Singapore GP Review: Vettel back on top

PRACTICE

Practice one - Friday pm

Five years into Formula 1's night-racing adventure, we've still yet to see a wet grand prix under floodlights, but thunderstorms were forecast this weekend - and one arrived with a vengeance on Friday morning.

On the Singapore F1 clock, though, the cars don't take to the track until late afternoon, and by then only damp patches remained.

In places the circuit was still generating spray, so it was some time before anybody braved the track on slick tyres.

Kamui Kobayashi started the trend and was soon blasting around three seconds a lap quicker than anybody else. That was as good as it would get for Sauber, as once the track dried it found its latest upgrades were - initially at least - a step backwards and its Monza form would seem a lifetime ago.

By the end of the session, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton were in a class of their own. They had traded times repeatedly before ending the afternoon 0.040s apart - and 0.8s clear of the pack, which was led by Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso.

Pastor Maldonado showed his usual street-circuit prowess in fifth, followed by Mark Webber and the Force Indias.

HRT was the only team to use a 'Friday' driver as Ma Qing Hua took Narain Karthikeyan's place. Getting within 1.4s of Pedro de la Rosa's best was a very respectable effort for the Chinese novice.

Full list of times from practice one.

Practice two - Friday pm

Vettel repeated his practice one performance to lead the way again in the evening, and this time he was 0.3s clear of everyone, with Hamilton slumping to fifth. It was the sister McLaren of Button that took second, but the positions were deceptive (post-qualifying Hamilton would be revelling in his 'chuckable' car, while Button admitted the set-up wasn't where he wanted it to be).

Alonso and Webber split the silver cars, and Force India continued to impress with sixth and seventh for Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg.

Romain Grosjean achieved the only top-10 result of the day for Lotus in 10th, as Kimi Raikkonen suggested the team was currently 2s off the pace around Marina Bay and unlikely to regain that ground.

Mercedes was also having a low-key time, its upgrades yet to pay off as Nico Rosberg's eighth represented its Friday highlight.

Marussia's Timo Glock led the tail-end battle, giving his team confidence that it can now take on and beat Caterham all weekend as its Spa upgrade package began to deliver.

Bruno Senna caused a red flag when he clipped the wall and then got his drive-less Williams stranded on track. There were adventures for the struggling Saubers too, as Kobayashi ending the night spinning backwards down the track and Perez explored the escape roads.

Full list of times from practice two.

Practice three - Saturday pm

Vettel completed a practice hat-trick on Saturday, maintaining a 0.3s margin over the rest as Hamilton returned to second place. Along the way the world champion had some KERS worries and a close call with photographers at the pit entrance, but nothing proved too worrying as he set the pace with a 1m47.947s.

But many drivers could claim they were denied a chance to show their hand in a scrappy session.

Perez and Webber both suffered damage when they clanged the barriers entering the tunnel under the grandstand. Glock had a big scare when his Marussia's throttle stuck open, though he managed to bring it to a halt before collecting the barriers. And finally Vitaly Petrov caused a red flag in the final moments when he bounced his Caterham off the wall twice at the exit of the penultimate corner, then spun the broken machine into the pit entrance.

Charles Pic had put his Marussia 1.5s clear of the Caterhams before that incident, but then earned himself the curious penalty of a 20s addition to his race time and a day of 'community service' for the FIA when he overtook under the reds.

Hulkenberg kept up Force India's form in fifth, with team-mate di Resta in seventh. Raikkonen hinted that things might be looking up for Lotus as he took fifth.

Full list of times from practice three.

QUALIFYING

1. Lewis Hamilton

"Yes, I am very happy. Obviously there are no points for today so I am going to work for tomorrow as it will be a tough race and I have some interesting characters around me, so I must be very cautious."

2. Pastor Maldonado

"We've been working really hard as at the beginning of the weekend we were struggling for pace. We continued improving throughout qualifying and we found a good balance in the car. I then had to put together a good lap in Q3 and I knew we could be right up at the front. I'm really looking forward to the race as we've shown consistently good pace on our longer runs throughout practice."

3. Sebastian Vettel

"It's hard to say what happened. I was happy until the end of Q2, but then in Q3 we weren't able to go with the track and improve. In Q3 I couldn't feel the grip so well and convert it to the lap time. The most important day is tomorrow and we have got pace in the car."

