Fernando Alonso took pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix on the streets where he scored probably his most controversial victory two years ago, where his victory was handed to him when his Renault team-mate crashed deliberately in order to bring out a Safety Car and give the Spaniard an advantage. Fernando says that as far as he is concerned the win in 2008 is as valid as any other win, but clearly he wants to add to that victory and win the race fairly and squarely – and add more points to his World Championship total for this year. The bad news for Fernando is that the four men behind on the grid are the four men he is fighting for the title, with Sebastian Vettel second, Lewis Hamilton third, Jenson Button fourth and Mark Webber fifth. The two he needs to worry most about are Hamilton and Webber as they are ahead on points and will add to their titles, thus minimising the damage that Fernando can do.
Beyond the top five, the pack is led by Rubens Barrichello, ahead of Nico Rosberg, Robert Kubica, Michael Schumacher and Kamui Kobayashi.
joeblogsf1 
And with his team mate effectively out of the race and unable to help him win…at least in the conventional manner…
I wonder if he’ll have an itty bitty crash at some point…
I’m not sure who’s shame you’re referring to there Joe. Alonso’s or the shame you should be feeling with a title like the one you penned. Half the blog entry re-hashing 2 years prior? Wasn’t this quali 3 session exciting enough for you? Good grief man let it go.
Chino Devoti,
Those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it. I don’t care whether you want to forget the embarrassing past. I think it is a valid point.
hello joe, is it safe to more than presume that Red Bull’ challengers have effectively lost ground due to the FIA test changes. aldo, that they were showboating all throughout the weekend just to obscure the fact that there wings were clipped?
all in all hamilton seems in the best possible position?
Hello Joe,
I am not sure what title you would have employed for this post had Lewis Hamilton been on pole position….
Regards.
the bad news for Fernando ? I can only see good news:
He is in front of everybody,
Lewis is in front of Mark
Webber is only 5th on the grid,
Vettel is in front of Lewis, and the start could be a tough one but not necessarily for Fernando.
The man in front has always more chances to win the race (that’s what the pole is made for, as far as I know…)
It is entirely in his hands to stay in front at the start, he is at the best place to do that… If he doesn’t, he will have only himself to blame.
I cannot see anything better for him, with the exception of Massa being somewhere closer…. Poor Felipe that was not his day!
If the quali results were the race results Fernando would be over the moon. Wouldn’t he?
You just can’t drop it, can you Joe? It’s not becoming….
Cort,
Sorry if history upsets you, but one can forgive but one should never forget.
The very fact that Alonso still counts Singapore 2008 as a valid win is what sickens me about him.
No true champion could think that way.
Ergo, Teflonso is not a true champion.
OK Joe, we don’t need a rehash of the past when ever Alonso does well in Singapore. We get it, Alonso is not your favorite driver so let’s move on and not trash him when ever you get the opportunity…
I just hope I won’t be subjected to the sight of Flavio waddling around tonight!
You are a joke of a journalist. Alonso is as intense as Senna was and look at his legacy. Get over the fact that he isn’t squeaky clean.
Chris,
That is rude and would not normally be published. However, such silly comments can sometimes be useful to help me to explain to those who do not understand that there is a difference between a blog and journalism. Read the What? section of the blog before shouting abuse. Blogs are not journalism. They never have been, they never will be. They are about opinion. If you don’t like the opinion then fine, go and find opinions you do like, but at least understand what you are doing…
Alonso was not involved.
MikaPup,
Is Fernando an intelligent racing driver? If you answer yes to this question then you have the answer to all other questions. If the answer is no, then why do you bother to support him.
Loved Vettel’s not so subtle ragging of Alonso about his cheating here 2 years ago.
“For instance, Fernando started here two years ago from…”
Turns to Alonso, the Spaniard solemnly replies “Fifteenth.”
Vettel cheekily then concluded his sentence by saying: “Fifteenth and he won the race.”
