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Qualifying for
the sixty one lap Singapore Grand Prix would see the AT&T Williams cars
third and eleventh with Nico Rosberg leading team-mate Kazuki Nakajima.
BMW's Nick Heidfeld would start the race from the pit lane after his car was
found to be underweight. Nico was running a fairly high fuel level looking
to pit on or around lap eighteen. Kazuki would now start from tenth due to
Heidfeld's penalty. Championship rivals Button and Barrichello would start
from ninth and eleventh. On pole was Hamilton from Vettel, Nico, and Webber.
Vettel was lightest of the top ten and was expected to stop around lap
sixteen. Hamilton was expected to stop on lap twenty.
The grid would clear and the cars would move off on their parade lap. The
harder tyre was the choice for the top ten as they completed their parade
lap. Hamilton would stop and the grid would form up behind him, Nico being
right behind the McLaren. The lights would go out and the field would leave
the grid with Hamilton leading with Nico second. Vettel was third followed
by Alonso and Webber. Webber would pass Alonso and Glock would also sneak
through. Barrichello was seventh followed by Kubica. But Kubica would pass
the McLaren while at the front Hamilton was leading by 0.9 from Nico. Vettel was in third from
Webber, Glock, and Alonso in sixth.
 Kazuki was in eleventh just behind tenth placed Button. lap two and Hamilton
set a time of 1m:50.935 while Nico was now 1.4 seconds behind. Vettel was
now 1.3 seconds behind the Williams. Lap three and Hamilton was again
fastest with a time of 1m:49.938. Nico was now 1.5 seconds behind the
McLaren. Grosjean would pit on lap four coming to a stop to retire. Lap four
and a 1m:49.172 from Hamilton with Nico now 1.9 seconds behind after losing
0.4 that lap to the McLaren. Nico would go fastest in the middle sector on
lap five while Vettel went fastest on lap five, 1m:49.122. Hamilton was told that he would have to
disable his KERS system due to a potential problem.
Nico would close the gap to Hamilton but lap six would see Hamilton fastest
with a 1m:48.700. Nico's time was 0.4 slower so again he was 1.9 seconds
behind the McLaren. Glock was now fourth followed by Alonso with Webber
dropping to sixth after a very slow lap six. Lap seven and a 1m:48.638 from
Hamilton with Nico now 2.2 seconds behind Hamilton. Vettel was 1.6 seconds
behind the Williams. It was found that Webber had committed an illegal pass
going off the track to pass Alonso at Turn seven. Lap eight and Hamilton's
KERS was again working and he was flying setting another fastest lap on lap eight with a
1m:48.423.
Nico was still showing good pace as he followed Hamilton. Lap nine and Nico
would respond to Hamilton setting a new fastest lap with a 1m:48.352. He was
now 2.0 seconds behind Hamilton and catching the McLaren. The gap would go
up and down with Hamilton's lead now 2.2 seconds after lap ten. Vettel was
2.1 seconds behind Nico while Glock was 9.4 seconds behind the Red Bull.
Kazuki was running in a fairly lonely eleventh place some 3.7 seconds behind
Button. Lap twelve and Hamilton was 2.5 seconds ahead of Nico. Hamilton was
able to pull out a few tenths over Nico while fourth placed Glock was now
11.6 seconds behind Vettel. Glock had lost the end-plate from his front wing
which should affect his performance.
Lap fourteenth and Nico was now 3.0 seconds behind Hamilton. The top three
were settling down but Vettel was expected to pit shortly. Button was 1.1
seconds behind ninth placed Kovalainen. Kazuki would set a personal best
with a 1m:40.067 on lap sixteen. Nico had close the gap to Hamilton down to
2.9 seconds while on lap eighteen Vettel would pit. He would continue with
the harder compound coming back out in seventh behind Barrichello. Nico had
pulled back another four tenths while on lap nineteen Nico would pit from
second. Webber would also pit while Nico continued with the harder tyre.
But coming back out Nico would make a mistake going over the kerb while on
lap twenty Glock would pit. Nico would cut back in back inside the blend
line but would this see him get a penalty. Barrichello was also in while on
lap twenty one Hamilton would pit. Kubica would also pit while the
announcement would come up saying that car number 16 i.e. Nico's was under
investigation. He would get a drive through penalty for his error. Sutil
would pit on lap twenty one after having spun his Force India. As he tried
to spin he would hit the BMW of Heidfeld. This would see the Safety Car come
out seeing many cars pit.