4. Jenson Button

"I found it tough. I am struggling, not finding my feet with the car and with my timed lap with the rear going away quite quickly. It is definitely hard but you can still overtake and I just hope it is better than yesterday."

5. Fernando Alonso

"Today, pole position was absolutely out of our grasp: Hamilton was on another planet... We must settle for this fifth place, but that doesn't mean we are not hoping to improve on it tomorrow. Our target is the podium. The result pretty much matches what we expected after yesterday, given that right from the afternoon we were not particularly brilliant."

6. Paul di Resta

"I was very happy with the balance of the car yesterday, but struggled this afternoon during final practice and we seemed to lose our way. So we went back to basics and built up our speed again during qualifying and managed to deliver the laptime when it mattered during Q3 - in fact, it was my best lap of the weekend."

7. Mark Webber

"We expected to be higher than that. It was a tricky session and on every run the car felt a bit different. We didn't have the rear grip that we had in the other sessions; normally the supersoft tyres give us a certain balance, but it was difficult to chase it in that session. It's disappointing to be seventh, but it's a long race tomorrow and we have a chance to get something from it."

8. Romain Grosjean

"After Q1 and Q2 we felt positive but it didn't quite come together in the final session. I pushed a little bit too hard on my last lap; it felt good in the car, but it wasn't good for my lap time and there was one moment where I lost most quite a lot of time. It was pretty close but I don't think I touched the wall ; I'll have to check to see if the Pirelli tyre markings are still there !"

9. Michael Schumacher

"I am reasonably pleased with our qualifying result, considering what we have seen this weekend. Of course, we could have tried to make up one or two positions, although this would have been very difficult. However we decided to give up this possibility in favour of the fact that we now have a fresh set and free choice of tyres going into the race. We decided this strategy after the final practice session, and after seeing who made it into Q3, we went for it."

10. Nico Rosberg

"Our new updates are working reasonably well this weekend, although it will definitely take some more time to optimise the package. After not taking part in Q3, we will have more opportunities for the race tomorrow, and we can decide whether we want to start on the soft or supersoft tyre. It should be an interesting race, so let's see what we can do."

11. Nico Hulkenberg

"We had a car capable of reaching Q3 today, so I feel disappointed to miss out on the top 10. I just didn't find a good rhythm in Q2 and my last lap was not good enough - I made a few small errors which cost me time and a place in Q3."

12. Kimi Raikkonen

"The car was much better overall today than it was yesterday. We were quick with the used tyres but for some reason struggled for grip with the new ones in the second session and we were actually slightly slower. For sure P12 is not the position we wanted; we don't seem to have the speed to challenge the leaders here but the car is definitely quicker than that. We'll see what we can do in the race."

13. Felipe Massa

"It was a very difficult qualifying. I really struggled to put together a good lap, suffering particularly in the final sector, where the rear tyres were sliding and, as a result, were degrading. It's a problem I've had since yesterday and we did not manage to fix it. Let's hope we can do something for the race, otherwise it will be really hard."

14. Sergio Perez

"We have obviously had a difficult weekend here in Singapore. The main issue is that for some reason we didn't get our new package to work. This comes as a surprise because so far all the development steps have paid off. There is a lot of downforce missing. My last lap in Q2 was clear and I think I got the most out of it. We have tried a lot to improve the car's set-up and everything else, but it didn't work out."

15. Daniel Ricciardo

"I was actually happier with my best lap in Q1 than I was with my best effort in Q2, therefore I had been hoping to be a little bit further up the grid, maybe jumping both the Saubers, but this position is not too bad and overall, I'd say we're making progress."

16. Jean-Eric Vergne

"For my first time in Singapore, I feel I can be satisfied with the way qualifying went this evening. Ever since Monza, I have had to deal with some neck pain and I managed that situation well, so that I could deal with all the kerbs and bumps at this track. Finishing within a tenth of my team-mate, who has raced here before, is another reason for me to be pleased with my performance, when I consider I was over a second slower than him yesterday. It's a long race tomorrow, during which I expect to improve even more."

