Webber Leads the Field as the F1 Championship Heats Up

Submitted by Andrea Cairone on September 29, 2010 - 4:38pm

Two weeks ago I suggested keeping an eye on the final races of the Formula 1 championship. Things were heating up and heading for the most exciting finish in years, Now, after the Singapore Grand Prix, the championship fight has gotten even better. It's still very much a five-way horse race but with four races to go the order has changed dramatically.

The Championship leader after the Italian Grand Prix, Mclaren's Lewis Hamilton had his second DNF following a dramatic clash with his immediate championship pursuer, Red Bull's Mark Webber. Hamilton's praised for his aggressiveness and criticized for his lack of strategic thinking, Webber is not one know to back down or give up position without a fight. The collision was almost inevitable.

Webber was very lucky to come out of that altercation with all four wheels attached and was able to finish the race in third. This moved the Australian to first place in the championship but only by eleven points over Ferrari's Fernando Alonso. On the heels of his win in Monza, the spaniard was spectacular once again in Singapore scoring a "Grand Slam": pole, led every lap, had the fastest lap and won the race never bowing to pressure from second place Sebastian Vettel. Mclaren's Jenson Button played the conservative turtle to Lewis Hamilton's hare and brought the car home in fourth place, keeping him in contention.

There are still some questions about Korea's ability to finish the track on time by October 22. but if all goes well there are still a maximum of 100 points in play in Japan, Korea, Brazil and Abu Dhabi.

Here are the championship standings after the Singapore Grand Prix:

Still in the fight

  1. Mark Webber Red Bull Renault 202 
  2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 191 
  3. Lewis Hamilton Mclaren Mercedes 182 
  4. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Renault 181 
  5. Jenson Button Mclaren Mercedes 177 not mathematically eliminated 
  6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 128 
  7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP 122
  8. Robert Kubica Renault 114 

The rest are all out of the fight . Stay tuned, anything can still happen!

 

Read more from Andrea Cairone at Axis of Oversteer

Photo Credit: Andrea Cairone