 Alonso, Kovalainen, Button, Kazuki, Raikkonen, and Buemi would pit. But Nico
could not take his penalty under the Safety Car. Alguersuari would pit and
when he went to leave would still have his fuel nozzle attached. It would
knock down several team members while out on the track the marshals would
clean up the debris from the Sutil and Heidfeld accident. This was a very
costly mistake from Nico. Hamilton was leading from Nico with Vettel third
from Glock, Alonso, Barrichello, Kovalainen, and Button in eighth. But Nico would
have to come in and now with the field grouped together he would lose a huge
amount of time. Nico was told to follow the Safety Car in and complete his
drive through penalty.
Lap twenty five and Sutil would pit to retire. Lap twenty six and the Safety
car would come in but Nico would continue running behind Hamilton. Alonso
was pressuring Glock for fourth. Nico would again not take to the pit lane
and was told again to come in. The Sutil-Heidfeld accident would be
investigated after the race. Nico would pit on lap twenty eight seeing him
come back out in fourteenth. The end of any hope of a good result for the
Williams team. This would now see Vettel in second from Hamilton. Glock was
now third from Alonso, Barrichello, Kovalainen, Button, and in eighth
Webber.
Kazuki was in tenth while Nico's pace was around three seconds slower than
the leader Hamilton. Lap thirty five and Nico would pit taking on the softer
tyre. He would come back out in seventeenth. Nico would nearly put his car
into the wall when he ran wide with the left front wheel rubbing along the
wall. Lap thirty six and Hamilton would set a new fastest lap with a
1m:48.345. Hamilton would continue to lead Vettel with Glock third. Alonso
was still fourth from Barrichello, Kovalainen, Button, and Webber. Vettel
would pit on lap forty rejoining in seventh behind Button. Vettel was now on the super soft tyre
for his last stint. But the report would come out saying that Vettel was
under investigation for speeding in the pit lane.
Replays showed Vettel losing parts from underneath his car when he ran over
a kerb. And yes he would get a drive through penalty. Hamilton was still
leading from Glock, Alonso, Barrichello, Kovalainen< Button, Vettel, and
Webber. Lap forty three and Kubica would pit from tenth. Vettel would pit on
lap forty four coming back out in ninth. Team-mate Webber would pit from
eighth on lap forty five. Nico was now fifteenth over seventy seconds behind
the leader. In his stop the team would check Webber's front brakes with the
mechanics picking up pieces. Hamilton would pit on lap forty seven joined by
Barrichello, Kovalainen, and Kazuki. Hamilton would return in second while Webber would go off with
what looked like brake failure.
Alonso was now leading from Hamilton, Button, Glock, Vettel, Raikkonen,
Barrichello, and Kovalainen in eighth. Kazuki was in eleventh while Nico had
moved up to twelfth. Both Torro Rosso cars would pit only to retire in their
garages on lap forty nine. Alonso would pit on lap fifty taking on the
softer tyre, returning in fourth. Button would pit on lap fifty two coming
in from third. He would return in fifth ahead of rival Barrichello.
Raikkonen would pit on lap fifty three seeing Barrichello move up to sixth.
Hamilton was still leading from Glock, Alonso, Vettel, Button, Barrichello,
Kovalainen, and Kubica. Lap fifty three and a fastest lap from Alonso with a 1m:48.240.
Kazuki was ninth and right behind Kubica while Nico was now up to eleventh.
It was getting close to the two hour limit for the race but it looked like
Button had eased off looking to see his brakes, which had lots of dust come
out from them. Kazuki was still fighting for eighth but at the front the
gaps between the top eight were fairly static with various drivers simply
looking to get their cars to the finish. Hamilton would start his final lap
which he would complete to take victory in the 2009 Singapore Grand Prix.
Glock would come home second from Alonso, Vettel, Button, Barrichello,
Kovalainen, and the last point went to Kubica.
For the AT&T Williams team Kazuki and Nico would come home in ninth and
eleventh. For a race that promised so much it would see the Williams team
fail o score a single point. Such a big mistake from Nico that would see him
get his drive through penalty and effectively end any chance he had of even
scoring a point. Such a bitter disappointment for those at Williams and all
their supporters. |
