The Singapore Grand Prix - Highlights Formula 1

Race 13, Singapore. This is Formula 1.

in the night. Schumacher goes off! Massa has gone!

for the second year in a row! He has lost his front wing!

The sun has set, the street circuit is lit, and the drivers are in the

zone. Welcome to race night in Singapore. Time is running out to

zone. Welcome to race night in catch the seemingly unstoppable

triple world champion Sebastian Vettel. Will the golden boy from Red

Bull make a mistake or have a problem? There are 21 drivers who

may be hoping so, and here is the reason why. Vettel is top dog, on

222 points. Fernando Alonso is closest to him, Lewis is third.

Ferrari got second and fourth last time out in Monza, moving them up to

second in the constructors' battle. But it is Red Bull who are

conducting proceedings. Joining me today, Eddie Jordan and David

Coulthard, as ever. What it is going to take to stop Sebastian Vettel

getting a fourth straight world title? A whole lot of bad luck, I

would think. Even if he does not win the remaining races, you will

accumulate enough points to win the title. Are we clutching at straws?

Unfortunately, yes, I think so. Sebastian Vettel is on top of his

game. He won this race last year. Sebastian Vettel is on top of his

Everything is stacked in his favour. And he has been going very well this

weekend as well. Here is Lee McKenzie, with the story of

qualifying. After finishing fourth at this race last year, Paul di

Resta was hoping for big things, but he could not make it out of Q1. Kimi

Resta was hoping for big things, but Raikkonen was doubtful due to a

recurring back problem. He had a painkilling injection, but it was

not enough to get him into the top ten. He starts 13th. The big

surprise was Esteban Gutierrez, who not only outqualified his team-mate

surprise was Esteban Gutierrez, who and had a career-best performance in

qualifying. Fernando Alonso could only put his Ferrari into seventh,

whilst his outgoing team-mate, Felipe Massa, out qualified him for

the fifth time this season. Sebastian Vettel parked his Red

Bull, assuming he had done enough for pole position, but he was made

to wait. His team-mate, Mark Webber, came close, but could not beat him.

Rosberg also came close. So, Vettel takes his fifth pole position this

year, with Rosberg alongside. Roman Grosjean matches his best qualifying

performance of the season, starting third. Hamilton will be starting

from fifth. Then come the Ferraris. So, some other stories from

yesterday, Kimi Raikkonen, out of the top ten, possibly because of a

yesterday, Kimi Raikkonen, out of problem with his back. Indeed, you

do not want to have a problem with his back. Indeed, you

your seat or with your back at any of the Grand Prix. He had an

injection just before qualifying to try to ease the pain. Not only is it

giving him a bad starting position, it will be a very long afternoon, in

what is historically the longest Grand Prix. We now know that he has

signed for Ferrari for next year. In terms of the Ferraris, they did not

qualify particularly well, but they are great starters, could they have

an effect on proceedings this weekend? For a street circuit, it is

difficult for them. I am pleased for Massa, he has outqualified Alonso

again, and he has to put himself in the shop window, because he needs a

drive next year. My guess is that the release of the knowledge

drive next year. My guess is that will not be at Ferrari from next

year might give him a little push, we might see fireworks from him

today. The last time Rosberg was on front row was Silverstone, which he

won, and also Monaco, he won from the front row. He has got a thing

about street circuits, hasn't he? Nico Rosberg did a great job in

qualifying yesterday. You have to be looking at him as the real threat

this afternoon. Finally, Gutierrez did a terrific job in qualifying, he

is in 10th, so do you think they have got enough to keep him in the

top ten for the race? If I was him, I would be thinking about

consolidating where he is. He needs to score points for himself and for

the team. It is particularly good for him to outqualified Hulkenberg,

who is the talk of the paddock at the moment. If he can finish in the

ninth, he has done an amazing job. You guys go off to the grid, I am

going to have a quick chat with Gary Anderson. Gary, I was just thinking

that it is all very well qualifying well on the Saturday, however, you

get no points for that. However, it is so difficult to overtake here?

Yes, as you say, the points are awarded on the Sunday. I have had a

look at the top four teams in the Championship, and looked at their

average qualifying lap times, and if you look at it a bit closer, you

will see that the Mercedes is still the car to beat. Red Bull, not far

behind. But that is Saturday. If you convert that to points in the race,

you will see that Mercedes dropped back dramatically. Red Bull have got

almost the same relative performance in the race itself as in qualifying.

At the end of the day, Mercedes' performance on the Saturday is very

good, but they have got to convert that into a Sunday performance. It

has happened a few times with both Nico and with Lewis Thomas so, in

terms of strategy, could we see a situation where the frontrunners

come in and then take a different view with tyres after the first pit

stop? Yes, the super soft tyre is faster than the medium tyre, for

sure. You have to run both, but do you put on the medium in the middle

of the race, or at the end? So, there will be different strategies

today, it could be two stops or three stops. Flawless so far this

weekend, so what is your focus going into the start? Trying to get a good

launch, and then, it is a long race, it is two hours, a lot of things can

happen, a lot of opportunities, so we will see what we can do.

Fantastic qualifying... Yes, but now, we have two hours in difficult

conditions, so we will do our best. Are you going to lead this team next

yearwe hope so too. Feelings ahead of the race, is it just

consolidation? We will try to consolidate, and also we will take

every opportunity we get during the race. The start will be crucial, to

make a clean start and to take any advantage we can. David, hugely

exciting here in Singapore, is this a real coup for you to come here? It

is only my second Grand Prix, because usually, I am always

playing, but obviously, not playing any more. You are hoping to bring

some good luck to Lewis, your team-mate, in the management company

- what is he thinking back there? He team-mate, in the management company

looks relaxed. Obviously I am supporting him, but it is great to

be here, it is such a great spec go. I am excited. So, Nico Rosberg

narrowly missing out on pole position. -- great spectacle. The

undisputed master of Formula 1 right now is Sebastian Vettel. This is the

Singapore Grand Prix. Your commentators are Terry Anderson,

David Coulthard and Ben Edwards. -- Gary Anderson.

It is 8pm local time in Singapore, as Sebastian Vettel leads the field

away on the formation lap, on this, the toughest circuit in Formula 1.

