Singapore GP Race Report

The biggest disappointment coming out of Qualifying the previous day was that Williams had been disqualified and would be starting from the back of the grid, after the triumph of the podium at the last race weekend.  Sparkles/Sprinkles the Unicorn was back on Sainz' helmet to continue to bring good luck.  Albon was going to be starting from the pit lane.

It had rained during the day and the track was wet, the rubber had been washed away and there was no sun to dry up all the rain (poor Incy Wincy).  Then, more rain!  Then it was drying out.  Lots of stars were out on the grid as well as in the sky for this race.  Lewis Capaldi very much looked like a Scot struggling in foreign heat.

Also looking to the stars were McLaren, wishing on one to seal the Constructor's Championship on their second attempt this year.  The top four on the grid had not won this race before.; it was anyone's at this point.  Russell was able to hold his lead over Verstappen, which looked unlikely because of the Red Bull's choice of soft tyres.  Norris made up two places to get past his team mate for third but did make contact with someone, turned out it was Piastri.  Sparks were flying as they got underway and several drivers had made up places with Antonelli falling back.

Piastri was on the radio asking about the contact and calling into question the Papaya Rules.  He got grumpier and angrier with each interaction.

Suddenly, Bortoleto was in the pits for a new front wing, his was heavily broken; we had a mystery Yellow Flag earlier, perhaps this was it?  At the same time, Norris hit the wall but it looked okay.

A third of the way through, Tsunoda was running in 19th for no apparent reason.  And McLaren did a full dummy stop for Norris to try and trick Red Bull into stopping Verstappen.  Two laps later, stops started happening and Verstappen was in first but it was a slowish one.

Finally, most of the pitstops were done bar a few long runners and Piastri.  There had been no Safety Cars yet.  It was a very long one, five seconds for Piastri, so it was a good call from Norris who, when invited, chose not to go in second.  McLaren really need to practice doing two good stops in a row.  Aston Martin also had a really slow one with Alonso, who had been running really well.  When given a call about how many laps were left, the spirit of Raikonnen appeared in his old Ferrari teammate, as he said that if his engineer was going to speak to him every lap he would disconnect the radio.

Gasly gave the wall it's biggest bump so far on lap 34.  Verstappen was really struggling, genuinely asking for help on the radio and locking up his tyres.  Hulkenberg slid into a spin on lap 45 (of 62), sending out a lot of smoke from his tyres but not causing a Safety Car.

We barely saw Russell all race and then we got a glimpse of him for his celebratory radio call as he won the thing.  It wasn't dwelt on for long because we had to cut to the McLaren drivers being thanked for playing their part in securing the Constructor's Championship.  Piastri insisted in the press pen that he would not comment on the incident with Norris until he had seen the footage, he was surprisingly unmoody and unupset.

The drivers were sat on the floor, trying to recover, smiling but sweaty and exhausted.  The three of them looked very unwell, not fit to be interviewed.  There was no Safety Car for two years running to give them a breather.

All around, the drivers were sporting shiny, glittery, sparkly helmets. which twinkled under the lights.  Most importantly the sticker of Sparkles sent Sainz from 19th on the grid to a 10th place points finish.

Behind Russell, Verstappen seemed happy to take second and Norris had worked hard for third.  Then came Piastri, Antonelli, LeClerc, Hamilton (who nearly lost the place), Alonso and Bearman (who had a strong race).

Singapore GP Qualifying Report

How were things in Singapore?  Very hot, yet it had also rained very heavily in the days leading up to the event.

It continued to all be very leisurely first session until Gasly had to pull over as his car had stopped.  This was in the last minute, so out went Bortoleto, Stroll, Colapinto, Ocon and Gasly.  No shocks there.  Hamilton and Russell were the two fastest cars.  Stroll's lap wasn't great; I wonder when they will announce if he has signed his contract for next year?

There were quite a few drivers either all having a bad day or too tightly packed together in the second session and they all jostled for positions 7-15.  The McLarens did not look strong on the track, whereas the works team, Mercedes, were doing well.  Out went Hulkenberg, Albon, Sainz, Lawson and Tsunoda (back to regular form in the second Red Bull).  Russell, Verstappen and Antonelli were the top three.

