The result od the 2013 Singapore GP would see both Williams F1 drivers finishng just outside the points with Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas finishing in 11th and 13th. Despite this the final races of the season are going to be a difficult time for the team.
Singapore GP Race Review
Qualifying for
the sixty one lap 2013 Singapore Grand Prix would see the Williams F1 team
finish in sixteenth and eighteenth, with Valtteri Bottas leading team-mate
Pastor Maldonado. Now it was race day and could the Williams team achieve
something from this race. Both Williams cars would start the race on the
supersoft tyre as the filed moved away for their formation lap. The grid would form up
with Vettel on pole with Rosberg next to him. In third was Grosjean followed
by Webber, Hamilton, Massa, Alonso, Button, Ricciardo, and Gutierrez in
tenth. The lights would come on and go off and it would be Rosberg attacking
Vettel but the Red Bull driver was able to keep in front. Alonso was third
as Webber passed Grosjean for fourth.
For Williams Pastor was in sixteenth and Valtteri eighteenth and reversal of
their start positions. Lap one and Vettel would be leading Rosberg by 1.9
seconds. Valtteri would drop to nineteenth with Van der Gar ahead of the
Williams. Grosjean was now fifth followed by Massa, Hamilton, Button,
Hulkenberg and Perez in tenth. Ricciardo had dropped to be fourteenth from his ninth place start position.
Lap two and Vettel was leading by a huge margin of 4.1 seconds. Raikkonen
would pass Di Resta for twelfth on lap five as at the front Vettel was
pulling away at roughly half a second per lap. There were gasp opening
between the field as Vettel completed lap six with a 6.6 second lead.
Pastor was now
right behind Vergne while Sutil was following the Williams. Lap eleven and
Raikkonen would be the first to pit being Raikkonen. He would continue on
the supersoft tyre showing that he was most likely on a three stop strategy.
Next in would be Gutierrez joined by Vergne. Pic and Chilton would also pit
on lap twelve. The next lap and Massa would pit taking on the medium tyre.
Sutil would also pit while for Williams Raikkonen would pass Valtteri for
fifteenth. Webber would complain that he had trouble with his rears seeing
him pit on lap fourteen. Button and Hulkenberg would also come in while
Webber would come back out on the medium tyre. Valtteri would also pit while
team-mate Pastor had Massa right behind him as on lap fifteen Alonso would
pit, also taking on the medium tyre. Perez would also pit as Rosberg was
told to also come in. Alonso had come back out in sixth and behind Di Resta.
Rosberg would pit on lap sixteen joined by Grosjean and Hamilton. Ricciardo
followed these drivers in for his first stop. For Williams Pastor was still
out on the track but behind him he had Perez and Hulkenberg fighting over
position. Ricciardo had swapped to medium sat his stop. Pastor would pit on
lap seventeen returning on the option tyre. Vettel was told to pit on lap
eighteen and in he would come taking on the medium tyres. Rosberg was back in second and also running on the medium
tyre. Di Resta was third but yet to make his first stop, followed by Alonso,
Webber, Grosjean, Hamilton, Massa, Button, and Raikkonen in tenth. Pastor
and Valtteri were now running in a disappointing seventeenth and eighteenth.
Alonso was still trying to get past Di Resta as Hamilton told his team that his second set of tyres
were terrible. Di Resta would pit on lap twenty one returning in thirteenth.
Alonso how had
Webber, Grosjean, and Hamilton running close behind him. Lap twenty five and
Valtteri would pit again but we would also see Ricciardo go into the wall at
Turn 18 seeing the Safety Car come out and there was a rush of cars coming
in for pit stops including Alonso, Grosjean, Massa, Button, Raikkonen,
Perez, Hulkenberg, Gutierrez, Sutil, and for Williams Pastor would also come
in. Pastor had taken on a set of medium tyres joined by Valtteri for their
second runs. For Vettel his lead was now gone with the top four drivers yet
to pit. Vettel was told that he was OK for fuel. Pastor and Valtteri were
now sixteenth and seventeenth on lap twenty eight of sixty one. But there
was a chance that the race may not go the full race distance due to the two
hour time limit.
