Monday, 22 September 2014

F1 2014: Hamilton leads the way under the Singapore lights

LEWIS HAMILTON regained the lead in the Drivers' Championship yesterday after his seventh win of the season came in the night race in Singapore.

Championship rival Nico Rosberg was forced to start from the pit lane with an electronics problem before the same issue led to his retirement after 14 laps.

And Hamilton's unanswered 25-point haul means he now leads his Mercedes team-mate by three points heading into the last five races.

That represents quite a turnaround for Hamilton who was as many as 29 points behind Rosberg after the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa just four weeks ago.

There, the rivalry between Hamilton and Rosberg, which had been threatening to erupt all season, finally came to the boil as the pair collided at Les Combes.

A poor start by pole-sitter Rosberg had given Hamilton the lead by the first corner - but, on the second lap, Rosberg was able to close back up and tried to overtake Hamilton on the outside.

The move did not come off and, as Hamilton turned into the left-handed part of the chicane, his left rear tyre was caught and punctured by Rosberg's front wing.

Damage to the wing cost Rosberg any chance of victory - but he was still able to battle back up to the second place behind Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo. Hamilton, meanwhile, was forced to retire for a third time this year.

By contrast, Rosberg - up until this weekend - had only retired once, in Silverstone, and so the luck at least appears to have now started to even itself out.

Still, though, the season is not fully reflected in the points totals. For, while Hamilton has seven race wins, Rosberg has only four and yet it remains almost neck-and-neck.

But, rather than dumb luck, the issue appears to be with the points system and the differential between first and second place.

Currently 25 and 18 points respectively, finishing runner-up in a Grand Prix is worth 72% of the total points that the winner receives.

While favourable in comparison with the system used between 2003 and 2009 when the scores were 10 and eight, the use of 10 and six points between 1991 and 2002 best rewarded race wins.

In a campaign dominated by two men, this differential has become even more relevant especially as Rosberg has finished second on five occasions when Hamilton has won the race and the opposite has only happened twice.

Yes, it is important that consistency is rewarded - but, given that the top 10 all score, this would not be negated even if the value of a Grand Prix victory was increased back to where it once was.

It would not be difficult to implement either. The 15 points currently awarded for third place is 60% of the 25 points for a win - ie. the equivalent of six and 10 - and so should be used for second place instead.

Twelve points should go to third instead of fourth, 10 points to fourth instead of fifth and so on until the last four point-scorers are awarded four, three, two and one - rather than six, four, two and one.

If the above plan was implemented, Hamilton would be leading Rosberg by 229 points to 215 - still not a particularly big lead but one which is more reflective of the season as a whole.

Instead, the FIA stubbornly stands by its decision to keep the championship open until the last race in Abu Dhabi where double points will be awarded.

Of course, leaving the championship undecided until the season finale will add excitement to the proceedings.

But it is impossible to get rid of the feeling that the climax is a manufactured gimmick in a panicked response to the dominance in recent years of Sebastian Vettel.

One thing is for sure - the German will not be retaining his title for a fifth consecutive time this year.

Nevertheless, the absence of a competitive Rosberg in Singapore meant compatriot Vettel made it onto the podium in his Red Bull for only the third time this season.

That compares poorly to his team-mate Ricciardo who finished third yesterday for his seventh top-three placing, including three race wins.

And that third place was enough to keep the Aussie comfortably clear of the pack as the best of the rest behind Hamilton and Rosberg.

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso is fourth in the standings, having finished fourth in Singapore, ahead of Vettel and Williams' impressive Finn Valtteri Bottas who failed to score for just the second time all season.

In the Constructors' Championship, Mercedes still have a 174-point lead over Red Bull and could win that title at the next race in Suzuka on 5 October.

Williams remain ahead of Ferrari in third place - though the gap down to nine points - and, in another tight battle, Force India are fifth ahead of McLaren by just six points.

Meanwhile, right at the back of the grid, Marussia are steadfastly holding onto ninth place ahead of the pointless Sauber and Caterham, thanks to Jules Bianchi's glorious two points at Monaco.

