Adam Cooper F1

Lewis Hamilton has kept his world title challenge firmly on track by securing another pole position in Singapore.

The McLaren driver did his time in his first run, and then kissed the wall on his second. He didn’t need to go any faster, as pole was already in the bag.

“The guys have done a fantastic job all week and to come here with some small things that have improved from the last race,” said Hamilton. “Obviously we have high downforce here so we weren’t sure where we would turn out against the others but obviously Sebastian was incredibly fast through most of the sessions. I’m not really sure what happened in the end. Nonetheless I’m very happy that I was able to pull that time out. A great lap, I’m very happy with it.”

Hamilton admitted that it wasn’t easy to get it right.

“Just trying to find the gaps is quite difficult, particularly in Q1. And making sure your tyres are up to temperature, making sure your brakes are up to temperature without using them before you start your lap.

“And yeah, the first few laps I did on the prime, it was quite poor, and I feel very fortunate that I was able to get at least one lap on them, so I didn’t have to go again.”

Lewis agrees that tyres will be the big story on Sunday: “It’s an incredibly tough circuit for tyre degradation, as we have at pretty much every track but especially as it’s hot and humid here. So I think everyone is going to struggle with that, and I think we just have to try and get away cleanly at the start and stick to the strategy that we have planned and be prepared if it doesn’t work.

“Hopefully we’ve done the work we need to do to hopefully put together a good package tomorrow. We’ve put ourselves in the best position so I hope that we will be able to capitalise on that tomorrow.”

Charles Pic has been given a ‘community service’ penalty after passing under red flags after the stoppage close to the end of FP3.

Pic has been ordered to appear on behalf of the FIA Road Safety campaign at some point in the future.

He has also had 20s added to his race time.

The FIA said: “Penalty of 20 seconds to be added to the driver’s race time and in addition the driver and his team engineer to perform 1 day’s Community Service for FIA Action for Road Safety campaign at the instruction of the FIA President.

“The driver and team representative conceded the breach which involved the driver passing 4 sets of red lights/flags, then overtaking another car.”

The penalty is completely without precedent but would seem to be more worthwhile than a fine. The interesting bit is that it’s at the instruction of the FIA President…

McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh deftly fielded any enquiries about the future of Lewis Hamilton when he met the media in Singapore today.

Asked whether the whole affair had been a distraction, Whitmarsh insisted that the team was concentrating on racing.

“I don’t think it has been,” said Whitmarsh. “I think over the last three races we’ve got stronger and more focused. I assume that the distraction you refer to is Lewis but I think anyone who knows Lewis and witnessed Lewis last weekend and actually also this weekend would say he’s very, very focused on doing the job.

“I think he realises that this year we have a strong opportunity to win a World Championship and I think we all realise that the right thing to do is focus and improve the car, don’t make mistakes and maximise the points you can get from each race. I think that’s what we’re very much focused on. I know that there are stories and speculation that swirl around and I guess that’s Formula One and I think we’re content to get on with the job quietly.”

Regarding the length of time negations have taken he said: “I think it seems a long time because of the speculation that people have made, but when you sit down and seriously put your mind to entering into a new contract it doesn’t take too long. I think it’s a question of priorities and other things we’ve been doing.

Asked about suggestions that McLaren has offered less than Hamilton is currently earning, he joked: “I’m sure he will want more money and I’m sure we will want to pay less – that’s how business normally works.”

Pressed on whether he was putting on a brave face at the prospect of losing Hamilton, Whitmarsh again deflected the speculation.

“As I said earlier, it’s not a question of putting on a brave face, it’s a question of focusing on doing our job, and we’re concentrating on this year’s championship. I think speculation on next year is something that we don’t need to entertain or respond to so we’re focusing on the here and now.”

Lewis Hamilton appeared to be in confident mood after practice in Singapore, despite finishing FP2 in fifth place.

Lewis made a mistake at the last corner on what would have been his quickest lap in the session, and said he lost “quite a bit over half a second,” and thus would have been higher up the order.