Carrie, the teams will have worked out their strategy, but they might

Carrie, the teams will have worked have to react to problems as they

crop up here today? There is a high likelihood of the safety car having

to come out, based on what has happened in the past, and that would

change things dramatically. The super soft tyre is faster than the

medium tyre, it is a better tyre, it just does not go as far. But you

have to use both tyres. It will come down to instant decisions. Do you

see anybody managing to get ahead Sebastian Vettel, and what about

Roman Grosjean behind him? Well, he Sebastian Vettel, and what about

would be my pick. Some people have gone with the medium tyres, some

people have gone with the super softs. Lotus are one of the ones who

have saved some of the super softs. Let's get a quick update from the

pit lane, with Tom Clarkson. What is the latest news on Kimi Raikkonen,

after those back problems yesterday? He has been consuming

anti-inflammatories and painkillers. What they discovered yesterday, when

they gave him some pretty similar treatment, was that the painkillers

in particular lasted up to about an hour. Kimi is one of the toughest

drivers on the grid, but this could be a very painful Grand Prix for

him. It is the toughest, David, not just in terms of the duration, but

in terms of the bumps as well... It is relentless. It is used for

trucks, buses and cars the rest of the year. The Grand Prix cars, if

trucks, buses and cars the rest of they are not bumping on the tyres,

then they are banging into the deck, with 150 kilos of fuel on

board. Every two minutes, they are shedding ten kilos, and gaining

about a second in performance, but that is counterbalanced by the

degradation of the tyres. We have seen that Vettel leads the Drivers'

Championship and the Constructors' Championship. But it is going to be

interesting to see what happens in the constructors' battle. Vettel and

Alonso, neither of them have dropped a place in the opening lap so far

this year, they are both good starters. Rosberg not usually making

up many places on the first lap, it has to be said, throughout this

season so far. We know that the Ferraris have a particularly good

start system, or launch system, on their car. Kimi Raikkonen has had a

bit of a tough time in the last few races come so we will see whether he

will be able to score some points. He has lost 50 points to Sebastian

Vettel in the last two Grand Prix, failing to get any in either Belgium

or Italy. Let's see what happens here. The race engineer for Felipe

Massa, Rob Smedley, and they are now into their final phase of working

together, as we know that Massa will be leaving the team.

As we know, qualifying positions are important. Lights out, and away we

go. Vettel gets off the line well. Rosberg has got in front! He takes

the lead, but runs wide. Vettel still leads. Rosberg on the outside,

and Alonso has come up to third. Another incredible start for

Fernando Alonso. Incredible from Alonso but great driving from Vettel

and Rosberg, the two young Germans unbelievably close. Webber has gone

round the outside. Hamilton squeezed out wide by Felipe Massa. He has got

past the Ferrari without contact this time. No contact so far on this

lap, which is unusual for the Singapore race circuit. Perez trying

to make a move on good Shiraz. The two Mexicans are side-by-side. Nico

Hulkenberg already ahead of his team-mate. Ten out of ten for

manners so far, but this opening lap has been aggressive for all of the

drivers. Everyone looking intact. Look at how Vettel is already

opening up that lead. He is flying. Remarkable. People still doubt his

performance. A canny racer. Alonso third, Webber fourth, Grosjean in

fifth. Several of the drivers have gone for

different crash helmet designs. Lewis Hamilton is currently running

in seventh position. Let's take a look at the start again.

DAVID COULTHARD: Great start from Rosberg, on the right side, as you

look down. So, the Mercedes start system working well, but Rosberg

just over coax it, going wide. And look at that, aggressive driving

from everyone. No wheels spin, absolutely perfect. Releases the

KERS button, and he thinks, yes, I have got the corner, no, I have gone

wide! Oh, no, I am being overtaken! Great stuff from the two of them.

And this is Alonso... This is the first chance we are getting to see

this, and he is the launch master. When everybody bundles up on the

inside, he just goes right round the outside. Such awareness, he

positions the car so well, and that took him straight into third place.

And that is where he is right now. He got past Lewis Hamilton very

quickly. This is the view from Jenson Button, with the thermal

camera. quickly. This is the view from

Jenson Button, Unsurprisingly, the front tyres completely cold, having

been sitting on the grid. You can see the front tyre temperature

starts to build. Hamilton got in front of Massa, at that point, which

is why he was then told to give the place back, I think.

is why he was then told to give the is why he was then told to If you

look back, you can see him cutting across there. Alonso taking full

advantage of a slightly nervous Grosjean, unsurprisingly, given the

slightly uncomfortable Grosjean, unsurprisingly, given the

Grand Prix career. Grosjean, unsurprisingly, given the

made a great start, to get Grosjean, unsurprisingly, given the

of Raikkonen, but unfortunately, Grosjean, unsurprisingly, given the

Raikkonen was able to use his Grosjean, unsurprisingly, given the

momentum down into turn one. A

some point or A

had them in Singapore. Raikkonen has A

headed to the pits, he has obviously A

has cost him too much time. Vettel, A

on lap ten. A

This track is the other way round. A

Does not cross the white line on the exit.

Does not cross the white line on the Lewis Hamilton. Looks like he has

dropped back a bit from matter in the front. We have heard that

Raikkonen has been on the radio to his team, saying, can you move the

traffic lights forward? He can't see. When the lights go green, that

is his cue to go, so I am not sure what would have moved that he is

having difficulty with, unless it is just the fact that it is a night

race. Unusual for the team to have to make an adjustment of the traffic

lights during a Grand Prix. Alonso is showing good race pace at this

juncture. That is Mark Webber, still chased by Grosjean. Alonso looks to

juncture. That is Mark Webber, still have a good pace here at the

moment. Can he try and close the gap to Rosberg? Into the pits comes

Felipe Massa. Dicing with Lewis Hamilton right from the start of the

Grand Prix. Gets away cleanly. Matter will be determined to show

how effective he can be as a Grand Prix driver as he chases a seat for

next year. Kimi Raikkonen, meanwhile, having a look and trying

to get past the Williams of Bottas, his fellow Finn. Now he takes full

advantage of the fresh tyres. his fellow Finn. Now he takes full

Leaving the Williams defenceless as he makes full use of those

super-soft tyres. Kimi manages to cut through the traffic as quickly

as possible. Felipe Massa has gone out with the medium tyre, so that is

a different strategy. Mark is being pulled in by Grosjean. Vettel,

meanwhile, goes faster and again sets a new fastest lap. It could be

again a two or three stop strategy. It could be a two stop race. The

preheated tyres are even hotter than the tyres he has just been running

around on. But is coming into his stop. -- Button. He has just got to

keep it clean through the inside apex here. Ricciardo is now up into

eighth place. As they come towards turn seven, he will get DRS, of

course. It is wide open already. Good Shiraz, who has made an early

pit stop, has now just set fire to his lap. -- good Shiraz.