Again, they were close and they were pushing in the third session and drivers were routinely brushing the wall.   Several drivers were pushing for pole: Russell, Verstappen, Hamilton, Piastri.  It was George who got it though followed by Verstappen, Piastri, Antonelli, Norris, Hamilton, LeClerc, Hadjar, Bearman and Alonso.  It was a good job from those last three drivers but they weren't mentioned at all.

The Williams' rear wing was investigated after the session and it was too tall somewhere, so both drivers were disqualified and will start from the back of the grid. 

Everyone was sweating once Qualifying was finished, it must have been gruelling and Norris admitted that he was ill too.  Unless there is a dramatic change of conditions, the race was going to be tough.  I wonder if there will be any in-helmet vomiting?

Singapore GP Race Report

There has been a Safety Car in every single race at this venue.  Would this be a rare race without one?  Could Norris hold his pole position off the start?

He did make a good start for once and kept Verstappen in second place.  It was particularly difficult to tell the Mercedes and the Aston Martin cars apart, fortunately no one really changed places so it didn't matter beyond the first couple of laps.  Something happened to Albon, who dropped four places off the start, not what he needed, caught out by his own rookie team mate.  Piastri seemed to be holding up a train very early, was this a team plan?  Part of Papaya Rules?

The race continued in a procession with Albon and Ricciardo rolling the dice and taking an early pit stop.  The Williams would then retire.

By half way through-ish, Norris was 24 seconds ahead of Verstappen in second.  There had been some overtakes, not sure who would win best overtake though.  Norris gave the wall a healthy whack a couple of times but survived.  Magnussen however, made the slightest touch with his Haas on the wall and had a puncture.

LeClerc chased Russell all the way home, for fourth place.  Ricciardo went in for soft tyres at the last minute and took the Fastest Lap.  It was disappointing that Colapinto finished just outside the points, but this race was long, hard and physically demanding without a Safety Car, virtual or otherwise.

The pit strategy worked well for Piastri, who finished 3rd.  Alonso managed 8th ahead of Hulkenberg and Perez.

Ricciardo has probably finished his F1 career but he only finished 6 places behind his team mate (with an extra pit stop).  Perez was 8 places behind his team mate, in the sister team.  Verstappen thanked Ricciardo over the radio for taking the bonus Fastest Lap point from Norris and McLaren.  He was also awarded Driver of the Day, with fans sending a clear message to Horner and Marko about who they want to see in the car for the rest of the season.

The drivers in the interviews immediately after the race looked like they might cry or faint.  The length of this post shows just how boring this race was, I'm sure it used to be exciting.  Has the talent of the field overcome the challenges of the track?  Do we miss Latifi and Sargeant?  Where was Stroll?  He can usually be counted on to cock up something.

In terms of the championship, there are still 3 sprint races to come as well as real races; so nothing can be banked yet.

Singapore GP Qualifying Result

There were remnants of the silly season kicking about before this race.  There were strong rumours that this would be Ricciardo's last ever F1 race and that this will be Bottas's last F1 season, as he will be replaced by a younger driver, perhaps the F2 current leader (managed by Alonso) or Colapinto.

Qualifying was McLarens to lose (excluding the Qually Lap King, LeClerc).  In the first session, a lot of drivers had slides, Sainz failing to go around some bollards after his and having to go and get his knuckles rapped after the event.  There were lots of shots of drivers kissing the concrete wall with their tyres.  Everyone had to put on fresh tyres and go out for a second run, which was unusual.  Russell made a panicky call to the pits about the tyres feeling completely different to Free Practice.  Ocon knocked Ricciardo out of Qualifying (7 places behind his team mate) and possibly out of F1.  Behind him Stroll, Gasly and both Saubers.  Norris was first ahead of Verstappen.

Again in the second session, the drivers were sliding about all over the place.  Out went both Williams, then Perez (back to being awful again after shining at the street track in Baku last week), Magnussen and Ocon (who had over-driven the car to be in the session in the first place).

Finally a Red Flag came in the third session, the first in a long long time.  Sainz spun his car and ended backwards in the barrier.  The drivers waited for a long time to come out after the track was reopened.  They had to move quickly get over the start line before the chequered flag flew.  It looked fast and furious.  LeClerc's lap time was deleted for going off track limits, so it didn't pay off for Ferrari.  Norris took pole position ahead of championship rival Verstappen, followed by Hamilton and Russell, Piastri, Hulkenberg (who set a quick lap before the Red Flag), Alonso, Tsunoda and then the Ferraris.