“I think we’re obviously in the top five,” he said. “It’s going to be very close, Jenson’s very fast, Fernando also, and Sebastian’s incredibly quick. It’s going to be tough, we just need to keep working on the route we’re on.”

“I’ve been quite comfortable with the car, the guys have done a great job. It feels a lot different obviously to the last race, where we had a lot less downforce. It’s great to be able to throw the car around a little bit more without it sliding.”

Lewis said he wasn’t so happy with the car’s race trim performance: “You know what, it felt pretty poor for me, but I heard it was worse for others.

“We’ve just been trying to work on our set-up and our balance and trying to improve our long runs for sure.”

Kimi Raikkonen’s chances of maintaining his challenge for the title could take a battering in Singapore this weekend after a disappointing Friday for the Lotus driver.

Raikkonen finished FP2 in 12th place, some 2s off the front running pace. Team mate Romain Grosjean was only 10th and 0.2s faster than the Finn.

“It was not the easiest day, we don’t have enough grip for some reason,” said Raikkonen. “I guess we’re lacking downforce. And it seems to be a bit difficult, at least today. It’s just not quick. Maybe we are not improving as the others [are].

“The same issues are there on both tyres. When you put new tyres it always feels better for the beginning. I think we can improve for tomorrow, but we’re not going to find unfortunately two seconds.

“Usually we improve on Saturday time wise, but like I said we can’t catch up two seconds from today to the front, and they will improve also. It just shows that we are not as fast as we should be. Hopefully we can find something, and be a bit more happy than we are at the moment.”

Although the car appeared to be better with high fuel, Kimi was not convinced:

“I don’t know. It felt OK at the beginning, and the rear went away.”

Asked about his title chances, he said: “If we keep doing like this we’re not going to have any chance, but we have to try to improve. There’s still quite a few races left, so hopefully we can be stronger than today.”

Mark Webber hasn’t given up on his challenge for the 2012 championship, but The Aussie concedes that his fortunes will have to change soon.

Webber has had a disappointing run since his victory in the British GP in July, and has now slipped back to fifth in the standings.

“We’ve lost some points,” said the Red Bull driver today. “The position is not very important, because everyone’s give or take. I don’t even know who’s second or third, but we’re all on similar points. The points are more of an issue, you don’t want to be getting too far out of control.

“It’s obvious you’re not going to have much of a championship if you finish like we have been in the last few races. We know we’ve got to improve, we’ve got to get back towards the front, we’ve got to qualifying better, we’ve got to overall just do a better job. That’s completely in our hands, and that’s something we’re all looking forward to.

“The philosophy within our team is a winning mentality, a very, very driven mentality, and high level expectation. We’re sitting here like we’re at a funeral, but we’re leading the constructors’ championship.

“We have had a few tough results, but this team has got some good depth in it. Look at JB a few weeks ago… Things move around very fast. We’ve seen some big dips in form, and big changes in team form, driver form. I’m just happy to be racing again this weekend, and let’s see what happens.”

Webber agreed that he should be more comfortable in Singapore than he was last year, when blown diffusers played a major role.

“In Monaco last year I wasn’t in the picture all weekend really, and this year I was comfortable there and won the Grand Prix. And the blown cars were quite powerful at venues like this, so it amplified my feeling in the negative aspects. Let’s hope it can swing it back the other way and I have a nice feeling for the car here and get the rhythm very well which you need on street circuits.”

Fernando Alonso considers Lewis Hamilton his main rival for the 2012 World Championship – and not just because the McLaren man is currently second in the standings.

Alonso made the point that if Ferrari has to choose which driver to try to beat on strategy, it would be Hamilton.

“Everybody is strong at the moment, and everybody is a contender,” said the Spaniard. “So there are still five or six drivers who can fight for the title. We always said from February that Lewis is the one I respect more, because I know what he can do with good cars and bad cars, and he is second.

“For sure any part of the race we cannot cover in terms of strategy five drivers, because it’s impossible to cover [all of them], sometimes one does a pit stop, sometimes two laps later another one, in that case we need to cover which is the closest one.

