The wind makes the course a lot more challenging. There are holes where you can be hitting three clubs less than normal from the rough because the ball just doesn’t stop downwind. Both nines are tough in different ways. On the front you hit more drivers, and on the back there are a lot of demanding iron shots, especially with the par threes and the water in play.”
Rankings leader Chris Wood is absent this week as he competes in the Qatar Masters on the DP World Tour, and with Addabbo well placed heading into round two, there is an opportunity to close the gap at the top of the standings.
The Egyptian contingent found the windy conditions challenging but took plenty of positives from the experience of competing against the international field.
“Conditions are pretty tough with the wind,” said Ahmed Morgan, who carded an 81. “When I played this course on the Asian Tour without wind it was much easier, but with these conditions there are some really demanding holes. The greens are very fast, so it’s difficult to hold them, which makes knocking it close to the pin the key this week.”
Amateur Abdelrahman El-Defrawy echoed those sentiments after his opening 78.
“It was pretty tough out there with the wind, but the course itself is in great condition,” he said.
“The wind was probably the biggest challenge, especially with judging yardages between clubs. But that’s all part of the experience — playing under this kind of pressure is something I’ll take a lot from going forward.”