The drivers looked shattered when they got out of the cars and this was only Qualifying; the race would be a challenge, especially for Colapinto in his third F1 start.  With grid position being so important in Singapore, no one was changing any parts and suffering the penalty.  There would be no Latifi or Sargeant on the track, so the predictability of a Safety Car or Red Flag was lessened.

SIngapore GP Race Report

Following Verstappen acquiring three investigations during qualifying, we may have woken up on Sunday to see the Red Bull even further back on the grid.  He got away with reprimands though and I can hear Hamilton's voice in my head stating his opinion of that.

Lance Stroll had pulled out of the race after his crash as he wasn't quite fit enough and his car definitely wasn't.  Super-sub Ricciardo was out of action after breaking his hand and super-sub-sub Lawson was in his Alpha Tauri seat.

It was a clean start, Sainz getting away well and his team mate, LeClerc too.  Russell made a poor start from second and fell down to third, with his team mate going off the track and rejoining ahead of him to take that third place.  Alonso and Ocon got past the Haas of Magnussen.  Tsunoda stopped and started on the first lap and then stopped for good, parking his car behind the barriers, averting a Safety Car.  It was a puncture, so you wonder why he couldn't have got back to the pits.

As Russell was released by his team mate, he set the fastest lap.  After a bit of negotiation with the stewards, Hamilton gave a place back to Norris too and that was the end of that.

Everyone went around nicely for a while.  Then Sargeant went and did something silly on Lap 19 and ended up with his own wing underneath him.  He dragged it round the track, sending bits of carbon fibre everywhere.  It didn't look like a Safety Car event but it was.  Lots of cars came in for a change of tyre.  Sainz held first position.  Ferrari double-stacked and bought LeClerc in from second behind him but had to hold him in the pit box as Mercedes double-stacked too.  This brought Norris out ahead of LeClerc.  The Red Bulls did not pit.  Alonso did something silly and locked up his tyres, swaying out of the pit lane lines and got a 5 second penalty.

At the restart, Sainz held his lead but it was all change behind him.  For the first time this season we saw Verstappen being overtaken during race (other than off the start).  Once everyone found their new place, they continued going round and round.  With the Red Bull tyres dropping off more and more.  Russell radioed in to let his team know that he did want to go for the win.

Two thirds of the way through the race, Ocon lost power in his Alpine. He was an angry Frenchman, beating the steering wheel and throwing his head support back into the car.  He stomped back to the pits.  This led to a Virtual Safety Car.  It was a close call whether to pit or not.  Albon made a quick decision to come in.  Further on, both Mercedes came in and were in and out swiftly.  Alonso came in and had to wait 5 seconds before his crew could start work.  It was an awful stop though, with tyres not coming off and not going on.  He had radioed in earlier to say the car was "undrivable".  The end of the love affair begins.  Then he spun but kept going.  Ferrari were now racing on wing and prayer as they hoped LeClerc and Norris could hold up the Mercedes on new tyres.

With 9 laps to go Russell took LeClerc for 3rd place.  Then Hamiton was past the Ferrari too.  With three laps to go, Sainz radioed in to say that his tyres were finished.  All four drivers were in shot at the same time.  Sainz had backed Norris into the Mercedes to aid his defence and now Lando had to put in the hard work.  Had Mercedes put in team orders asking Russell and Hamilton not to fight each other?  It didn't look like it and that was hampering Russell's confidence getting past Norris.  This proved to really cost the team in the last few corners, when Russell clipped the wall and crashed out.  The podium was Sainz, Norris and Hamilton.  LeClerc took fourth with Gasly in a commendable and quiet sixth.

With Verstappen finishing 5th and Perez finishing 8th, Red Bull don't claim the Constructors Championship at this race.  As Verstappen didn't win the race his streak is over, so we won't have to hear about that for at least another 10 races.  And Red Bull didn't win the race, so they won't get a perfect season.  So we won't have to hear about that until next year.

Both the rookies, Lawson and Piastri scored points.  With Tsunoda out, his performance won't have been compared to Lawson, which possibly saves for him for the rest of this season.  We haven't seen a race with five cars out in a long time.  Alonso won't be happy to finish plum last either.  Sargeant will be happy not to be last. This last two is a surprise as Lawson brought out the Safety Car earlier.