The safety Car would come in on lap thirty and Vettel would lead with
Rosberg close behind. Webber was third followed by Hamilton and Alonso.
After one lap of racing Vettel was leading by 3.2 seconds such was his pace.
Grosjean would be forced to pit with a problem that would see him return in
twenty first from sixth. Pastor was now in fifteenth and Valtteri seventeenth. Valtteri had been passed by
Van der Gar as at the front Vettel was leading by 16.5 seconds after thirty
seven laps. Grosjean would pit again to retire. Vergne would pit from
fifteenth on lap forty taking on a set of the option tyres. Webber and Sutil
would pit on lap forty one with Webber taking on the medium tyre. Hamilton
had moved up to third followed by Alonso and Di Resta. Rosberg was told to pit which he would do on lap forty two.
Pastor would
also pit from twelfth as Rosberg came back out behind Webber. Rosberg also
took on the medium tyre as on lap forty three Di Resta and Massa would pit
joined by Valtteri and Van der Gar. Pastor had returned to the supersoft
tyre for his final run. Valtteri had also taken on the option tyre. Hamilton
and Vettel would also pit with Hamilton returning on the medium tyres while
Vettel had taken a set of the supersoft tyres. Alonso was now in second
followed by Button and Raikkonen. Perez was fifth followed by Hulkenberg,
Gutierrez, Webber, and Rosberg in ninth. Hamilton was down in tenth with
forty five laps remaining. Valtteri would have debris cleared from his front
wing which was affecting his pace. Pastor was now running in fifteenth and
Valtteri seventeenth, not much of a change for either driver.
Webber was right behind seventh placed Gutierrez with Rosberg and Hamilton
close behind the Red Bull. Webber would use his DRS to pass the Sauber at
Turn seven. Rosberg was also able to get past at Turn nine with Hamilton
quickly following his team-mate through. Out in front Vettel was leading by
11.1 seconds over Alonso. Di Resta would pass Gutierrez for tenth with
eleven laps remaining. But would the two hour time limit come first. Lap
fifty two and Raikkonen would start to attack Button and he would finally
pass the McLaren at Turn fourteen while behind him Webber had moved forward
and the Red Bull would also get past Button for fourth. Di Resta's race
would come to an end when he would run into the barrier at Turn seven. Perez
was in sixth with Rosberg and Hamilton right behind. Webber was now clear of Button
and looking to close in onto Raikkonen. Rosberg would pass Perez as Massa
came into the picture.
Webber was told to shot shift with four laps remaining. Rosberg would pass
Button for fifth with the McLaren having no grip left in his tyres. Hamilton
would also pass Button while Massa would pass Perez. Pastor was now in
fourteenth running right behind Vergne. Valtteri was in fifteen by nearly
twenty seconds behind Pastor. Massa would pass Perez for seventh as Webber
was again told to nurse his car to the end with the gearbox issue. Pastor was able to take thirteenth from Vergne and would be
on the attack for twelfth placed Gutierrez. Rosberg had caught Webber and
would pass the Red Bull quite easily. Hamilton would also pass Webber as
Webber came on the radio saying that he was in trouble. But it would turn
out to be an engine problem with the short shifting being dome to save the
engine. But for team-mate Vettel he would finish the final lap as Webber's
car burst into flames as the engine failed.
Alonso would finish in second followed by Raikkonen in third. Rosberg was
fourth followed by Hamilton, Massa, Button, Perez, Hulkenberg, and Sutil in
tenth. Pastor would come home just outside the points and Valtteri was
thirteenth. Webber would be given a lift back to the pits by Alonso with
Webber holding onto the outside of the Ferrari. Despite great drivers from both drivers for the
Williams team another race where they failed to score any points but at
least they were able to move forward in the final results over their start
positions. Despite this the final races of the season are going to be a
difficult time for the team.
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