17. Kamui Kobayashi

"We have tried everything but could not get rid of the huge oversteer. I have no confidence in the car and this is really the last thing you want to have to cope with on such a street circuit. The problem I have here reminds me somehow of the one I had in Budapest, where I also struggled with the car. Given how the car is, I don't see how I can recover in the race from where I am starting, but I will not give up, this is certain."

18. Vitaly Petrov

"I'm really happy with how quali went today. It's my father's birthday and the performance is my present for him. He told me this morning 'don't push too hard' and then I went and crashed the car in P3!"

19. Heikki Kovalainen

"Honestly it's been a tough weekend for me so far and today's performance wasn't really any better. I've been struggling to find a decent balance in every session and that definitely affected me today. Despite that this is the type of race where anything can happen so I hope we can have a better Sunday and leave here on a positive note."

20. Timo Glock

"A disappointing start to the day in FP3 and then in terms of the knock-on effect this had on qualifying. To not have a proper run this morning cost us quite a bit, which is a shame as I had a good feeling in the car but not the confidence in terms of the tyres."

21. Charles Pic

"Overall not a bad qualifying after a positive FP3 earlier today. I lost some time in sector three due to traffic but I am reasonably happy apart from that. With regard to the penalty imposed by the FIA after FP3, I have seen the information and I would like to say that I completely agree with it. It was a mistake on my part and I will use the experience wisely."

22. Bruno Senna - Five-place penalty (gearbox)

"It wasn't ideal today. I was pushing very hard to get a good lap but I pushed a little over the edge. This place isn't very forgiving so we broke the rear suspension. Unfortunately that brought an early end to qualifying but we now we need to focus on tomorrow. We have extra sets of new tyres now which I think everyone is going to need. We have a good car and it's a long race."

23. Narain Karthikeyan

"I'm happy because in qualifying I completed an almost perfect lap. I'm pushing very hard and I think that right now I'm driving very well. I'm very comfortable within the team, they help me a lot and make me feel at home, and when the atmosphere is that good it's easy to perform well. I've done two good consecutive qualifying sessions and I hope to keep that momentum."

24. Pedro de la Rosa - Five-place penalty (gearbox)

"Overall my sensations are positive because the car has improved but we didn't complete a good qualifying session. We were using a new set of tyres and they were blocking a lot so we were unable to complete a clean lap. Although I already knew that tomorrow I would be starting last because of the penalty, I tried to complete a quick lap, but it wasn't to be."

Starting grid:

Pos  Driver                Car
 1.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes              
 2.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault     
 3.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault      
 4.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes 
 5.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari 
 6.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes 
 7.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault
 8.  Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault
 9.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes         
10.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes
11.  Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes
12.  Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault
13.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari
14.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari
15.  Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari
16.  Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari
17.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari
18.  Vitaly Petrov         Caterham-Renault
19.  Heikki Kovalainen     Caterham-Renault
20.  Timo Glock            Marussia-Cosworth
21.  Charles Pic           Marussia-Cosworth
22.  Bruno Senna           Williams-Renault
23.  Narain Karthikeyan    HRT-Cosworth
24.  Pedro de la Rosa      HRT-Cosworth

THE RACE

It's becoming an ever more familiar sight as the 2012 Formula 1 season winds on.

Someone like Lewis Hamilton, or in the Singapore Grand Prix's case, Sebastian Vettel, takes a commanding win and gains some championship ground.

But they can't get too jubilant on the podium because as they look to the left or right, that man in the red hat is there. Again. No matter where he qualified. No matter how far off the pace he had seemed all weekend.

And even as they give quietly confident answers to the interviewers who suggest that this performance will be the springboard for them to crack on and hunt down Fernando Alonso in the championship, the Vettel, the Hamilton or whoever it is this weekend must be thinking back to all the other times this season that they had thought they were on a roll, only for the following races to bring disappointment and frustration.

In Singapore, it was Vettel on the top step - and amazingly it was the first time he had been there since Bahrain in April. It probably should have been Hamilton, but his McLaren's gearbox failed as he maintained a small lead over the Red Bull.