I’ve been reading all over the net tonight and I simply cannot wait for race start tomorrow. By all accounts this could be one of the best races we’ll see this season – the top 5 in the standings in the first three rows, all of them with something serious to prove and everything to lose. I’ve got my champion in Lewis, but Alonso on pole is sure to make the first lap very, very interesting. Joe, when it gets to this point in such a stellar season, I’m left wondering who your pick is in a lineup like this. Of all the ‘free’ sources I read you’ve got to be one of (if not) THE most informed and all I’ve got is a rundown of the starting order for tomorrow from you. Guess I’ll have to guess that while Hamilton is also your man here, you’ve got a soft spot for Webber (and rightly so, if anyone but LH takes the title this year I’d go with MW as well). Ladies and gentlemen, tighten those five-point harnesses and get ready for a bumpy ride round Singapore…PS – Medals are ‘rubbish’ as you say over there. This is the most exciting season I’ve yet to watch in F1, with the least amount of off-track drama I can recall. Slap on some turbo power and I could die a happy fan tomorrow night.
Dunno how Alonso manages to brush aside his conscience so easily. Surely he has one. Practiced denial, I suppose.
Well said Joe. With Flav back in the melee seemingly still as accepted by F! twitterosi, as well TV pundits (Brundle, Legard et al). all that has transpired is that the Alonsoid well may “win” the WDC this year.
BTW our F1 friends did play”Legard Bingo” during the Singapore tedium; He’s touched the wall,Things can change, You can tell, Sweep those wonderful esses, Here comes (any driver’s name), etc. Good fun.
That FA takes credit for his win in 2008 without any mitigation is beyong belief to me. And despite his protestations to the contrary I understand that many belive he knew of the plan prior to it’s enactment.
Whislt my views differ from JS often I’m with him on this one. The lack of sportsmanship in F1 is truly appaling.
As for equating FA with Senna; someone clearly knows little about Senna.
“joesaward
Chino Devoti,
Those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it. I don’t care whether you want to forget the embarrassing past. I think it is a valid point.”
I’ll be looking forward to you bringing up Spygate and Liegate every time you mention Lewis and or Mclaren in the future. We wouldn’t want to ignore history now would we?
I’m glad you reaffirmed that this is only a blog and you are no longer a journalist.
Chino,
Sadly for you, I am still a journalist… Clearly you are not. What do you really know about Spygate and Liegate? If you understood more, you would not have made such an ill-informed remark. As I said… those who ignore history…
Joe,
The problem is that you really are a good journalist or blogger or whatever you want to be called, but I am so sick of you hating on Fernando. Everybody on the site understands that you do not like the guy, but it gets to a point with each individual reader that they hit the tipping point where they can no longer accept or enjoy the criticism you portray towards him. Yes, it is a bit foolish to think that he had no clue about what Piquet did, but at the end of the day it was not his decision or his actual fault. He may have gone along with it, but I think it is crazy to think the idea was his.
I just don’t appreciate the fact that even when FA does something good, as in get a pole, fastest lap and race win -two weekends on the bounce, you still can’t just say “hey, that was a heck of a drive by an intense personality and one of the best drivers of the modern generation (if not the best)”.
All I am asking for is that you give a little credit where credit is due. You don’t have to become a member of his fan club but at least show your readers some respect by not being so one sided in the whole issue.
I appreciate all that you do for the sport and how informed you keep us and yes, I know it is a blog but that shouldn’t be a place that you continuously rip on one certain individual in the sport, especially one who has transformed an entire country F1 mad while knocking Schumacher from his throne when nobody else could.
Chris,
You are wrong. I don’t dislike Fernando. There are things he has done that I do not like, which I do not consider to be sporting. That is all. I am talking about Singapore 2008, but also about what happend with McLaren in 2007. The whole story of that has not come out yet, but what happened in Budapest makes for an ugly story. I cannot say more but if people would realise that I am simply trying to nudge them in the right direction and stop thinking that I am biased then I would be happy. You can believe what you like, I am simply trying to give you a little direction. If you don’t want it, then that is fine by me.
What happened in Budapest was Alonso got pole position fair and square after 3 laps, the same number of laps Hamilton had at pole. Alonso blocked Hamilton from getting a 4th extra lap. Why, because it was Alonso’s turn for this extra fuel lap. Hamilton got his extra qualifying lap in Silverstone, Alonso didn’t and both were void at the next race in Nuremberg.
Also what has Alonso done that is so bad, he is a saint compared to Schumacher. When Alonso uses illegal driver aids to go faster, like Schumacher in 1994, and starts crashing in to his title rivals, I’ll agree with you.
People with short memories forget Alonso had to win in 2006 against Ferrari and the FIA. Decisions being made behind the scenes and bogus penalties to allow MS back in the title.