PF1's Conclusions From Singapore

No Real Complaints From Red Bull
Third place after starting in fifth also amounted to bullet-dodging for the World Championship leader. His early pit-stop proved to be an inspired call and while Horner did his reputation as an objective viewer no good by declaring Hamilton to be entirely at blame for his collision with Webber, the Red Bull team principal earned his money this weekend by sticking to his guns even when the Aussie questioned the call to stop.

It was unfortunate, however, that Vettel pitted on the same lap as Alonso and was thus unable to display his full pace in clean air. Would a couple of laps free from Alonso's rear-wing have been sufficient for Vettel to get the jump? Maybe. In another role reversal from two weeks ago, Alonso only needed one clear lap in Monza to jump Button for the win.

In any case, Vettel is in no position to point the finger of blame given that his careless failure to select first gear at the stop cost him at least a second. The youngster continues to make hard work of a season that should have been far easier running.

Alonso Does It All By Himself
Then again, Vettel wouldn't have jumped Alonso even with the cleanest of clean get-away and Alonso probably wouldn't have been bothered if Vettel spent the final 30 laps just behind him rather than only the last three. Alonso has made a surprising number of mistakes this season but he looked utterly unperturbed and unflustered by the harassment of the Red Bull in Singapore. Combined with one of the outstanding qualifying laps of the campaign and the weekend added up to an outstanding display of driving by the Spaniard. At the decisive stage of the season, he is the man in form.

His prospects of winning the title would be greatly enhanced with a better set of results from his team-mate, however. Felipe Massa is the joker up Alonso's sleeve because he can be sure that the Brazilian will not be finishing ahead of him again this year. His only role in the remaining four (or three) races will be to take points off Alonso's rivals.

Mechanical failures wrecked Massa's weekend but it was difficult not to watch him big overtaken by Robert Kubica without wondering just how long it will be before the Pole takes his seat. The only ingredient missing in this year's title race is the absence of a second Ferrari.

The McLarens Need To Toughen Up
But there are unlikely to be too many complaints with the stewards' verdict that the collision was a racing accident, not least because on another day it would have been Webber's car, rather than Hamilton's, crippled by the clash.

A tangent in the debate is the mounting evidence suggesting that the McLaren is a brittle motor vehicle. Just look at its track history: Sebastian Vettel was able to continue in Belgium after putting an almighty hole in Jenson Button's Mclaren. In Italy, Hamilton's front suspension was wrecked by a brush with Felipe Massa's undamaged Ferrari. And in Singapore, with roles reserved and Webber in the position of Hamilton's McLaren in Monza, it was still the McLaren that retired while its rival carried on.

"We dodged a bullet," admitted Webber. McLaren, on the other hand, look vulnerable to a fatality every time they are in the firing line.

Star of the Race
Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 1st
In what was easily one of the drives of the season, Fernando Alonso, coupled with inspired/lucky guesswork strategy from his pitwall, clung on to an unexpected win at the Singapore GP.

The Spaniard resisted a mountain of pressure from Sebastian Vettel, and was error-free. He had won a fortnight before in Monza despite a few slip-ups at the start of the race. This time he was immaculate.

The one chink in his armour was going to be when he stopped for tyres and incredibly Ferrari managed to detect when Red Bull were about to make their pit-stop and react.

It was reminiscent of the races where he withstood immense pressure from Michael Schumacher, also in a faster car, and came out on top. It was a drive worthy of a World Champion, maybe a three-time World Champion.

Something that doesn't quite add up...
Were Ferrari listening to Red Bull's radio messages? When the BBC's Ted Kravitz asked the Ferrari team if they had been aware that Sebastian Vettel was about to stop they said no. They told the pitlane reporter that they were making the move to cover off the pit-stops of the McLaren pair of Button and Hamilton. That doesn't add up. At the time, Hamilton was over 20 seconds behind the lead Ferrari and after his pit-stop he was behind Webber.

Ferrari moved into the pitlane for Alonso's stop before Red Bull came out into the pitlane, Red Bull jumped a few seconds later. And Sebastian Vettel was so caught out by the identical timing that he almost muffed his getaway.

All that aside, for Ferrari to win at the lowest downforce circuit at Monza and then win at the highest downforce circuit in Singapore two weeks later is a remarkable achievement. No wonder Christian Horner has gone a shade paler.

Overtaking Moves of the Race
Laps 45 to 56: Robert Kubica, Renault moving from P13 to P7
For the first time, not one move, but a series of moves that carried Robert Kubica through from P13 to P7. Rejoining after a late-race puncture robbed him of sixth place Kubica opted for hard tyres when logic probably said he'd have been better off with the softer options. It didn't seem to matter. He set about overtaking P12 to P7 Adrian Sutil with the kind of controlled aggression that is a joy to watch. He probably overtook more people in 11 laps than Sebastian Vettel has all season.

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 2nd
Apparently Vettel wasn't going to be in P2 by the time we got to the first turn, it was going to be Lewis Hamilton. Ron told us. As it was, Vettel got a blinding start and almost snatched P1 off Alonso going into Turn 1. It was one of his best starts of the season. For the rest of the race he pushed when he could, but he came up against a resolute World Champion in top form.

He said after the race that he didn't dare risk overtaking Alonso, but there was hardly an opportunity from lights to flag.

Mark Webber, Red Bull, 3rd
And just when it was all going so well... Having criticised Mark Webber in the past for blundering into overtaking moves, his Monza performance looked to have shed that unhappy ghost. It was back in Singapore.

Following the restart after the second Safety Car he had been overtaken by Lewis Hamilton on the straight and was way off line going into the corner. Lewis passed him, left him room, and still he clattered into the back of him.

For those who thought it was a fair and sensible move (Brundle) where was his car going to go after he braked? He was behind Hamilton, he was on far too tight a line to make the corner alongside Hamilton, it was obvious he couldn't make the turn and avoid hitting the McLaren.

It was certainly a racing incident, but a racing incident the kind we see executed by rookies who haven't quite worked out what F1 is about. For competitors slugging it out for a World Championship it was a crazy move, because as Bridgestone showed after the race, his front tyre was hanging on the rim by 5mm. He was extraordinarily lucky to continue, let alone not lose a place. It smacked of desperation, of a man who realises this is his one and only shot at being World Champion.

Christian Klien, Hispania, DNF

Rare for an HRT driver to figure in the Winners, but in one race Klien has probably ended Bruno Senna's F1 career. For the Austrian to jump into a car he's never driven, at a circuit where there is very little margin for error, and qualify a second quicker than Senna is nothing short of amazing.

It both highlights Klien's ability and Senna's apparent lack of it. It doesn't cast a flattering shadow across Karun Chandhok's performances either. Surely Klien should be in a seat somewhere.