On pure pace, this had been a Hamilton/Vettel weekend. Pastor Maldonado's front-row grid slot was a bit of an anomaly during an event that had seen Vettel top all three practice sessions, but normally only after a fight with Hamilton, who then went on to take pole.

With Maldonado dropping from second to fourth on lap one, Hamilton and Vettel started making the race their own, albeit as Jenson Button always lurked behind.

The first pitstops looked like they might shake everything up. Vettel came in relatively early on lap 10 and emerged in heavy traffic, giving Hamilton chance to gain a bit of an advantage before he stopped two laps later, while Button got the most life out of his super softs and went until lap 14.

But those minor divergences made little difference, largely because the time Vettel lost behind the midfielders was swiftly negated when he unleashed some fresh-tyre pace once they had been passed or pitted.

So a Hamilton-Vettel-Button top three seemed guaranteed as stint two started, only for the leader to grind to a halt with a gearbox failure on lap 23.

Hamilton reckoned he had been cruising and had victory in the bag. Although Vettel was only 1.4 seconds behind him at the time, the McLaren man was probably right - with Vettel first to admit that the silver cars were quicker around Marina Bay.

Not quick enough for Button to overhaul Vettel, though. Second was still a good result for the 2009 champion given that he had been uncomfortable with his car's set-up all weekend. Sometimes in those instances that can mean a weekend of midfield misery for Button as his sensitive style proves unproductive. Instead he conjured up a second-row start and runner-up finish. That still leaves him facing a 75-point championship deficit - not insurmountable, but an increasingly long shot.

It would look more achievable if Alonso was less relentless. But seeing as only a Lotus landing in his lap can interrupt his incessant top-five finishes, the double champion's rivals' anxiety about his points lead is justified.

With six races left and McLaren and Red Bull faster than Ferrari more often than not, 29 points is not a comfortable cushion. Yet while Alonso remains adamant that Ferrari will squander the championship if it keeps delivering the third-fastest car (at best) each weekend, all the time the opposition fluctuates from triumph to disaster, he just has to carry on squeezing everything he can out of each race and hope no one gets on a real roll.

Singapore was another great example of Alonso in damage limitation mode. Already down in fifth on the grid, his start wasn't great, but by halfway round lap one he had muscled his way back to where he qualified.

His sights were then set on Maldonado, and there were several close calls as he exerted increasing pressure on the Williams approaching half-distance. There are plenty of drivers with tales to tell about Maldonado's unpredictability, but Alonso was confident to go wheel to wheel with him into some nerve-wracking spots and always sense when to pull back.

In the end, he didn't have to overtake the Williams. Maldonado pitted for a second stop when Narain Karthikeyan's crash brought out the first safety car on lap 33. Alonso stayed out and feared this was a bad move.

In fact it probably would have won the battle for him - as the Ferrari cycled through to third, up with the Vettel/Button 'hares', while the Williams rejoined among the relative tortoises in 10th. Even with a second safety car, Alonso would have been capable of pulling out a sufficient gap to pit again while Maldonado was jostling his way through the queues. As it happened, the Williams was called in with a hydraulic problem before the green.

It's not just Alonso who is profiting from being consistently 'pretty good' while others' results flit from 'astounding' to 'awful'. That approach is paying increasing dividends for Force India too. Still a stranger to the podium in 2012, Vijay Mallya's squad is inching closer to potential multiple winner Sauber in the standings and charging clear of Barcelona victor Williams, while outpacing erstwhile title contenders Lotus and Mercedes on track.

Paul di Resta delivered fourth place in Singapore, while Nico Hulkenberg also had a shot at points before the decision to pit under the second safety car dropped him into the midfield, where he would clash with the Saubers on consecutive laps. The collision with Sergio Perez only caused some minor wing damage for the Monza hero, but bouncing off Kamui Kobayashi a lap later left the Sauber with a broken wing and the Force India with a puncture. They rejoined to finish 13th and 14th respectively. Perez continued for 10th.

The Kobayashi/Hulkenberg incident happened as the Sauber was recovering from being passed by Mark Webber amid a great dice. The Red Bull had also lost out among safety car pit complications, and Webber would get a 20s post-race penalty for putting all four wheels off-course as he completed the move on Kobayashi. That dropped him from 10th to 11th.

