The Weekly Grapevine

Alonso, and Santander, for Ferrari?

A glance at the Formula One points tells the tale of the current campaigns of F1's only competing world champions, 2005/06 holder Fernando Alonso and Ferrari's reigning champion, Kimi Raikkonen.

Despite driving a Renault whose model designation should be K9, not R28, Spain's double champion has scored 20 points - via two fourth places and a win - in the past three grands prix. In every race this year Alonso has given it his all, even when he knew inwardly that the cause was lost even before venturing out for Q1.

During the same period, the Finn, who has not won a race since Spain in early May, despite driving arguably the best car, blotted his copybook thrice, twice via self-inflicted crashes in the closing stages of the Belgian and Singapore rounds respectively. The third blob came after a lacklustre race at Monza, ironically coinciding with Ferrari's announcement that it had extended his contract by a year to the end of 2010.

The Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen and Renault of Fernando Alonso © LAT

The news seemed to seal BMW's Nick Heidfeld's fate, for the word was that 'Ferdi' was holding out for a Ferrari seat in 2009 (should Kimi retire a year early, as mooted by many, or get the red-lined boot, as some suggested would be the case), failing which he would move to the Bavarian team for a year, after which Kimi was expected to retire to enjoy his many homes and big boys' toys.

BMW was known to be actively pursuing the Spaniard's signature, as were, allegedly, Honda and Toro Rosso, so BMW's announcement, made on Monday, that it was retaining Robert Kubica and the German for 2009 moved the focus back on to Alonso. Would he join the Japanese or Austrians, or remain at Renault F1, which is undergoing a major management change at the top?

This question, though, overlooks the determination of Spanish bank Santander to simultaneously snare Alonso and Ferrari. The company came into F1 last year, joining McLaren in order to be linked with the driver, but, as is public knowledge, it was a match made in hell for Alonso, who moved back to the French-owned squad.

Santander, though, was unable to move in unison due to Renault's title partnership with ING, so endured another year at McLaren while expanding its F1 properties, culminating in the trophy awarded to Monza victor Sebastian Vettel being what must be the most hideous ever awarded in F1.

Thus the cash-rich bank (a total anomaly in these times), whose corporate colours neatly match Ferrari's classic livery, has long been said to have inked a deal with the Italian team to replace the tobacco company, which aggressively flew in the face of convention (and, arguably, certain laws), but has at last recognised the words writ large on the wall.

But would Santander be satisfied with the patently underperforming Kimi when it really craves Fernando as logo bearer? If rumours doing the rounds after Alonso's sensational win in Singapore have any legs, Santander could see its wishes fulfilled sooner rather than later.

Allegedly the bank has offered to buy out the full balance of Raikkonen's contract (two years at an estimated $50m per annum) and fund Alonso's similar demands for the same period - in addition to its title sponsorship of the Italian team, and at least two race sponsorships.

According to the source the deal has already been done, and could be announced within weeks...

It won't always be all right on the night

Now the euphoria over Singapore has died down, the time has come to take stock of the night-race concept. Sure, the race was a resounding success. Sure, it presented Formula One in a totally different light (sorry). Sure, it drew the punters in far greater numbers - whether on Friday, Saturday or Sunday - than does another, established grand prix situated just 200 miles to the north.

Santander Group CEO Don Alfredo Saenz © XPB

The TV numbers, too, were up in F1's main traditional markets (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK), with a reported 30m fans tuning into race broadcasts - up approximately 50 per cent on ratings for non-title showdown grands prix, and well up on some of the soporific events staged at the same Sunday afternoon hour.

In a single weekend the race transformed perceptions of the city state, which had been in the eyes of many little more than a prime pass-through airport hub and sea container port. Overnight (or should that be over night?), Singapore became an attractive tourist destination - which had been the prime motivation behind the grand prix in the first place.

But whether the full benefits of a full-on international spectator event cascaded down to the local hospitality industry is another question, for all weekend tales did the rounds of half-empty hotels and even emptier restaurants. Although the local tourist board may dispute this statement, it remains a fact that a journalist who screwed up his travel plans was able to secure a room in a budget hotel for the full period with just one telephone call.

