20/09/2013

F1 Singapore

Update 22 Sep 2013: Vettel wins Singapore Grand Prix
Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany holds the trophy on the podium after winning the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix. (AFP PHOTO/ROSLAN RAHMAN)

Sebastian Vettel took a huge step towards his fourth straight world title on Sunday with a superlative victory in Singapore that left his rivals fighting for scraps.

The German, starting from pole, fought off Nico Rosberg in the first corner and despite a safety car intervention, he was untouchable as he scored his third win in a row and a hat-trick of wins in Singapore.

Ferrari's Alonso finished second to keep up the title pressure on Vettel, who now leads the championship by 60 points from the Spaniard with six races remaining.

related:
In Pictures: Singapore Grand Prix 2013

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Singapore sting as booed Vettel wins again

Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel, left, of Germany celebrates while his team principal Christian Horner, right, looks on, after winning the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix on the Marina Bay City Circuit in Singapore, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013.(AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
The Associated Press/Wong Maye-E - Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel, left, of Germany celebrates while his team principal Christian Horner, right, looks on, after winning the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix on the Marina Bay City Circuit in Singapore, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013.(AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

Sebastian Vettel took a huge step towards his fourth straight world title Sunday with a superlative victory in Singapore that left his rivals fighting for scraps but again prompted boos from the crowd.

The German, starting from pole, fought off Nico Rosberg on the first bend and despite a safety car intervention, he was untouchable as he took his third win in a row and a hat-trick of wins in Singapore.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso finished second to keep up the title pressure on Vettel, who now leads the championship by 60 points from the Spaniard with six races remaining.

Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen braved back pain to finish third but there was disaster for Red Bull's Mark Webber, whose late charge ended in a blown engine and a ride back to the pits on the wing of Alonso's Ferrari.

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David Beckham appears at the Singapore GP

F1 Grand Prix of Singapore

Beckham is given a tour of the Mercedes GP team garage by Mercedes GP Team Principal Ross Brawn during the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix at Marina Bay Street Circuit on September 22, 2013 in Singapore.

Vettel rules again at Singapore GP. Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel conquers the Marina Bay circuit for the third time, and marches 60 points clear of Fernando Alonso in his quest for a fourth straight world title.

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Business still poor during Singapore GP despite promotions



Not many shoppers visited Marina Square yesterday, in line with a trend over the years of people giving the Marina Bay area a wide berth during the F1 week because of road closures.

Some retailers at Raffles City, CityLink Mall, Marina Square, Esplanade and Suntec City say takings plunge by as much as 50 per cent during race week, as regular shoppers stay away.

related:

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Singapore Grand Prix attracting more foreign visitors

SMRT to extend train, bus feeder, LRT services for F1 weekend


Four special bus services during F1 weekend



SBS Transit will extend its train operating hours and offer four special bus services during the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix weekend from next Friday till Sunday.

The special bus services - NS16, EW5, EW27 and EW1 - will serve residents in Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Boon Lay and Pasir Ris in the wee hours of the morning. They will complement the extended MRT hours, with a flat fare of $1.50 per ride.

These are in addition to the Nite Owl bus services that operate on Friday and Saturday evenings.

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F1: Hard for Caterham to overtake big boys



Formula One has long been synonymous with a champagne-popping, party-hopping lifestyle embraced by its drivers and fans. But beyond the glitz and glamour, it is also a gritty, never-ending race for survival

Just ask Caterham Technology chief Mike Gascoyne, who has been with the team since their inception in 2010 under the Lotus moniker. For the Malaysian-owned outfit, uncorking bottles of bubbly on the podium is still a distant dream. After 31/2 seasons of racing, they are still chasing a first top-10 finish.

"The fact that new teams like us still haven't scored a point shows how bloody difficult it is," Gascoyne noted. The Briton was in town recently to deliver lectures to budding engineers at local tertiary institutions

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The Singapore Grand Prix - did you know?



Did you know that the Marina Bay Street Circuit covers an area of 799,000 square metres, the equivalent of 112 full-size football pitches? Ahead of the 2013 Formula 1 Singtel Singapore Grand Prix, we present a plethora of fascinating facts and figures about the race

• The Singapore Grand Prix has been run five times previously, all at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. The inaugural event in 2008 was the first F1 race to be run at night under floodlights and was won, somewhat controversially, by Renault’s Fernando Alonso.

• The infrastructure required to hold a race on Singapore’s streets is considerable: over 10 kilometres of debris fencing is used, as well as around 2,600 concrete barriers, over 1,600 TecPro barriers and around 1,500 lights to illuminate the circuit.

• The Marina Bay Street Circuit has 23 corners - the most of any circuit on the calendar.


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S'pore Grand Prix: Six years on and still a spectacle


The machines have arrived. So too most of the estimated 500 tonnes of equipment

But even as Singapore awaits the roar of the Formula One cars' 2.4-litre V8 engines later this week, and last-minute touches are put on the Marina Bay Street Circuit, there is no doubt that there is a buzz about town.

Only limited tickets to the SingTel Singapore Grand Prix are available with just six days to go and organisers say they have already exceeded last year's total attendance of 84,317. A full-sized Mercedes show car, together with personal racing gear from the 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton, went on display at UBS' One Raffles Quay headquarters last week. The Swiss bank is a global partner of F1.

Even non-trackside facilities have been getting in on the act. At Royal Plaza on Scotts, a life-sized car made of pasta by a team of 18 chefs and culinary staff has been placed in the hotel's lobby. And under the Rev-Up @Orchard campaign, held in conjunction with Grand Prix Season Singapore 2013, Ferrari and Mercedes show cars and official F1 merchandise stores dot the nation's prime shopping belt. All this, for a race that is into its sixth edition.

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Formula One stars dazzle ahead of Singapore night race