But no sign of the race leader coming in just yet. It is still

Vettel leading by 7.7 seconds over Nico Rosberg. Further behind, you

have got Felipe Massa, who is trying to get past Pastor Maldonado. At

this stage, Lewis, pace is good. Keep on with what you are doing.

Looks as though Ferrari are getting ready for Fernando Alonso to be

coming into the pits. Mercedes getting ready as well. I wonder

whether Vettel has got a window he getting ready as well. I wonder

can pop into, as we see Alonso getting ready as well. I wonder

dropping in. Medium tyres, same strategy as Felipe Massa. Different

cars respond better on the different tyres here in Singapore. Rosberg,

into the pits from second position. Makes a few little changes. Brings

the car to a halt in the Mercedes pit. Let's watch them in action.

Pretty smooth. David Beckham gets the opportunity to film it at the

same time. Incomes Romain Grosjean now. Lewis Hamilton is also in. Busy

time in the pit lane for the crew. Grosjean sets off again. Ricciardo

time in the pit lane for the crew. has also come into the pits. Lewis

Hamilton is on his way again will stop up front, Sebastian Vettel is

still leading, but Rosberg has managed to come out in second place.

The rest is now in third. Hamilton is behind Grosjean. Tyres -wise, a

bit of a difference between the front runners. Button is trying to

close up on Felipe Massa. Pastor Maldonado being chased by Nico

close up on Felipe Massa. Pastor Hulkenberg. This could be a bit

fiery. They are side-by-side! He is over the kerb on the exit. Into turn

eight, still side-by-side. Hulkenberg manages to nip in front,

and Perez is denied. Sebastian Vettel comes in for his first pit

stop as the counter goes to lap 18. And as ever, it is a beautifully

choreographed change. Vettel has gone on to the medium tyre, so he

will have completed both types of tyre. They can experiment now and

see how far he can go. He has not been as comfortable and as quick

relative to his team-mate on this medium tyre. I think he has opened

his gap out to Rosberg. Perez has just gone past Hulkenberg, very

easily. I don't know whether Hulkenberg made a mistake. You have

to give the place back to Perez. What? For what? For leaving the

track. Keep pushing. That is harsh. Message understood, Lewis. He is

talking about the harder compound tyre, which is perhaps not working

so well on the Mercedes. Looking at the gaps with Paul di Resta, 14

behind the leader, but 26 in front of Perez. So to get in front of

Perez would put him in 11th place. Force India might be getting a small

moment in the sun here, but they are going to Pip Di Resta and bring him

out behind Perez. Force India and McLaren still close to one another

in the championship. Paul di Resta, is this a lap too late, reacting to

Perez? I can't claim that maths was my strong point in school, but let's

see if the numbers work out. He had a moment of opportunity. The total

time you lose from the time you leave the circuit, do your three

second pit stop and rejoined... He is just controlling the RPM as he

leaves the turn. Jimmy, we understand that you are feeling a

problem. Unfortunately, we can't give you any info at the moment. So

something is affecting Kimi Raikkonen to do with the car, but it

is not showing up for the team. You can imagine when your emotions and

sensors are off the scale, drivers become a bit like the Princess

sensors are off the scale, drivers the Pea. They can feel the tiniest

of problems with the cockpit or anything that is moving unusually.

The car becomes an extension of your body as it answers around the race

track. And that is Ricciardo in the wall! It is the same place where

there was a crash last year for the safety car. This is a hard place to

recover from, with suspension damage as well. Danny Ricciardo is out. The

safety car has been deployed, and this could change the complexion of

the race. We are on 25 -- lap 25 now out of 61. Who is going to come in

now at this stage of the Grand Prix? out of 61. Who is going to come in

Ricciardo has crashed out. We have not seen what happened yet, but

clearly, the Australian is going no further. Vettel went on to the

medium. He has made the choice of both tyres earlier this evening. So

he may choose just to run it round. Williams has also popped into the

pits. As you attempt to go underneath the Grandstand, it is

almost like the car was not slowing down. Unusual mistake to be made by

Daniel Ricciardo. Very unusual. His problems were only mechanical up

until this stage. But looters are ready. Let's see who will be coming

in. Max Chilton has just come into the pits. Bottas has pitted as

well. Let's have another view of the pits. Bottas has pitted as

this accident. It is almost like in the pits. Bottas has pitted as

disbelief, he then locks up the outside tyre, very late.

RADIO: OK, understood, Nico, we focus now on the race. I think he

has got a point. Yes, would he have gone wide if he had not had the

touch which are marked and think sometimes, we should leave it as

is. -- if he had not had the touch? I think sometimes... None of the top

three came into the pits for a pit stop while the safety car was out.

The big question is, can they get to the end of the Grand Prix, on the

tyres that they have currently got on, now that we have had the safety

car? Moving up the order has come Paul di Resta. His late pit stop has

helped him, but he will need one more stop. It is all about the use

of the tyres in the latter stages of this race. It will be fascinating.

Massa is on the super, it is likely he will have to stop again. He is in

eighth, Button is ninth, and Kimi Raikkonen is in 10th position. Now,

Sebastian Vettel getting ready to get this restart right. Last year,

he had to do this in front of Jenson Button, but he is already on his

way. And Sebastian Vettel takes the restart, opening up the gap over

Nico Rosberg yet again. He gets everything right. There will be a

few disappointed team bosses, that some of the drivers were not able to

keep it close. You could see what Vettel's strategy was going to be,

as soon see nos the safety car has left the circuit, then he is able to

bolt for it. But we saw Rosberg dropping back from Sebastian Vettel.

