SINGAPORE GP 2009 QUALIFYING

Lewis Hamilton took pole position for the 2nd Singapore GP tonight with a blazing lap of 1.47.891 while Rubens Barrichello crashed into the barriers red-stopping the qualifying session with 30 seconds to go. Lewis was fast all night although it was possible that either Vettel for Rosberg could have beaten him to pole without the red flag.

It could have been a close fight with the pole sitter decided after the chequered flag had fallen as has happened many times before, which would have made it that much more exciting. In fact, Vettel was on fire on that last lap that Rubens crashed with a purple sector 1. But then again Lewis could have been unbeatable as his car was rebuilt overnight after some electrical problems and according to Lewis the car was fantastic to drive and he could have gone quicker if need be.

But that is racing and it does look like the start later could be an interesting one. Fuel weights could play a role later. We'll see.

The Brawns were quite a disappointment with Rubens crashing. Although he stayed at P5, he did change his gearbox and will take a 5 grid place penalty. That still puts him in front of Jensen Button who starts a disappointing P12. The championship battle seems to be between Barrichello and Button but with both Red Bulls in front of them, Vettel P2 and Webber P4, things could still go to the wire at the end of the season.

Kovalainnen again disappoints with a P10, not showing much life throughout the whole qualifying session. This does not bode well for his seat next year. Honestly, McLaren needs Rosberg or Vettel there next year as they can't win the constructors championship with just one driver scoring points.

Ferrari are in for another difficult race with Kimi P13 and Fisichella P18. It looks like the Ferraris are not well balanced here. Last year they left Singapore without any points as Kimi crashed and Massa finishing out of the points after the safety car came out and he tore his refuelling hose.

The 2 BMWs are looking strong with the new updates that they have and could finish in the points with both cars in the top ten after qualifying. These last few races are their chance to show that they can start strong next year and are worthy of a big sponsor. force India disappoints with both drivers languishing near the bottom, expected maybe that their car is not so good with higher downforce tracks.

Others are not even worth a mention as they were not even covered much by the TV cameras. Looking forward to the race later, something tells me with the very dusty track and tight turns there will probably be another safety car which will re-arrange the order halfway and throw out some strategies. Hopefully, some strategies does not include purposely crashing a car again.

Times
01 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:47.891
02 S. Vettel Red Bull 1:48.204
03 N. Rosberg Williams 1:48.348
04 M. Webber Red Bull 1:48.722
05 R. Barrichello Brawn GP 1:48.828
06 F. Alonso Renault 1:49.054
07 T. Glock Toyota 1:49.180
08 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:49.307
09 R. Kubica BMW 1:49.514
10 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:49.778
11 K. Nakajima Williams 1:47.013
12 J. Button Brawn GP 1:47.141
13 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:47.177
14 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:47.369
15 J. Trulli Toyota 1:47.413
16 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:48.231
17 J. Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:48.340
18 G. Fisichella Ferrari 1:48.350
19 R. Grosjean Renault 1:48.544
20 V. Liuzzi Force India F1 1:48.792