Where next then? Well, a week after Suzuka, F1 visits the Winter Olympic resort of Sochi in Russia for the first time before a three-week gap ahead of the United States Grand Prix in Austin.

The Texan circuit is the first part of another double-header, the second of which is in Sao Paulo in Brazil - before what will surely be a decider in the United Arab Emirates.

After all, even with the momentum now firmly behind the Englishman, surely neither Hamilton nor Rosberg will be more than 50 points clear by then.

As Hamilton admits himself, it really is still all to play for.

FORMULA ONE 2014
DateTV
Pole positionFastest lapWinner
16 MarchSkyAustralian Grand PrixHamiltonRosbergRosberg
30 MarchBBCMalaysian Grand PrixHamiltonHamiltonHamilton
6 AprilSkyBahrain Grand PrixRosbergRosbergHamilton
20 AprilSkyChinese Grand PrixHamiltonRosbergHamilton
11 MayBBCSpanish Grand PrixHamiltonVettelHamilton
25 MaySkyMonaco Grand PrixRosbergRäikkönenRosberg
8 JuneBBCCanadian Grand PrixRosbergMassaRicciardo
22 JuneSkyAustrian Grand PrixMassaPerezRosberg
6 JulyBBCBritish Grand PrixRosbergHamiltonHamilton
20 JulySkyGerman Grand PrixRosbergHamiltonRosberg
27 JulySkyHungarian Grand PrixRosbergRosbergRicciardo
24 AugustBBCBelgian Grand PrixRosbergRosbergRicciardo
7 SeptemberBBCItalian Grand PrixHamiltonHamiltonHamilton
21 SeptemberSkySingapore Grand PrixHamiltonHamiltonHamilton
5 OctoberBBCJapanese Grand Prix


12 OctoberBBCRussian Grand Prix


2 NovemberSkyUnited States Grand Prix


9 NovemberSkyBrazilian Grand Prix


23 NovemberBBCAbu Dhabi Grand Prix



STANDINGS
Drivers' Championship
PDriverTeamPoints
01Lewis Hamilton (Gbr)Mercedes241 (7 wins)
02Nico Rosberg (Ger)Mercedes238 (4 wins)
03Daniel Ricciardo (Aus)Red Bull-Renault181 (3 win)
04Fernando Alonso (Spa)Ferrari133
05Sebastian Vettel (Ger)Red Bull-Renault124
06Valtteri Bottas (Fin)Williams-Mercedes 122
07Jenson Button (Gbr)McLaren-Mercedes72
08Nico Hulkenberg (Ger)Force India-Mercedes72
09Felipe Massa (Brz)Williams-Mercedes65
10Sergio Pérez (Mex)Force India-Mercedes45
11Kimi Räikkönen (Fin)Ferrari45
12*Kevin Magnussen (Den)McLaren-Mercedes39
13Jean-Eric Vergne (Fra)Toro-Rosso-Renault19
14Romain Grosjean (Fra)Lotus-Renault8
15*Daniil Kyvat (Rus)Toro-Rosso-Renault8
16Jules Bianchi (Fra)Marussia-Ferrari2
17Adrian Sutil (Ger)Sauber-Ferrari0
18*Marcus Ericsson (Swe)Caterham-Renault0
19Pastor Maldonado (Ven)Lotus-Renault0
20Esteban Gutiérrez (Mex)Sauber-Ferrari0
21Max Chilton (Gbr)Marussia-Ferrari0
22Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn)Caterham-Renault0
*= Debut season in F1

Constructors' Championship
PTeamPoints
01Mercedes479 (11 wins)
02Red Bull-Renault305 (3 wins)
03Williams-Mercedes187
04Ferrari178
05Force India-Mercedes117
06McLaren-Mercedes111
07Toro Rosso-Renault27
08Lotus-Renault8
09Marussia-Ferrari2
10Sauber-Ferrari0
11Caterham-Renault0

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