So, Vettel again marching away. Nico dropping back from Sebastian Vettel.

Rosberg with a real opportunity in this race, but he will have to make

another pit stop. Massa will be racy, because he is on the softer

tyres, like Paul di Resta, so we might see some action from both of

those two. Right now, it is Massa trying to get past the rest. Coming

out of turn seven, di Resta was having to be a bit defensive. Felipe

Massa with everything to do, but Sebastian Vettel, nice and

controlled, looks in his mirror, sees Rosberg behind. Hamilton also

did not come in for that pit stop. He is trying to close up to the back

of the Force India. Can see sparks coming up from the bottom of his

car, but a fair bit of fuel has now been burnt off. The safety car has

enabled them to save fuel, which means they will be able to turn

their engine up a little bit for the end of the race. They will be able

to burn the fuel a little bit richer. Now, look at the number of

marbles, the little bits of rubber, off-line. I have spoken to Pirelli

to ask, can Raikkonen and Alonso gets to the end of the race on the

medium tyre, and they are saying, they were probably hoping for a

slightly longer safety car, in the hope that they would be able to get

to the end of the race, but Pirelli are now saying it is absolutely on

the limit as to whether they can do it. On board with Lewis Hamilton, in

fourth place. Webber, in third, may gain out of all of this, but we know

he will definitely have to stop again. The question is whether

Alonso behind him is going to have to stop. And Roman Grosjean could be

the key, in many ways. We are just trying to work out, if we apply the

pit stop time of 26-27 seconds, that is what Vettel needs to open out to

be able to cover the fact that Grosjean may not stop this

afternoon. He is currently nine seconds behind, being held up behind

Alonso. Yes, Vettel pushing on-again, we are really watching

some fantastic driving from Vettel. on-again, we are really watching

He is absolutely on it now, Sebastian Vettel, as he tries to

further open up the gap. But he is Sebastian Vettel, as he tries to

doing it within control. RADIO: We have a problem, so we have

to box this up. Oh, no! RADIO: We have a problem, so we have

DAVID COULTHARD: We are with you, Roman Grosjean!

BEN EDWARDS: This is unbelievable, one of the potential podium

finishes, definitely, even perhaps with a chance of giving Vettel a

worrying moment or two, they are trying to recharge... Yes, the

engineer getting in, you trying to recharge... Yes, the

normally see him out there. RADIO: What is wrong with this car?

Well, be patient and they will tell you afterwards. You do not normally

see the engineer there like that, you are supposed to have a

protective suit and a helmet, in the pit lane. I believe that is now a

regulation for anybody working on the car. Certainly it is for next

year, whether it has been ratified for this year or not... Yes, after

the Nurburgring. They should just get a foot pump on there! Well, off

he goes once again. That has just completely ruined Roman Grosjean's

race, no question. That would not have hurt as much if it was under

race, no question. That would not normal racing conditions, but having

had the safety car, not only does he go to the back of the field, but way

at the back. So, I'm lucky, he was doing a great job this weekend. That

was Gutierrez, did he get away with it? Just, he went on to the marbles,

lost a load of grip. That will make it difficult braking into turn one.

Vettel has now opened up 20 seconds over Alonso. So, he is still

building up his advantage hugely over Alonso. Rosberg has now done 22

laps on the medium tyres, more on his mediums than Vettel has done on

his. Let's remember that Vettel is doing these very quick laps on the

harder of the two compounds, and he has just done a new fastest middle

sector, as the fuel continues to burn away. No degradation in the

tyres at all, it is just the effects of the fuel burning away, and he is

able to go faster. Roman Grosjean is back in the pits, so maybe the

corrective action on the air pressure in the system has not

worked. It looks like the team are preparing for him to come into the

worked. It looks like the team are garage. It looks like he will be

retiring. It has been a difficult weekend, apart from his superb

qualifying performance... RADIO: We believe six cars will have

two pit again. Jenson Button is currently running in eighth place.

He has done 12 laps on the medium tyres. That would give him a long

way still to go, 20 laps or so. So, we will have to see whether he will

have to stop again. That was a big leap over the kerb from Lewis

Hamilton. DAVID COULTHARD: Yes, he just cut

the corner in order to keep one side of the car within the white line. It

is all acceptable, that is clearly what feels comfortable to him. Just

coming back to Button, it is rather a long stint on these tyres, if you

want to try to make it to the end, as the rubber continues to be laid

on this track surface. We have not had any rain that I am aware of over

the course of the weekend, so the grip levels will be there. And we

know that tyre wear is not the issue.

RADIO: Exactly what we need, keep going. Well, he is doing exactly

what they need indeed. Alonso is the one that we are wondering whether

McLaren are thinking, is he going to become in into the pits? Alonso

might try to go all the way. He has got less laps on his tyres than

anyone else. Rosberg also bouncing over that kerb town at turn one. It

does not look pretty, but it is the fastest way for them to shorten the

distance going into turn two. Force India, with Paul di Resta, are

showing good long run pace again. This, a circuit where he had a

really good result last year. That is the second retirement of this

Grand Prix, Daniel Ricciardo having crashed out earlier. So, we are at

two thirds distance, pretty much, here in Singapore, and Sebastian

two thirds distance, pretty much, Vettel has not had the crews upfront

that some people thought he would have. It is a very glum looking

Roman Grosjean, and nobody going anywhere near him, I notice. A

number of people, including our only McKenzie, waiting to get his

thoughts. It is very disappointing, after what had been a strong

weekend. Mark Webber, into the pits, so, the first of those upfront

to have to make a stop. He has done 26 laps on that set of medium

compound tyres. He puts on another set of mediums, and away goes

Webber. Also in the pits is Adrian Sutil, and Webber is going to have

to charge now, no doubt about it. It will be a spread to the the field is

still relatively bunched up after will be a spread to the the field is

that safety car. Let's see where he comes back out. I think he is just

in front of Bottas, so that puts him in 13th place.

RADIO: Push, Lewis, it is all starting to happen now.

Alonso is the one to watch, because he has a very realistic opportunity

of making it to the end. 20 laps to go. He has done 16. You have to do

36 laps on this set of tyres. I wonder how much he has been looking

after them, David. Well, we know that that highlight improves during

the distance of the Grand Prix. The projection going into the race is

around 25. Rosberg is going to be coming in. He has also done 25 laps.