Not only was Verstappen not the winner but he wasn't on the podium, which was the breath of fresh air that the fans needed.

Singapore GP Qualifying Report

The big news so far at the event, was that Red Bull were less competitive.  I don't think anyone believed that this would result in them being very far down the grid.

In the first session, backmarker Sargeant impeded Stroll.  Verstappen, not used to seeing cars ahead of him, radioed, swearing, back to the pits about how many cars were on the track in the last minute.  The track was cooling so the tyres were improving and the best laps would be put in at the very end.  Tsunoda went fastest and held this against Perez and several others, the Haas' also getting to the top of the chart.  We were riding on board with Stroll as his car veered to the side of the track and went through a huge spin on the main straight.  The director immediately replayed the incident, even though we didn't know whether Stroll was okay.  This was a huge departure from usual protocol but as we had watched it happen it didn't seem to matter.  Finally Stroll radioed in that he was okay.  It took a while for him to get out though and the chassis was ruined.  It didn't look in a state that it could be repaired for the race the next day.  Who would spin on demand during the race for Alonso now?

The Red Flag was brought out which ended the session.  Stroll went into the lap in last place and finished there.  Also out were  Bottas, Piastri, Sargeant and Zhou.  A couple of these were casualties of the accident.  Verstappen was also investigated for impeding drivers in the pit lane.

The second session was delayed so the TV director played some team radio.  Firstly, Verstappen was swearing about the poor balance of the car.  Then Norris was enquiring about Stroll.  Hamilton said the car was very hot.  Everything continued very topsy-turvy.  Lawson, in the sister team, knocked Verstappen out of the top 10, so he qualifies 11th.  Followed by Gasly, Perez, Albon and Tsunoda, who didn't set a time.  This is what we've waited for all season.

Lawson is driving so well, Alpha Tauri won't need to bring Ricciardo back when his broken hand has mended.  Though he finished tenth in the final Qualifying session  behind Sainz on pole, Russell, LeClerc (who will surely be very disappointed but didn't radio his team to tell them what they did wrong), Norris, Hamilton, Magnussen, Alonso, Ocon and Hulkenberg.  It was a very strong showing for the Haas.

Everyone hopes this will be the race that Verstappen and Red Bull don't win.  They'll probably win the Constructors' Championship though.

Singapore GP Race Report

Tuning into the Singapore GP coverage, it was dry, then it was very, very wet.  And the race was delayed.  Then, just as abruptly, the rain stopped.  Water was cleared from the track and off the cars went to the grid.  

As predicted, Ferrari had put on woolen wheels and Perez took LeClerc at the start.  Hamilton lost out to Sainz and Verstappen was down to 12th from 8th.  Predictably it was a Williams that spun first, less predictably it was Albon not Latifi.  Hamilton radioed in to his team to say that they should have listened to his tyre call.

Zhou was the first driver to retire, colliding with Latifi (of course).  The first Safety Car was out.  It was too soon for anyone to take advantage and pit.  Latifi, having sustained a puncture and got back to the pits, was also out of the race.

By Lap 11, Verstappen was back up to 8th.  Brundle thought this put Verstappen back into contention for the podium.  A third of the way through the race and Verstappen was stuck behind Alonso.  The old man, out for his Sunday drive, must have been thinking that he'd done this 350 times before and will be doing it another 350 times in the future.  Unfortunately the Alpine engine, thought otherwise and conked out.  A Virtual Safety Car was called.  The only driver to pit was George Russell, who gave slick tyres a go.  As the Safety Car ended, we watched the Mercedes slip and slide over the track.

There was a third (Virtual) Safety Car for Albon, who collided with a barrier.  He managed to extricate the car but left his front wing behind in the wall.  That was two Williams out.

Next Ocon's Alpine engine died.  That was two Alpines out.   Fourth Virtual Safety Car and now Ted Kravitz was hallucinating slick tyres.

Rather brilliantly, Hamilton slid into a corner but managed to pull back out in between Norris and Verstappen who were battling.  He massively held up the championship leader, who then radioed in frequently that Hamilton's wing was about to fall off.  The floodgates opened for cars to come in for slick tyres: Gasly, LeClerc, Magnussen, Tsunoda, Vettel, Hamilton.  LeClerc overshot his pit spot and caused himself a 5+ second pit stop and cost himself the win.