By no means, though, was it only the bottom end that suffered vacancies: another grand prix regular decided on an impromptu visit and found a room in the first four-star establishment he walked into. Comparing rates with other guests later, he was delighted to discover that he had been granted a 50 per cent discount off the 'rack' rate. Hopefully Singaporean hotel managers paid their school fees...

This columnist's daily journeys - undertaken, due to the 'European' time schedule, between midday and midnight on all four grand prix days - took him past numerous shopping centres situated within 10 minutes' walk of the circuit. Notably conspicuous within their food outlets, whether fast food or premium restaurants, were the number of empty seats or tables at what should have been peak periods even without the race. So, did the locals simply stay away from the area?

But, as outlined, it was a case of mission mostly accomplished, even if the absence of expected storms meant the dreaded mix of floodlights and flooded circuit was postponed and the entire show cost upwards of €100m (£80m/$140m). Thus F1 personnel can look forward to working at ungodly hours in humid conditions for many years to come.

Does the success of Singapore's race mean, though, that the night-race concept should be extended to most or even all races situated two or more hours west of Central European Time, as many, including F1 ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone, have subsequently suggested?

Set aside for a moment the astronomical cost of erecting the 12 mini power stations (each with back-up unit), 1500 floodlights and 108 kilometres of fibre optic cabling required to stage a Grade 1 event (and the fact that virtually every F1 race is racking up enormous losses at present), and focus on the most important contributor to the success of Singapore's race, on the factor that set it apart from another world class grand prix (Qatar's MotoGP round in March).

That factor is, of course, Singapore's magical night-time skyline, seen in glorious Technicolor on TV screens across the world. Now consider the (non-) attraction of a night grand prix at Suzuka or Sepang, or even the space-age Shanghai International Circuit. Worse, consider the black hole that is Bahrain in pitch darkness...

The Marina Bay circuit in Singapore © LAT

One of the attractions of the FIA Formula One World Championship since its inception has been its variety. Thus this year's calendar features a race through a park (Melbourne), an event in a stadium on the Equator (Malaysia), a desert grand prix (Bahrain), a typically stylish European event (Barcelona), a race straddling two continents (Turkey), the streets of Monaco, a grand prix on a river island (Montreal), the middle of nowhere (France) and the grand daddy of them all (Britain).

The second half has brought a race within kilometres of the birthplace of the automobile (Hockenheim), the first grand prix in the former eastern bloc (Hungary), another urban event within sight of the Mediterranean (Valencia), the Spa-Francorchamps and Monza classics and Singapore's night race. Rounding off the season are events in the shadow of an iconic mountain (Fuji), in China and an impoverished suburb of Sao Paulo.

Each and every venue has its own attractions, and it is this need for variety that caused Champ Car and NASCAR to embrace non-ovals. What set Singapore apart from the rest of F1's circuits was not its reliance on city streets and ocean front, for that distinction belongs to Monaco, its tropical humidity (Malaysia lays claim to that), or that the race utilised a mix of urban, harbour and custom-built streets (Valencia), but that it ran under an enchanting night-time skyline to a full-house crowd.

Now imagine Bahrain's Sakhir circuit in darkness (Qatar showed just how abhorrent it could be), or Suzuka's Snake or 130R at night. For that matter, consider the sight of Sepang's empty grandstands when exposed to the harsh glare of 1500 x 1500 watt bulbs, or Fuji without its iconic backdrop due to darkness. (Yes, it's seldom visible during grands prix, but when there is daylight there exists hope.)

In his weekly column in Switzerland's Blick newspaper, the ever-incisive Peter Sauber summed it up best: "The TV visuals were extremely impressive; the glamorous skyline gave the race a very special quality. A night race in Singapore makes sense," said the 64-year old Swiss, "simply because of the time zone and the tremendous atmosphere.

"However," he warned, "there are circuits which are situated in No-man's Land, and there the backdrop will resemble little more than a computer game." The founder of the team that still partly bears his name believes there is room for no more than two night races per year.

Even that could prove one too many.