Mercedes and Lotus both scored in Singapore after low-key weekends. Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean chased fifth-placed Nico Rosberg home in a battle that probably would've featured Michael Schumacher too had he not slammed into the back of Jean-Eric Vergne's Toro Rosso on the restart after the first safety car, prompting an immediate second safety car.

Schumacher suspected his Mercedes had been afflicted by a mechanical problem, causing it to keep accelerating. The stewards reckoned the problem was actually in the driver's seat and gave Schumacher a 10-place grid penalty for Singapore. Toro Rosso still scored two points with Daniel Ricciardo in ninth.

The other scorer was Felipe Massa, who flew on Sunday, recovering from a first-lap puncture (courtesy of Vitaly Petrov) to finish eighth. Along the way, he produced a Motocross-style pass on Bruno Senna after the Williams squeezed him on the Anderson Bridge. Massa hit both the barrier and Senna, then arrived at the next corner sliding sideways, but in front. His pace may often be in doubt these days, but his fighting spirit is intact.

Possibly the most significant change in the standings in Singapore happened at the bottom of the constructors' pile.

Timo Glock's 12th place moved the improving Marussia squad ahead of Caterham for 10th in the standings, on a day when Heikki Kovalainen was only 15th after his strategy went awry, and Petrov's good qualifying effort was wasted when he smashed his wing on Massa. Charles Pic also showed well, although his penalty for a practice infringement dropped him from 15th to 16th - with 'community service' still to come...

Lap-by-lap as it happened on AUTOSPORT Live

Results - 59 laps:

Pos  Driver              Car                         Time/Gap
 1.  Sebastian Vettel    Red Bull-Renault        2h00m26.144s
 2.  Jenson Button       McLaren-Mercedes            + 8.959s
 3.  Fernando Alonso     Ferrari                    + 15.227s
 4.  Paul di Resta       Force India-Mercedes       + 19.063s
 5.  Nico Rosberg        Mercedes                   + 34.784s
 6.  Kimi Raikkonen      Lotus-Renault              + 35.759s
 7.  Romain Grosjean     Lotus-Renault              + 36.698s
 8.  Felipe Massa        Ferrari                    + 42.829s
 9.  Daniel Ricciardo    Toro Rosso-Ferrari         + 45.820s
10.  Sergio Perez        Sauber-Ferrari             + 50.619s
11.  Mark Webber         Red Bull-Renault         + 1m07.175s
12.  Timo Glock          Marussia-Cosworth        + 1m31.918s
13.  Kamui Kobayashi     Sauber-Ferrari           + 1m37.141s
14.  Nico Hulkenberg     Force India-Mercedes     + 1m39.413s
15.  Heikki Kovalainen   Caterham-Renault         + 1m47.967s
16.  Charles Pic         Marussia-Cosworth        + 2m12.925s
17.  Pedro de la Rosa    HRT-Cosworth                 + 1 lap
18.  Bruno Senna         Williams-Renault      + 2 laps (DNF)
19.  Vitaly Petrov       Caterham-Renault            + 2 laps

Retirements:

     Jean-Eric Vergne    Toro Rosso-Ferrari           38 laps
     Michael Schumacher  Mercedes                     38 laps
     Pastor Maldonado    Williams-Renault             36 laps
     Narain Karthikeyan  HRT-Cosworth                 30 laps
     Lewis Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes             22 laps

World Championship standings, round 14:                

Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1.  Alonso       194        1.  Red Bull-Renault          297
 2.  Vettel       165        2.  McLaren-Mercedes          261
 3.  Raikkonen    149        3.  Ferrari                   245
 4.  Hamilton     142        4.  Lotus-Renault             231
 5.  Webber       132        5.  Mercedes                  136
 6.  Button       119        6.  Sauber-Ferrari            101
 7.  Rosberg       93        7.  Force India-Mercedes       75
 8.  Grosjean      82        8.  Williams-Renault           54
 9.  Perez         66        9.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari         14
10.  Massa         51       
11.  Di Resta      44       
12.  Schumacher    43       
13.  Kobayashi     35       
14.  Hulkenberg    31       
15.  Maldonado     29       
16.  Senna         25       
17.  Vergne         8       
18.  Ricciardo      6       
       

TEAM BY TEAM

Red Bull

Another grand prix where half of the Red Bull garage would be delighted and the other half nonplussed.