Tsunoda couldn't keep his slick-tyred car on the track and, lo and behold, a fifth Safety Car.  At the restart, a frustrated Verstappen attacked Norris and went straight on down a slip round and did a handbrake turn.  He came back on track in...8th!  And needing to pit again.

Next up, Schumacher and Russell rub tyres and Russell picks up a puncture.

With 14 finishers, for Verstappen to start 8th and finish 7th was abysmal.  It wasn't like he was up and down but kept plummeting down and regaining the position.  It was certainly a fantastic race for Perez.  Nobody had Ricciardo finishing the race 5th, right behind his team mate.  Nobody had Latifi finishing the race and he didn't.

Singpore GP Qualifying Report

Well, the weekend kicked off to a thrilling start: rain and accounting.  Have Red Bull cheated the cost cap system?  Well, probably.  Are the other team principals outraged?  Yes.  Have they probably also been cheating the system?  Probably.

Then it was all "will it, won't it rain?"  There were lots of Yellow Flags for drivers having minor incidents, none of which were broadcast.  Despite putting on a second set of intermediate tyres, Ricciardo was out in 17th.  Bottas and Ocon were also out of qualifying, letting their team mates carry the can.

The second Qualifying session was dominated by the decision of when to change from Intermediate tyres to Slicks.  It was Charles LeClerc, de facto Ferrari strategist, who asked for Slicks, however, he was given Inters.  It was Lance Stroll, who actually went first and everyone braced themselves for a Red Flag when he hit the wall.  It didn't help him and he was out with Russell and fellow soft-compounders Zhou and Vettel, who messed up a corner.

In the last couple of minutes, it was close for pole position: Hamilton, then Alonso, then LeClerc.  Verstappen was trying too hard, aborting two laps, being called in, possibly because he was on the edge for fuel testing.  He will start 8th.  There was a lot of swearing.

At the end we saw LeClerc's helmet design for Singapore...gold and shiny...very Monaco.

Singapore GP - "One and two for Ferrari...awesome job"

Singapore lends itself to controversy and this year was no different.  Was Ricciardo's qualifying disqualification too dramatic?  Should just his lap have been wiped?  Then Vettel overtook the pole-sitter and race-leader (and his team-mate) LeClerc using the undercut.  Through taking the preferable pit stop strategy, Vettel was able to overtake his team-mate off the track.  Was Vettel gifted the race by Ferrari trying to woo him into staying for another season, or to appease him or was it a mistake by the recent rookie?

There wasn't really much racing in the race.  Ricciardo punctured himself on Giovannizi's car.   Not long after Russell was pushed into the wall by Grosjean, thus ending an excellent finishing record for Williams.  Close to the end Kvyat took out Raikkonen, bringing out the third, long Safety Car.  We did fast-forward through a lot of this race.

Overall, what did LeClerc expect from Ferrari?  He was initially angry but quickly kept it in check to explain what a good result it was for the team.  Let's hope he can race again in Russia.

Singapore GP - Results

1. Evel Marque - 830*
2. PickedInAHurry - 798*
3. Je suis Charlie - 755
4. BottHaas - 754*
5. The Hope Fulls - 728*
6. Jack the Lad - 620*
7. The Pitstop Princess - 601*
8. Hippy F1 - 520*
9. Ferrari Rocher - 468
10. Francesco Bernoulli - 399*

* Home track played

Singapore GP - "Keep pushing"

The weekend started poorly with Hamilton turning to two wheels for the weekend - a scooter.  The attitude continued with his Q1 radio comment: "You guys need to listen to me".  In all fairness, they probably should, as he did an amazing qualifying lap and secured an easy victory.

Force India are in contention for the team bringing the most entertainment to the race.  The last thing Ocon needed was Perez taking him out of the race.  I'm not sure anyone knows why they've chosen Perez (one of the most hyped drivers of recent years and yet not going the way of Vandoorne???).  The FI bosses must be scratching their heads post-race after subsequently seeing his mid-race move on Sirotkin.

Verstappen also brought a smidgin of excitement, as we waited to see whether he would come out of the pits ahead of Vettel (he did).  It was fantastic holding of nerve and a demonstration of the power of the undercut?  Overcut?  Half cut?  Cut and blow dry?

Magnussen somehow gave the fastest lap of the race.  I think every year we should keep looking out to see if it is ever beaten.

Ultimately though, Ferrari tweeted post-race: "Boredom is the real winner at Singapore".