“At the moment it’s Lewis, and after three races that McLaren won, again he’s the favourite for this one. We have to stop hopefully this dominant position. We’re bringing some new parts on the car and we’re optimistic that we can do well here and in the next two or three Grands Prix.”

As for Ferrari’s prospects for Singapore, Alonso said: “We need to wait to see how tomorrow’s performance is, our aim is to fight for the pole and fight for the win in this race.

“We’ve been competitive in Monaco, we’ve been competitive in Canada, which is some kind of street circuit, so we will try to do our best here again. We know important pole position is, so Saturday is an important day.”

Meanwhile when asked about a second driver for 2013, Alonso gave his endorsement to Felipe Massa.

“We need to have a driver that respects Ferrari, that respects the tradition of this team, and respects that here we work for the team, for the red cars. This is the first priority. Second I’ve been working with Felipe for three years now, we have a very good relationship, and if the team decides to change Felipe, someone that arrives has to be better than Felipe.

“And all the names, and all the things written, I don’t know if they’re written with the head or with the heart, because all the names that you listen, I don’t know if you minimum compare what Felipe did in F1, and what these little names did in F1.”

The late Professor Sid Watkins will be honoured by a minute’s applause on the grid prior to the start of the Singapore GP, the FIA has announced.

There will also be a book of remembrance in the paddock in which members of the F1 community are invited to write messages. The book will be presented to Sid’s family.

The book will stand alongside a bronze bust of Watkins, which was commissioned last year when he retired from the Presidency of the FIA institute.

Meanwhile the FIA and the FIA Institute say that they “will continue to consider the most appropriate permanent tribute to Professor Watkins, in recognition of his achievements and his unique legacy for motor sport. An announcement on this lasting tribute will be made in due course.”

Brit Max Chilton has been given the role of Marussia reserve driver for the last six races of the season, once his GP2 commitments are finished this weekend in Singapore.

Chilton, who races for the Marussia Carlin team, drive the MR01 in the Young Driver test at Silverstone in July.

Team boss John Booth said: “Max Chilton’s impressive performances for the team this season have gone far from unnoticed and he seems to mature with each new round. We were all delighted to see him convert that into, first, his maiden pole position and then his inaugural victory in Hungary last month.

“In the role of our Reserve Driver for the rest of the 2012 season, Max will be exposed to the demands of competing in Formula 1 to the extent that he will be fully prepared to step into the MR01 should it be required. Max has already driven the car at our Young Driver Test, so this is an opportunity for him to build on his experience of working with the engineers as well as the other demands placed on our drivers, including marketing activity.”

Chilton added: “I feel like my racing has really matured this season and to now be able to combine that with real insight into the engineering activities of an F1 team, and the level of preparation required of an F1 driver, really moves my career onto the next level.”

Bernie Ecclestone has paid tribute to Prof Sid Watkins, the man he headhunted for the F1 doctor role back in 1978.

The two men became close friends, and Bernie even allowed Sid’s author wife Susan to write a book about him.

“What Sid Watkins did in the way of safety in Formula One was incredible,” said Ecclestone on the official Formula 1 website. “He gave his whole life to that cause, to make sure that it could be as safe as it possibly could be. We all owe him a debt of gratitude for his caring and commitment.”

When he hired Watkins Ecclestone gave him authority to do whatever it took to improve medical care at F1 races.

“When I invited him to join Formula One as its official doctor partway through the 1978 season, we discussed many aspects of safety and medical issues. We agreed that we needed a proper hospital at the track in the form of a fully equipped medical centre to stabilise injured drivers with immediate treatment, and a helicopter to transport them subsequently to specialist facilities, and that the helicopter pad had to be as close to that trackside hospital as possible.

“Sid carried all of those things through, and many more. After the accidents to Jochen Rindt and then Ronnie Peterson, I suggested that he should have a medical intervention car and that he should take responsibility for taking drivers into medical care.

“We always talked things through and worked together, and he then took care of all the medical things which I knew nothing about.

“I am pretty sure that he is irreplaceable. You only meet somebody of his calibre once in your lifetime.”