The RB8 was always likely to be stronger in Singapore than it had been at Monza and this proved to be so with Sebastian Vettel setting the pace in early practice sessions. However, the team was stunned in qualifying, not just by the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton, but by the Williams of Pastor Maldonado - who relegated the reigning champion to the second row.

Vettel will feel like justice has been done with victory in Singapore after he lost an almost certain victory in Valencia to mechanical failure. The German driver got away better than Maldonado and was tracking Hamilton when the McLaren failed, handing him victory.

However, the team will be less pleased by the performance of the second car. Mark Webber could very easily have failed to score any points at all had Michael Schumacher not mounted the car of Jean-Eric Vergne.

McLaren

McLaren's quest to catch Red Bull in the constructors' championship was dealt more pain after Lewis Hamilton had a likely victory snatched away when his gearbox failed and a reduction in the points deficit turned into an increase in the blink of an eye.

Hamilton led away from the lights and his fears about Maldonado's charging Williams were not realised as the Venezuelan dropped back. Hamilton will feel doubly sore after his lightning pace in qualifying led Vettel to affirm that the McLaren driver would have been difficult to match.

If the Red Bull team was disappointed by a solitary point from Webber then McLaren would have been rather happier with the haul from Jenson Button, who finished in second. However, in truth the 2009 world champion never looked to have the pace of his younger team-mate.

The car came to Button late in the race and he finished clear of a battling Fernando Alonso but his complaints about the McLaren's balance all weekend will still be a worry. At least he managed to avoid running into the back of Vettel at the end of the second safety car period to take 18 points for second.

Ferrari

Christian Horner bemoaned Alonso's finishing record after the Spaniard's third place maintained a gap of more than a race win's points haul to Red Bull's star driver.

The Ferrari never looked to truly have the pace of its main rivals this weekend and Felipe Massa was initially off the pace after his quest to retain his Ferrari drive for 2013 was dealt a boost in Italy. However, the Brazilian showed more mettle in the race to fight back from a puncture on the first lap, in particular with a ballsy move on the hapless Bruno Senna leaving Rob Smedley with his heart in his mouth. Eighth place was a decent return in the circumstances.

Alonso did what he could by turning fifth on the grid into a podium finish, but his fate was largely out of his hands as Hamilton, Vettel and Button set the pace. The threat of Vettel will now be a serious concern as the two double champions prepare for a fight to the finish.

Mercedes

Despite making the third part of qualifying with both cars, Mercedes did not perhaps show the pace that it had hoped for after introducing a raft of upgrades for the second part of the season.

Michael Schumacher started ahead of Nico Rosberg, but only by virtue of his slightly faster Q2 time as the Mercedes drivers accepted the fifth row of the grid and eschewed Q3 runs. The fact that Paul di Resta comprehensively outpaced them in qualifying and in the race is a measure of the work that Ross Brawn and his team still have to do.

The second safety car period was induced by Schumacher, who felt that a mechanical failure was the cause of him ploughing into the back of Vergne's Toro Rosso. However, the stewards still imposed a 10-place grid penalty for Japan in the post-race analysis.

Schumacher seemed to only have the pace for the lower echelons of the points and had settled into the wake of his team-mate after failing to retake the Chinese Grand Prix winner in the opening laps.

Rosberg took fifth place and a handy haul of points for himself and Mercedes but the fact that he was placed behind cars from four other teams tells its own story.

Lotus

This year Lotus has been consistently touted as a race winner in waiting, but its weekend never got going in Singapore.

It has been asked if Kimi Raikkonen can become champion this year without winning a race. Not on this evidence. Lotus will have growing fears about its competitors' increasing pace. Although Raikkonen remains in third position in the championship, he now needs a serious dose of luck or a major upturn in form to close down Alonso and Vettel.

After seven first-lap accidents in the first 12 races and a race ban at Monza, Romain Grosjean bounced back on a difficult weekend for his team.

The Frenchman outqualified his team-mate and stayed out of the limelight on his way to seventh, one place behind Raikkonen, who he let through late on.