Singapore GP - Results

1. Give it some Gasly! - 842*
2. Two World Champions, Two Future World Champions, and, um, Two Other Guys - 806*
3. Evel Marque - 741*
4. Maximum Attack! - 681
5. Hasstag#FaceBull - 637*
6. Beauty & the F1 Geek - 631*
7. The Hopefulls - 598*
8. No Vices Now - 596*
9. The Pitstop Princess - 554*
10. Halo, baby! - 550*
11. Spa Day with a Shooey - 485*
12. Hippy F1 - 437*
13. Jack Johnson - 424
14. Wheels on Fire - 398

* Home track played

Singapore GP - Results

1. No Vices Now - 876*
2. Two World Champions, two future World Champions and, um, two other guys - 846*
3. Evel Marque - 802*
4. Torque of the Devil - 801*
5. Hoping for an Indian Summer - 791*
6. Bernie is a hobbit - 787*
7. Moneyball - 771
8. The Pitstop Princess - 753
9. Jenson's Whinging Legacy - 717*
10. Even more hopeful - 700*
11. Burn After Racing - 635*
12. Beauty & the F1 Geek - 584*
13. BOT-RAI-PER - 539*
14. Hippy F1 - 487*
15. Slightly Slower Racing - 442

*Home track played

Singapore GP - "Thank you for believing in me"

Lots of news in the build up to this race.  Renault going to McLaren.  Honda going to Toro Rosso (what Japanese for Red Bull?).  Aston Martin coming to Red Bull.  It would set things up nicely for next year if Mercedes and Ferrari swap engines too.  Really it seems everyone is handing the competition to them.

Then it started to rain and things looked very promising.

Then, Vettel ruined the race on Lap 1.

Then, the Great Spanish Hope, Alonso bowed out on Lap 9.

Then, the Great Dutch Hope bowed out.  Boo to mega-crashes.

I started to keep a Safety Car tally, which stopped at three but even these weren't enough to rescue the enjoyment in the race.

We were amused by the complete lack of reaction in the garage to Kvyat's crash: clearly what they expect of him.

A tricky race meant some terse radio.  Responding to Haas asking Magnussen to "push the button": "shut up".  Then Toro Rosso asked Sainz to"reserve the engine": "shut up please".  Although if we are going to bring our children up as the F1 spectators of the future, the Americans are going to have to get smarter at bleeping out the swearies.

With laps to go, Ricciardo was right on Hamilton's tail, you wouldn't have known this from the commentary though...I wonder what it would have been if the positions were reversed?

At the end, there were only 12 finishers and Massa still couldn't get in the points...  Even Palmer was sixth.

Singapore GP - "Brilliant drive"

Another fantastic qualifying session delivered this season.  An interesting addition was the inclusion of interviews with Ocon and Wehrlein as Sky had to fill the time whilst they rebuilt the safety barrier somehow.
I think that was the earliest crash in a race I have seen.  As Hulkenberg went out it was good news for Williams, then Massa got a puncture, then Bottas' seat came undone, then Massa had a slow stop, then... then... then...
There was a marshal on track during Lap 3, preceded by a giant lizard in FP3.  Singapore is always a funny race.
Hamilton's frustration at being in third couldn't be hidden: "I need a strategy I can overtake".  In response they gave Rosberg a slow pit stop.  Where's the bias now?
The best scrap of the race was Kvyat versus Verstappen.  Was that message about Alonso being Kvyat's real target a coded message for the Toro Rosso driver to move out of the way for the Red Bull?
There was much whooping when Raikkonen overtook Hamilton for a podium place on Lap 33.  Only for Ferrari to give it away and then Raikkonen gave up, as usual.
It was a procession but quite an interesting procession.  And looked stunning too.

Singapore GP - Results

1. Weak End of Bernie - 878*
2. The Pitstop Princess - 844
3. Merc-redible Hulk - 817*
4. Halo, it's me - 810*
5. Hippy F1 - 765*
6. Claire has to type this sentence out each time as my team name - 752*
7. BogOffBernie - 742*
8= Beauty & the F1 Geek - 736*
8= Three teams, one dream - 736*
10. The Hopefuls - 649*
11. No Vices Now - 626*
12. The Maranello Marvels - 588*
13. Marian's Marvels - 493
14. British Racing Green - 463*
15. Indiana Walker & the Tyres of Doom - 388
16. Put out to Pastor - 281*

*Home track played

Singapore GP - "You're great. You're magic."

