2012 Singapore Grand Prix championship points

2012 Singapore Grand Prix

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2012 Singapore Grand Prix

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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44 comments on “2012 Singapore Grand Prix championship points”

  1. Alonso vs Vettel? Alonso vs Hamilton? Anyway, Alonso is always there. but I think Ferrari should improve their car significantly. I know Singapore is unique track but their gap from Mclaren and Red Bull was massive. They should bring at least close-2nd car ASAP.

    When it comes to WCC, I think Red Bull still has upper hands. Actually series of unluck or reliability make Mclaren vulnerable to even Ferrari and Lotus.

    1. Ferrari are definitely falling behind. Their new rear wing didn’t work, which is another set back.

      I see Mclaren as the best car still. It is easier to remedy reliability than it is to gain speed. Their problems will likely not happen again as they will fix it. Their car seems to be the best all round car, as it is insanely quick on tracks like Monza and now on tracks like Singapore (they would have won, if it weren’t for the loss of drive).

      I think Alonso was more lucky than anything this weekend. He could have very easily finished 5th.

      1. You can’t say it’s just luck. It might be Ferrari is more concerned about reliability than Red Bull and Mclaren which make them slower then their competitor.

        Anyway, remember Mclaren’s British update didn’t work well but they bounce back massively in Germany. I think it can apply to any top teams. Ferrari brought unique wing here but they decided not to race with it. If it works well, Alonso still has chance.

      2. Ha ha .. “Alonso is always lucky” .. Well he is always there or there abouts to capitalise even when he does not have the best car… it’s not his problem that others retire… Nobody is called lucky when they ‘ve a fast and reliable car.. so they should nt be called unlucky when the car is nt reliable or fast.. Alonso did not have the best car all year .. still he is leading the championship… and that’s because he is too good..

    2. Today´s race was crucial for the championship, Alonso prefers to have Vettel chasing for the championship than Hamilton, since Germany the Mclaren is by far the best car and are favourites for the win in the next GP´s. Maybe the Ferrari is just a bit worst than the RB but by small margin and will depend track to track, so they will be near each other and it´s going to be hard to Vettel to achieve his goals.
      One thing is for sure, it will take us to Brazil to find out who will be champion.

  2. 6 races to go. I wouldn’t want to call it. I will though – Alonso and Mclaren , we’ll see.

    1. Anything is possible, just like this season has worthily demonstrated so far. Just Alonso making his luck via his rivals taking points off each other.

  3. Raikkonen 149 – 0 victories
    Hamilton 141 – 3 victories

    The power of not dropping out of the race! :P

    1. Certainly it is. still I don’t think anyone can win the championship without a win. Kimi desperately needs it.

      1. He did come ridiculously close to winning the Championship in 2003 with only one victory that season.

        The Lotus just isn’t quite there, but I suspect Suzuka will suit them nicely. Given his track record there, it could be a McLaren V. Lotus fight for the win.

        Unless the McLaren really is that dominant, or Alonso really is that lucky.

    2. Hamilton (and Vettel) would certainly benefit if the rules were the same as in ’88, when Senna won the title despite having 11 points fewer than Prost over the whole season, but that’s just not right.

    3. I think it’s silly. Victories should be worth significantly more.

      1. they’re more significant than ever in F1… the problem is that when 10 people get points, you mustn’t retire as much as HAM.

    4. Its impressive reliability certainly, but if it comes down tobrazil and they are both 15 points off alonso, the mclaren will have the pace to win – the lotus will not.

  4. The most interesting ‘championship’ development today was Glock’s 12th place for Marussia. As much as I prefer Caterham, I’m really pleased for Marussia and the entire team. Still 6 races to go, mind…

    1. I’m pleased for them too; it’s good to see Caterham and Marussia improving and getting rewards*. But I was praying that a pair ahead didn’t take each other out. I definately want Caterham to get the first point!

      *All HRT do is stay slow and interfere when getting lapped. I don’t care anything for them at all.

      1. to be honest Karthikeyan did his best to make it a better race for us to watch today.

        1. @bascb I have to agree with you. If Karthikeyan didn’t do that, my rate would be 1/10.

          1. I think that the safety car actually deprived us of any chance for a battle for the lead. At the time that Karthikeyan went into the wall, Button’s tires were 5 laps fresher than Vettels, when the safety car came out, they both got a chance to pit and the strategic opportunity disappeared. Without it, I think that Button would have had the chance to push Vettel rather harder in the end.

  5. 1 slip from Vettel and the championship is over.

    1. Yes, this is really the only thing that keeps the championship going, no matter what all others will do (Ham, But, Web, Rai etc)….

    2. And one slip from Alonso and 3 other drivers are once again in contention. If Vettel wins that race the lead is GONE. Alo doesn’t even have to make a mistake, someone could take him out. Have been seeing a lot of that this season (especially in the midfield of the pack).

  6. After 2 hour long Testing session Massa still finished in the points. Ferrari might be the 3rd or 4th fastest in qualifying trim but in race trim they are definitely not that bad as they want us to believe

    1. Don’t forget it was 2 cars that could have been in front of Alonso and up to 4 in front of Massa (Schu, Vergne) did not finish though

      1. As Maldonado made a stop and Alonso didn’t, Alonso would have finished in front.

    2. of course they are not that bad, except that even in race trim they are slower than (at least) McLaren and Redbull. Period.

      1. Which is why they are at best third fastest team currently

        1. I believe that singapore track didn’t suit ferrari’s, I believe in suzuka they will be again faster than RB’s and probably closer to Mclarens.