That was what we were told in terms of tyre life for the medium compound

tyre. Meanwhile, Vettel is still going faster and faster. Where will

Rosberg come out with regard to whether? -- Webber? It will be

interesting to see what lap time Alonso can do. We are not going to

understand what the Ferrari can do. We can get an indication of what the

Mercedes is able to do. There is Webber in the background, as Rosberg

comes down. This is going to be close. Webber, on the new attire,

has been able to use it, and he close. Webber, on the new attire,

should be able to sweep through and past Nico Rosberg. The earlier stop

from Red Bull has got them out ahead. Rosberg struggling. Hindsight

is a wonderful thing, but clearly, Mercedes were just a lap late. Good

piece of strategy. The question is, what can Alonso do if he was running

on clean air? Does he have the pace to go to the end, or will he have to

make a stop like the rest? His team-mate Felipe Massa will have to

make another stop. He has been told that 35 laps is too much, and they

are trying to find him a window. Get him into some clean air. Felipe

Massa is currently fifth. Right now, Sebastian Vettel leads, with Lewis

Hamilton in second place. It looks as though Massa will becoming in

shortly. It is Vettel, Hamilton, Alonso. Di Resta has still got a

chance. Massa is going to be coming in. Di Resta is in as well. Both Di

Resta and Massa are into the pits. This is a genuine battle between

them now for the pit stop and getting them set on their way

again. Ferrari completed it quickly. How can Force India do

against the Ferrari? He is just out in front. It was always going to be

marginal. Good work from Force India. Very effective work from

Force India. With regard to Webber and Rosberg come they are definitely

behind them, as you would expect. Di Resta has come out in 11th place and

Massa in 12th position. Now we wait to see who else will be stopping

amongst this next group. Nico Rosberg is now intense. RADIO: push

hard now, Nico, you have 20 laps remaining. Other cars have not

stopped yet. He does have to push, but he does not want to take too

much out of his tyres while doing it. How many cars ahead of him will

be stopping? That is the question. Vettel has almost enough of a lead

to make a pit stop and get back out without losing any position. Jenson

Button is hanging on to fourth place from Kimi Raikkonen at this stage.

Raikkonen is another one who might potentially stay out there for the

remainder of this race. Button might try and stay out there. Lewis

Hamilton is heading into the pit try and stay out there. Lewis

from second place. That puts Alonso now into second, at least 30 seconds

behind Vettel. That is very close in terms of what Vettel needs to have a

margin over Alonso. We need to see what Alonso can do. Does he have

life in those tyres? To comment on Rosberg, I would have thought that

was joy to get confirmation from the team saying, now you can push for

those 20 laps, rather than complaining about it. Unless he sees

some sort of marginal issue. Di Resta rejoins, Hamilton in front of

him. Adrian Sutil has just set the fastest lap, interestingly. Hamilton

has come back out in 10th place. Di Resta in 11th. They have both done

their pit stops now. This is the opportunity for Sebastian Vettel to

come into the pits now. Alonso will stay out. He has built up a more

than 32nd gap over Alonso. Vettel comes in, Red Bull hoping to keep

their lead position. Vettel has charged and built up a huge gap over

Alonso, but Alonso is trying to get to the end without making a pit

stop. Beautiful. It is a brand-new set of the super-soft tyres. No sign

of Alonso in the background yet. About now, he will be coming round.

Vettel makes a clean exit out of the pits. And he is an better tyres by

far than Fernando Alonso. Sebastian Vettel has done enough in that stint

of the race. He has basically done it again. Whatever you throw at him,

whatever change of tactics everybody is going through, he still comes

whatever change of tactics everybody on top. RADIO: I need to save my

tyres now. Interesting argument going on between Rosberg and his

engineer. Rosberg wants to save his tyres, but they reckon they have to

chase down Alonso. Now, this is fun. Rosberg versus Hamilton. We have not

seen this often in the race, them having to go wheel to wheel with

each other. This is a test for the having to go wheel to wheel with

youngster. He has got some of the best in the world now on his tail.

Mark Webber is the first of them, and he has got the DRS in operation.

The DRS helped him make a straight forward pass. Mark Webber is into

seventh place. Big slide in the background from Lewis Hamilton. That

kerb is as much to hold them away from the wall when exiting the

turn. If they get onto the top of it, you dropped a wheel over the

other side. Gutierrez is not making it difficult at all. That was

strange. This is costing Hamilton sometime now. This is a section

where it is virtually impossible to overtake. The bridge is so narrow.

They lined the car up to get the best exit. Hulkenberg is the next

one they will be catching. Paul di Resta has to find his way past

Gutierrez. Felipe Massa is running in 12 position. He and Paul di Resta

have more grip available to in 12 position. He and Paul di Resta

than either of the Saubers ahead. in 12 position. He and Paul di Resta

Paul di Resta will be in the DRS zone. It is a very short run into

the first corner. RADIO: good job, Sebastian. Further back down the

order, a quick correction. All the rest is now making a move on Goody

arrives. -- Paul di Resta is trying to make a move on good heroes. --

Gutierrez. Gutierrez just not able to keep that car online. It has been

a good effort this weekend from him, but you can see that his tyres

are tired. We saw this earlier in the Grand Prix as well. Hits the

bumps, under rotate that front wheel. He was releasing the brake

pressure slightly and allowing that tired to run again. He ran slightly

wide in the middle of turn two. Up front, Sebastian Vettel leads this

race. Alonso in second place. RADIO: the cars ahead are struggling. So,

Mark Webber is definitely making the most of cars that are struggling on

tyres that have done some 27 laps now. Most of the guys stopped at

around lap 25 on their tyres. Even thing that Erez could be coming

under pressure soon. Big test for a driver like

Hulkenberg. He has to do his best on Big test for a driver like

tyres that are very much from their best. He has his sights set on Perez

in front of him as well. Webber's advantage in the last few laps was

over three seconds. Just shows you that there needs to be a big

difference in time. Perez has still that there needs to be a big

got a bit of breathing space over Hulkenberg and Webber. Hamilton has

not been able to close the gap any more than a second and a half. The

Lotus has a lot more pace if it can get into clear air. Jenson Button

was fastest in qualifying yesterday. Even with the DRS, the Lotus have a

problem. Mark Webber slides the rear of his car. Great battle here. This

is one of the best overtaking slots. Webber surely has to go for it. Mark

Webber gets past Nico Hulkenberg. That puts Webber into sixth place.

