Showing brilliant form in a McLaren car which continues to evolve throughout the season, reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton starts the Singapore Grand Prix from pole position
Brawn driver Rubens Barrichello, second in the drivers' championship behind team-mate Jenson Button, will start the race from ninth after an eventful qualifying session which saw the Brazilian crash out late on
Renault's two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, who won the first-ever Singapore GP last year in what has now emerged as hugely controversial circumstances, starts the race in fifth position
Grid girls laugh among themselves ahead of the 14th grand prix of the season, a picture of relaxation contrasting with the tension permeating the drivers as the race fast approaches underneath the lights
And they're off - reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton makes a brilliant start to keep his lead while Nico Rosberg jumps past Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel into second place while Alonso climbs up to fourth
Englishman Hamilton quickly sets about his task, but the chasing Rosberg keeps him sight through the early stages of the race, the only grand prix which runs completely under darkness
Driving smoothly, Button stays out of trouble and manages to move up the field towards the points positions after starting the race from 12th
Romain Grosjean has to retire after three laps as his Renault is suffering with a problem with his brakes, which are overheating. "It's been a black weekend for me," said the Frenchman
Force India's Adrian Sutil crashes into BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld on lap 21, triggering a safety car period for four laps which helps cars that had not pitted at that point and hinders the rest
And Rosberg suffers more than most, stopping just before the safety car period then being hit with a drive-through penalty for veering off the track as he leaves the pit lane - the German duly dropped down the order
As the race unfolds into its middle stages, second-placed Vettel starts to breathe down leader Hamilton's neck - but the German gets a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane, dropping him down to fourth
And Vettel's team-mate Mark Webber suffers a real disaster as he has to retire on lap 46 after brake failure, putting an end to the Australian's faint hopes of winning the 2009 drivers' championship
With Vettel dropping down to fourth, Timo Glock moves into second with a superbly consistent drive to give Toyota a big boost after the Japanese team's recent struggles
But it's Hamilton, showing exactly why he became the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history last season, who wins the race - his second victory of a season in which his McLaren has radically improved along the way
Widely considered to be the two most naturally-talented F1 drivers in the world, old McLaren team-mates Hamilton and Fernando Alonso - who finished third for Renault in Singapore - celebrate in style on the podium
But as the dust settles, it's Jenson Button who emerges the real winner - the Brawn man finished fifth just ahead of team-mate Rubens Barrichello to extend his championship lead to 15 points with three races remaining
What are these?
Bookmark with:
What are these?