          1. Nope, I thought it is the one of the high downforce track where Ferrari should have performed better

  7. if in the 6 remian race vettel has a DNF (suzuka ?? ) the championship is OVER!!

  8. Force India are on a roll. I doubt they will catch Sauber in the WCC but there’s a 99% chance they will finish in front of Williams.

    And Frank will find himself almost exactly where he was last season, but with a race winning car this time. That’s what choosing money over talent or experience will do, I’m afraid. Can’t feel for them, not even a bit.

    1. I guess this is a vicious circle for Williams
      Paid driver –> Better Technical team — > Superb Car –> Poor results –> Paid driver

      1. @vickyy – There’s some truth in that, for sure. But I still won’t consider Williams a poor team. Of course, the 30 or 40-some million euros Maldonado & Senna bring into the team help a lot but we’re talking about an establishment that has developed a full hybrid technology widely used in endurance racing and a business venture that is profitably listed at the stock market.

        I still think Frank could afford building a decent car without Pastor & Bruno’s money if he was to put his mind to it. Or at least without Senna’s capital infusion. Take Sauber for example. They constantly deliver a decent 6th place WCC car with far less money than Williams and they have a decent driver (Koba) and a brilliant one (Perez) in those seats.

        But hey, I guess more business means less racing and vice-versa. :)

        1. right, that’s why admire Force India among the mid-fields most, i think they are the most cash strapped of all, and still they preferred meritocracy.
          As for Sauber, Perez happened to be a lucky bet, he is brilliant but he was also tagged as a pay-driver and that must have weighed heavily when selected to drive in 2011.

    2. Having two pay drivers has been their real achilles heel. Next year should be better, assuming that they put Bottas in the car. Even so, it’s not a given that Bottas will be particularly consistent either. As lacklustre as Barrichello was in the end, Williams sorely need his consistency now.

      1. @wificats – Bottas has a lot of potential and he will probably fill that second seat at Williams in 2013. However, as you already mentioned, it’s not a given fact Bottas will be consistent in his first year as an F1 driver. And lining him up next to an even more inconsistent Maldonado can’t help either.

        Williams desperately need a team leader. Someone like Raikkonen or Kovalainen. A consistent first driver who can motivate the whole team and also someone Bottas can look up to and learn from.

        1. I think given time that Maldonado can develop into a leader for Williams, yes he is horribly inconsistent and sometimes crazy, but he is also crazy fast. He reminds me in a lot of ways of Montoya in his early days at Williams; fast, fearless, but error-prone and unlucky.

          As a side note, seeing Force India do so well on a high downforce track has to be worrying for Williams and Sauber. Seeing them do well at Spa or Monza is now common, but Singapore?! That is a sign of progress!

  9. I think that it’s possible that this championship is probably going to be between then top two, unless McLaren get their car right, without any reliability issues for Hamilton (a 75 point deficit behind the leader for Button I see as too much to claw back now). I think this championship will die out a bit if Vettel has a DNF with a customary Alonso strong finish. Of course, Vettel could slip up into Alonso and make it more interesting.
    I hope not though as to be honest, I’d love to see Alonso win a third title. Whilst a Hamilton fan, I’d like to see Hamilton do it too, but as I say, I’d still love to see an Alonso third title. It will also be nice as since I started watching F1 in 2001, it would be the first 3 time world champion I’ve seen become so from 0 titles. Granted Schumacher won three since then as well, but it would be nice because as I say, I watched while Alonso had none.
    I don’t want Vettel to win though. Well, I don’t mean not win, but there are other drivers that I would be disappointed to see be beaten by Vettel. I loved him winning his first title, but that’s about it.

  10. after a bad weekend, bad quali, bad race pace….
    [although p12 to p6, and avoiding so many incidents is not a complete disaster]
    Guess who is still p3 in the championship, still very much a contender, and with a chance still …..

  11. Vettel is closing in but I think Hamilton is still the threat to Alonso given they have the best package at the moment. I’d love to see kimi win to spice things up.

  12. McLaren best look out for Ferrari, they’re really crept up on them! Quite surprised by that. Hamilton gave RBR some breathing space today, they’ve dodged a bit of a bullet in Milton Keynes. Suzuka next and Vettel usually fairs up well there so their reign at the top may continue.

  13. 40.5
    No car may be driven unnecessarily slowly, erratically or in a manner which could be deemed
    potentially dangerous to other drivers or any other person at any time whilst the safety car is
    deployed. This will apply whether any such car is being driven on the track, the pit entry or the
    pit lane.

    2012 F1 Sporting Regulations 29 of 43 7 December 2011
    © 2011 Fédération Internationale de l?Automobile

    Hummmm, if i’m not mistaken this rule was developed precisely beacause of a similar situation with Vettel.

    Don’t know what’s gonna happen.

  14. And Ferrari closing in on Red Bull.

  15. OmarR-Pepper (@)
    23rd September 2012, 23:19

    Hey people do you remember this?
    1  Fernando Alonso 231
    2  Mark Webber 220
    3  Lewis Hamilton 210
    4  Sebastian Vettel 206
    (Note: 2 races remaining)

    Yes, I know, this is not 2010, there are more competitive cars and now DRS exists to avoid an ABUDHABI/Petrov situation, but I think that if Ferrari doesn’t get a REAL UPGRADE, the championship, even the driver’s championship, is OVER… for them. Red Bull and McLaren will have the WDC with either Vettel or Hamilton, and Alonso’s end of the year will be another “could have been”. This title is totally open, even for Kimi.

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