Sparkling under the lights

Di Resta presenting on Sky - "turn 11 is followed by turn 12", VERY clammy Scotsman abroad
Exiting the pit lane - presenting the most excitement for most of the race - Massa and Hulkenberg, Alonso and Grosjean
Deception - Toro Rosso were leading us to believe they were having a dreadful race, then...
Mechanical failures - hooray, for Hamilton at last
Overtakes - in particular, Rossi overtaking Hamilton, not what he expected from his first F1 race
Reliability - what could Manor Marussia do if they had this year's Ferrari engine?
Multi 21 - Verstappen doesn't give the position back to Sainz, what you get when you employ a teenager

Down a dark alley

RIP Red Bull? - it's a Ferrari engine or nothing for them next year
Button's retirement - it's McLaren or nothing for him next year
Button's lengthy pitstop - a world record?
Tyre PSI chat - and we didn't think the tyre chat could get any worse
"Try HTT 391" - I struggle to change the radio station whilst driving
Throwing away a golden opportunity to score points - Williams
Man on track - not sure how the Beeb covered this but Sky spent a couple of minutes going "not sure why a safety car has been called...hmm...can't see any reason", whilst a shot of a man walking along the track was aired
Crofty - as Button drove into Maldonado and lost his front wing: "looks like severe front wing damage"!
Throwing away a golden opportunity to score points - in their "third best opportunity to score points this season", McLaren retire from 12th and 14th (what a lot of points they missed out on)
Gearbox problems - ruining or contributing to a great race?

Singapore GP - Results

1. Teutonic Titans, Titanic Twits - 1,044
2. DC's Tighty Whiteys - 1,037
3. HamBerg from McCedes drive through please - 1,036
4. Sharks have no bones :) - 943
5. Double Mercedes is Boring! - 848
6. The F1 Flumps - 832
7. Mike and the Mechanics - 803
8. Baby on Board - 800
9. Lots of Trouble Usually Serious - 766
10. Go Fast and Prosper - 759
11. Muppet Racing - 744
12. Hippy F1 - 695
13. The Hopefuls - 601
14. I Monza Brink of Insanity - 574
15. The Pitstop Princess - 566
16. I blame Clarkson - 565
17. Baby Pitstop's Change Crew - 553
18. No Vices Now - 549
19= Beauty & the F1 Geek - 532
19= The Very Good Value - 532
21. Juan Angus Fangio C.I. - 437
22. 10CC - 387

Singapore GP - "Nice work...Great stuff"

Dazzling

Obligatory glitter-added helmets - shiny, shiny
Competitive instinct - Rosberg: "dammit"
Pre-race tension - would Rosberg's and Kvyat's cars be ready for the race?  No and yes.
Sutil - "pointless in 2014"!
Ericson - scoring you 15 points for moving up 17 places
 The result of running on bald tyres - Massa: "driving like a grandma"

Down a dark alley

Hamilton's crotch adjustment - is there nothing better to capture during qualifying?
Hamilton's tattoos - "44" behind the ear
Lack of radio - whether or not it ruins the racing, the race did seem duller without it
No more instructions of the radio - how's it planning out?  Ricciardo was told to avoid corners and Magnussen was told not to drink.  Everyone's scared of the stewards!
The Wrong Tyres - for Maldonado - why not keep going on them?
Williams' tyre strategy - wrong, again!
Bad hair days - Hamilton, Mallya
Breaking looms - what happened inside Rosberg's steering column to end his race - I know plenty of children who could spare one for him
Tantrums - Guittierrez does a Hamilton
Chavvy jewelry - Hamilton's double cherub necklace

Singapore GP Results

1. Ch-ch-ch-Changes! - 1,220
2. Mercrari Hulkenassa - 914
3. The Hopefuls - 909
4. The Pitstop Princess - 890
5. No Vices Now - 849
6. The Mercs - 835
7. Hippy F1 - 778
8. The View from the Back of the Grid - 726
9. Red Bull goes Brazil Nuts!! - 694
10. League of Extraordinary Pay Drivers - 689
11. The Baldy Biker - 635
12. Magnussen Benz Over Button - 406
13. Beauty & the F1 Geek - 368
14. Hopefully Prancing Horses not Donkeys - 313