Force India

Williams took the headlines on Saturday as Pastor Maldonado booked his front row seat for Sunday's performance. But Force India, and Paul di Resta in particular, had aspirations for a decent points haul too. And their prayers were answered.

Di Resta put his name up in lights at the perfect time as contract negotiations loom with his best finish in F1. Fourth place for the Scot takes him further clear of team-mate Nico Hulkenberg in the points standings and moves the team 21 points clear of rival Williams. With Sauber's woes maybe Vijay Mallya might even have sixth in the constructors' table in his sights.

Hulkenberg had a more interesting afternoon than di Resta. The young German was fighting for further points when he and Kamui Kobayashi touched, with both discovering that carbon fibre and rubber do not mix. Hulkenberg limped back to the pits with a torn rear left tyre and with it his hopes of any points also lay in tatters.

Sauber

In recent times Sauber, and Sergio Perez in particular, has been able to take advantage of challenging tyre wear by running longer than the rest. In Singapore their scheme failed to match its previous success.

In truth the Sauber never appeared to have the outright speed of its rivals. What a difference a few weeks makes. Spa's front-row qualifier Kobayashi could not even make it out of Q1 under the dazzling lights in Singapore and Perez was only a few places ahead of him in 14th.

Both Saubers had altercations with Hulkenberg and Perez was unable to show the lightning pace in the closing stages that fans have become accustomed to. Perhaps his mauled front wing took the edge off his tyre management. Kobayashi was forced to pit for a new front wing and Sauber was forced to leave Singapore with just one point from Perez.

Toro Rosso

Both cars into Q2 and ahead of a Sauber and a Williams - a promising start for Toro Rosso and the race delivered more encouragement.

Daniel Ricciardo took a further two points for ninth but it could have been even better. Jean-Eric Vergne believes that seventh position was on the cards until his race ended early through no fault of his own. Maturity reigned though as the young Frenchman accepted Schumacher's apologies and his reputation will be bolstered after a strong weekend.

Williams

That the Williams has pace is not in question, at least where Maldonado is concerned. However, the weekend followed a familiar tone for the Grove-based squad.

Maldonado seemed to heed the warning imposed by the FIA in the form of Grosjean's recent ban. The Venezuelan driver was fast in qualifying but cautious, for once, at the start as he lost positions to Vettel and Button before the first corner. However, while battling for the final spot on the podium he suffered hydraulic failure and pulled up short of the finish. For once, he wasn't at fault.

Bruno Senna spent much of the weekend in the wars. He clouted the barriers in practice and qualifying, got a gearbox penalty, and then in the race he lost KERS and had to stop.

Caterham

Heikki Kovalianen had the measure of Vitaly Petrov on Sunday but Petrov was impressive during qualifying, outpacing his grand prix winning team-mate.

Petrov's hard work was undone at the start when he tagged Massa and from then on he was consigned to battling for last position, eventually finishing as the final of the runners in 19th after a long pit delay caused by a wheelnut problem.

Kovalianen felt that he should have finished higher after the safety car destroyed his strategy. His on-the-road 16th, he felt, was not just reward for his efforts, with both Marussias finishing ahead of the lead Caterham driver on track.

HRT

Narain Karthikeyan started ahead of his more experienced team-mate again, but the HRTs occupied the back of the grid due to a dearth of penalties - apart from Pedro de la Rosa's own for a gearbox change.

However, for the second race running Karthikeyan's race ended in the barriers, resulting in the first safety car. De la Rosa brought his car home in 17th position and felt that he could have finished as high as 15th had his tyres not given up in the final laps.

Marussia

Timo Glock's 12th position came as a welcome boost on a weekend when safety cars closed the pack up on two occasions. The result gives the team hope that it can maintain its new position of 10th in the constructors' table.

Despite hitting the wall and throwing the tracking of his MR01 out Glock was able to drive round the handling deficiencies.

Charles Pic showed great maturity to accept his penalty from the FIA for Saturday's red flag misdemeanor. On top of his 20s race penalty Pic will spend a day completing a FIA community service order. He was classified 16th.

RACE DATA

The Race in Action

Full race lap times (H)

Full race lap times (V)

Lap chart (positions)

Lap chart (gaps)