Round of applause from the team. I am sure Rosberg and Hamilton will be

quick to follow through. Still no progress for Kimi Raikkonen. How

close are the Mercedes now? Jenson is the slowest of anyone in the race

right now. Even the guys well outside the top ten are doing...

Raikkonen side-by-side with Button, and he goes around the outside!

Fabulous move from Kimi Raikkonen. The McLaren is in danger of dropping

very rapidly, with this group catching. This helps Raikkonen open

up a gap now. It is a really good effort from Kimi Raikkonen. Superb

drive so far. His back is presumably not giving him any issues coming

into this race. I suspect the adrenaline is working. Fear focuses

the mind. Sergio Perez, another tough nut to crack. Still, the two

Mercedes have not managed to find their way around the side bar of

Hulkenberg. RADIO: If I fight now... OK, Nico,

try your best, otherwise director will be all over us. The rest has

gone wide! Did he go into the barrier? ! Webber getting past Perez

as well, but di Resta is in the barrier! He looked up and

disappeared into the barrier. Oh, what a time to do that in this race,

when he was on full school on some points. Yellow flag, but will there

be a safety car? He has kept it running. He has found the button for

reverse, but these cars are not very happy reversing. No, they do not

like sitting there for very long. It is over, it is all over for Paul di

Resta, another retirement. He is having a miserable run of races, and

particularly today, when he had actually driven superbly, great

strategy from the team. What a time to make a mistake, when the driver

market is as active as it is right now. Hamilton having a look at

Rosberg. Can they get that car out of the way without having to get the

safety car out? Let's hope so, we should have some great racing here

in the closing stages. Yes, it would be a shame to have the safety car

now. The two Mercedes, Rosberg in Hamilton, and Mark Webber gets

passed Jenson Button, to go into fourth place! Now, Kimi Raikkonen is

passed Jenson Button, to go into his next target, and not that much

further up the road. And then Webber will be able to get himself onto the

podium, and Red Bull will have worked their strategy brilliantly.

But Alonso is still hanging on in second-place. The question is, will

Webber catch Alonso, as Alonso struggles with his tyres? The yellow

Webber catch Alonso, as Alonso flag in that zone neutralises any

chance of overtaking down into turn seven. So, no safety car coming into

operation, we are going to get a clear run to the flag, certainly at

the moment. But Webber on a charge, he has got a possibility not only to

catch Raikkonen, but also Fernando Alonso. So, read all will be urging

everything from Mark Webber at this point, as Vettel continues to lead

Syrian Lee, by 20 seconds. Rosberg settles in behind Perez once again.

Massa is in there as well, genuine pace from the Ferrari. Hamilton

looking for every opportunity. This does have chaos written all over it.

Hamilton on the inside... That is going to be the outside for the next

term. This is a proper scrap, and Massa is going to be right in

Hamilton's mirrors. term. This is a proper scrap, and

Massa is going to be right Rosberg having to go defensive. Go off-line

hero, and you lose a huge amount of grip. That was a very clear

team-mate could team-mate message, don't think about it. But there is

no more instinctive racer than Lewis Hamilton. If he sees half a chance,

he will go for it. It does seem that Hamilton. If he sees half a chance,

Hamilton has consistently dropped back in this last corner, as Rosberg

goes for it! He gets past the McLaren of Sergio Perez! Now, can

Lewis Hamilton, in the upcoming DRS zone, do the same? He has also got

Massa behind him. Massa is going to get a great run! Indeed, well

spotted, Massa takes full advantage, and he is out of the slipstream of

Hamilton. But he has to back out of it coming into turn six. They have

clashed here in the past, but this time, they just about avoid each

other. This very corner, I believe, they came together.

RADIO: Short shift, if you can. That is not good news, that means a loss

RADIO: Short shift, if you can. That of lap time. It could be they are a

bit marginal on fuel, but he is ill catching Raikkonen, although not as

quickly. Raikkonen is still doing a decent lap time at this point.

Alonso and Raikkonen might still be safe for second and third here. Oh,

very close once again, Hamilton, to the back of Perez, and this is

allowing Rosberg to make a break. Side-by-side with Jenson Button,

Rosberg has the inner line, and he takes the McLaren, which pushes

Button down another position, to sixth place. Hamilton getting past

Peres... Yes, that was fairly straightforward in the end. There is

not much space down there. RADIO: We need to short shift all

gears, please. Same message as at Monza last time out. Now, look at

this, Massa trying to get past Sergio Perez. You can see how much

the cars are moving around at this stage of the race. And Hamilton goes

past Button! And Massa at the same time getting past Sergio Perez, so,

we are seeing loads of overtaking now, as the different tactics come

into effect. That timing of the safety car was crucial, and here is

another look at Nico Rosberg getting past Jenson Button. That was out of

14, he got himself as a share and to be on the right line for the chicane

at 16, and there was nothing that Jenson could do. Some locking up

from Jean-Eric Vergne, as they went through the same corner, where

Ricciardo crashed earlier. This is along the waterfront. He backs out

of it, but oh, so close. That was with Gutierrez, it was very tight

indeed. Maldonado is behind them, I believe. By the way, Charles Pic has

dropped back, and Giedo van der Garde is leading in the small teams

battle. Jenson Button trying his utmost to defend here against Massa.

But Massa has got the inside line, and not much that Jenson could do

about it. And he is being caught by his team-mate, Sergio Perez. As far

as I can see, they both have the same age of tyres in terms of their

last stop. RADIO: This is about trying to get

the car to the finish now, low revs... We have also got Hulkenberg

and Sutil in there. Adrian Sutil is just outside the points, in 11th

position. Force India get something out of this? They are desperate to

try to close the gap to McLaren in the Constructors' Championship.

McLaren have been saying to Sergio Perez, we would like to see you beat

Button more often than you have been. But Sergio Perez at the moment

is just giving a little bit of space to Button. As I say, their tyre

situation would appear to be similar.

Hulkenberg doing everything he can to hold on to the final point, in

10th place. Vettel still leads, just two laps to go. Alonso is still

holding onto second, and Raikkonen is in third. We are going to see a

different podium to that which we expected, because Rosberg, who ran

so strongly in second-place earlier in the race, finds himself in fifth

position, and I think he will be wondering what on earth happened in

this race. Well, a lot of it was down to the timing of the safety

car. Hamilton is currently sixth. The gap has opened up between him

and his team-mate now to some three seconds. Still a couple of these

positions to be resolved, I think, in the dying moments of this race.

Still watching the battle for eighth.

DAVID COULTHARD: Mark Webber last four seconds to Nico Rosberg on the

last lap, so, Rosberg, only 1.5 seconds behind Webber. He will be

finding himself with a load of cars trying to overtake him as he comes

into the final lap. Remember, the McLarens have done 33 laps on this

set of tyres, Button and Sergio Perez, trying to get them to the

finish. Alonso has driven superbly, as ever, because not only did he

make that amazing start, to move up into third, but he has looked after

his tyres, he is currently running in second. Riding with Nico Rosberg,

right with Webber again. We have heard that Webber has got problems,

and there is a chance for Rosberg to get past him, Sibley. It always

seems to happen to Mark Webber, and he is definitely in trouble here!

And it will not be much he is definitely in trouble here!

before Lewis Hamilton does likewise! So, the prospect of a

double podium for Red Bull has gone out of the window.

RADIO: In trouble, mate, in trouble. OK, Mark, understood. So, can he

hold on at all for any points? Both of the Mercedes have gone past him

now, and Massa and Button will be catching him next. He is in sixth

place currently. So, it will be mixed feelings at Red Bull after

what has been a stunning, dominant drive up front from Sebastian

Vettel. That is not sounding good at all...

DAVID COULTHARD: Bring it home, Mark. Vettel is on his last lap, but

Mark Webber will have to try to complete one more lap. He has got no

choice. He has got no power. It is going to be too far for him to try

to pick up a point this afternoon. Massa is he has still got gears,

still changing gear, there is just no power at all. There goes Massa.

That takes Massa up into sixth place. The next one to catch him

will be Button. Yes, he is 14 seconds down, as far as I can see.

Sebastian Vettel is already into the closing of the final lap of the

Singapore Grand Prix. And he had to deliver today. He fought for the

lead into the first corner. Fire from the back of Mark Webber's car.

He will have to pull off. He finds the marshals and stops the car. But

out of the final corner, it is Sebastian Vettel, to take his

seventh win of 2013, his hat-trick in Singapore, and his 33rd career

victory! That moves him ahead of Fernando Alonso. What a performance

from Vettel, the maestro, once again. And he had to push so hard

after the safety car, to achieve it, but he achieved it to perfection.

The fireworks go off in Singapore, but what is happening behind? We are

waiting for Alonso to come past. He is just a bout to cross the line...

Alonso finishes in second place. Raikkonen holds on to finish in

third position. Raikkonen, coming from 13th place on the grid. The

battle between the young teams, on the line, virtually, that was the

battle between Chilton and Bianchi, so... Rosberg beating Hamilton, but

Rosberg will be disappointed, he was running second in that race, looked

as though he was definitely on for a podium finish, but the safety car

did not work to their advantage. Massa brings it home in sixth

place. Who is 27th? It is not there to be Webber now, it is good to be

Jenson Button, I believe, who will finish in seventh. -- who is going

to be seventh? And Hulkenberg holds on, from Adrian Sutil behind, the

final points going to Sabah and Force India. A good effort from

Sutil, disappointment for Paul di Resta, who crashed out, and just

missing out on the points was Pastor Maldonado. Well done, rate drive,

well done. Yes, boys! Think you, absolutely fantastic. It is an

absolute team effort. Yes, I am loving it! And he is right when he

says it is a team effort. There is Alonso giving a lift to Mark Webber.

They are very experienced campaigners, these two. They have

both done exactly the same number of Grand Prix in their careers, 209. It

is nice to see that. Celebration time for this young man, Sebastian

Vettel, well on his way to his fourth world Championship title.

So, the results of the Singapore fourth world Championship title.

Grand Prix... Sabah, with Hulkenberg, scoring

points again, as he did in Italy. -- Sauber. Most disappointingly,

perhaps, Mark Webber, whose car broke down on him at the end.

The presentation is now being made to a man who looks very relieved and

very happy. The trophy for second place once again goes to Fernando

Alonso. That demon start that he made put him into third place. And

another great drive from Kimi Raikkonen. He died 36 laps on his

tyres, the Lotus is working well when it comes to being marginal on

tyre wear. It is celebration time. The fireworks go off as Sebastian

tyre wear. It is celebration time. Vettel has now won his 33rd Grand

Prix in his career, which puts him fourth in the all-time winners'

list. He's eight short now of Ayrton Senna. When you think of what this

man has achieved in six years of winning races in Formula One, there

is not much chance that that fourth title is not going to go his way

before the end of the season. Sebastian, how would you sum that

up? Was it the end of a perfect weekend? Yes! How do you then

perfect that heading into the next race, when you are driving so well?

Is it difficult to build on that and keep the concentration? Part of that

was obviously the fact that we were on a fresh set of supersofts,

whereas Fernando was on a very old set. His prime target was to get to

the end on those tyres. The offset was around one hour seven seconds,

so we did not have too pushed too hard to increase the gap towards the

end. But we worked for that yesterday. It was quite close.

Fantastic weekend. We are joined by a joyous and quite drained Christian

Horner. Congratulations. A dramatic last lap. Fireworks going off for

Sebastian as he crossed a line, and fire in Mark's car. It was it a

sweet. To win was fantastic, but to lose Mark's car on that last lap,

especially after two hours, it was a getting result. He was on for the

podium. It would have been close. We could see we were losing water

pressure and the temperatures were going up. Then the engine ran out of

water, and then you are in the lap of the gods. It was right at the

start will stop but fantastic racing for Sebastian Vettel. What were you

thinking at this point? It looked like Nico had made the better start.

Then Sebastian got back up the inside with a move he pulled on

Lewis Hamilton a couple of years ago. He kept ahead and then got his

head down, and that was the last they saw of him. Christian, is he

going to coast home now? Not really, because we only extended our lead by

seven points. There are still 150 available, and Sebastian is only 60

ahead. It is a healthy lead, but we can't take anything for granted. We

have got to keep pushing with all the remaining races. Mark Webber

seems to be so unlucky. When did you first know of the issue he had? We

knew with about ten that's to go, because we could see the water

pressure dipping down. We were trying to find a solution with short

shifting. But once the water had run dry, the engine is only going to

overheat. With half a lap to go, it was so frustrating. Congratulations

for Sebastian. We hope for more luck for Mark in the next race in Korea.

I did everything I could. We replaced the tie when we needed to.

And then, yeah, someone has had a tougher day than me somewhere. Then

things got worse for Mark as he was given a reprimand for hitching a

ride back with Fernando Alonso. This is his third reprimand, and under

the totting up procedure, he gets eight ten place penalty for the next

race. This is the third time in a row it

has been Sebastian in first place and you in second. What must you do

to beat him not only on a Sunday, but also in the championship? One

thing leads to the other. Does it have to start on a Saturday? Well, a

Sunday will be enough. But obviously, we need to be very lucky.

In the remaining races, if we want to win a championship, we are 60

points behind, so we have a deficit in points and we are slower than

them. If we put the two together, it is very difficult to win the

championship if we are not extremely lucky. But if this luck comes, we

will be there to take it. We will push until the end. It will

certainly be about taking opportunities, but then need to be

several of them, and luck and time are running out. You can only have

so much luck in life, and he has already had some fantastic start. He

has probably used a fair bit of his luck quota. Anyway, he was fairly

negative in my view. His start was sensational. Incredible, yet again.

This is a very good starting strategy. It was no coincidence. He

This is a very good starting has just got great spatial

awareness. I don't think luck has got anything to do with where they

are now, it is just pure performance. Listen to that, no

wheel spin until the last part. He just finds his slot, and errors that

battle up front for first place between Vettel and Rosberg. It

really was a battle for second. They have a real battle with Mercedes,

and it was questionable whether they had missed an opportunity at one

point. Going back to the start, you can get away with it once or twice,

but to continually do it as well as he does it, that is real talent.

Kimi, congratulations. A lot of drivers were questioning why they

couldn't make their tyres last, and you could. What was the secret? It

was risky, but taking care of the tyres in the first place and then

trying to make them last, it is not the first time we have done those

things. My car was not ideal, so it made it a bit more tricky, but we

made enough of a difference earlier. We are joined by Eric. It

must have been a bittersweet experience today. Kimi Reichmann,

arguably driver of the day? Yeah, he did the job. He had a brilliant

strategy. We are obviously delighted for the team and for Kimi, because

even with his back pain, he drove a superb race. But Kimi release had to

deliver on the racetrack. Was there much communication? Were your

engineers talking to him and telling him to get on with it? At the

beginning of the race, we did not have to tell him anything. Then we

decided early in the race to give him clear laps. When he passed

Button, we told him the other guys him clear laps. When he passed

were catching up. I was intrigued about the message he gave to the

pits about the lights. Explain what he was telling you? We changed the

configurations, and the lights were a bit too close to him come as he

wanted us to move the lights for the next one. Huge disappointment for

Romain Grosjean today. He do it like he could have been challenging for

the victory, certainly for a podium. Problems in the pits? Yeah,

we knew from the Renault guys that we were losing the air. We had only

a few laps in front of us, so we decided to stop and try to refill

and give it another go, just for glory, to be honest. Unfortunately,

we soon understood that the air loss was too much and the engine would

blow up, so we had to stop him, as it was a fresh engine.

Congratulations on Kimi's results. I was surprised at the end. I didn't

know what position I was in stock I would thought I was in third, and

then I was seriously gutted when they told me. But it was a tough

race. Absolutely shattered. I wanted to pit for options in the race. I

will discuss with them which one was best. It obviously worked for

whoever was ahead of me. It did not work for Grosjean, did it? I don't

know how Kimi came from where he died. That is incredible.

Surprisingly upbeat today the Lewis Hamilton. What was your feeling

about Mercedes' performance? Yes, a bit of a change of tone and style.

At Lewis Hamilton drove very well. I think Mercedes have overcome a lot

of the problems they had at the start of the season about tyres.

Thankfully, we have not heard anything but complimentary things

about Pirelli here. So maybe the whole thing has moved on. But one

disappointing thing he said was that we should enjoy ourselves for the

rest of the season. He does not see himself as a contender. He has

thrown the towel in. On this occasion, I think he has. I wonder

whether Nico Rosberg will be disappointed without a podium. Ever

since the safety car came out, it was a very strange race. Alonso and

why can and did a great job. It was a lot of laps. It was good that the

safety car lasted that long. So that helped them. I am not sure if we

could have done that many laps. So a tough result, for sure. Would have

liked to have been better. Second place should have been on the cards

today. But that is the way it is. We will analyse what we did wrong.

Looking at the positives, a double points finish for McLaren, but it

could have been better if the race was shorter. A lap shorter would

have been great, but it is not, and everyone knows that, so that is why

they do the strategies they do. But we took a punt on the strategy. But

for us, really struggling with traction. He has got a point about

those tyres, for 35 laps. But not a bad day for McLaren overall 's I

would like David's view in a moment about being a driver with McLaren.

For a world champion like Jenson Button to come out and say he is

happy with seventh place, I don't know what has gone wrong with his

team over the last year. He was almost questioning the strategy as

well. So there are some mixed messages going on at McLaren. We

don't know whether he will stay there or not, although we can't

imagine that he would go elsewhere. Difficult season. Less confirmed

today's race result for you. Gary joins us now. Jenson was

talking about try to make the tyres worked for 35 laps. It was a tall

order, but a few managed it. It was a tall order. The tyres worked

fairly successfully for 30 laps. The last few laps were just a leap into

the unknown. Button managed it in the end. Alonso and Raikkonen hung

onto their positions. It shows that the tyres did last, but it is an

amazing amount of laps. We will be back in two weeks' time. Korea will

be our next stop. That is it from all of us. Whatever

you think about Sebastian Vettel, he is brilliant in a Formula One car.

See you in two weeks.