Lewis Hamilton has restored his seven point lead over championship rival Felipe Massa after the conclusion of the Singapore Grand Prix. Surprise of the race was Fernando Alonso winning the race in his Renault after qualifying in 15th. Alonso certainly had luck on his side as the safety car period tallied perfectly with his race strategy after his team mate crashed out shortly after pitting for fuel and tyres. The Spaniard had the advantage as other cars still had to pit allowing him to move up to 5th after the first round of stops. Then even more fortune came his way when Robert Kubica and Nico Rosberg had to serve stop go penalties moving Alonso up to third. Jarno Trulli and Giancarlo Fisichella were on one stop strategies allowing Alonso to jump into the lead when the pair pitted for their one and only stop. Alonso managed to pull out enough of a gap over Trulli and Fisichella to maintain the lead after his second stop. Trulli later retired on lap 50 and Fisichella’s Force India fell backwards quickly through the pack as the race progressed. Hamilton finished the race in 3rd place behind Alonso and Nico Rosberg’s Williams while Massa took off from his pit box before the fuel hose has been detached and later was giving a drive through penalty for dangerous driving in the pit lane. You have to love the way that justice somehow puts wrongs right, so we are back to where we should be after the Spa debacle. Ferrari were having a nightmare day; to add to Massa’s penalty Kimi Raikkonen crashed out just four laps from the end. It’s hard for me to feel sorry for Ferrari as they have had more than their fair share of decisions benefit them when maybe they shouldn’t have. German drivers monopolised positions 4th through to 6th with Timo Glock, Sebastian Vettel and Nick Heidfeld finishing 4th, 5th and 6th respectively. Even David Coulthard scored two points as he serves out his final season in F1. Japan’s Kazuki Nakajima brought the second Williams home in 8th to claim the finals points! Hamilton now needs to keep his concentration as he tries to win his first world championship with a seven point lead and three races remaining.
It was another win for Plymouth Argyle on Saturday afternoon and more importantly their first win at Home Park this season. The Pilgrims beat a lacklustre Nottingham Forest 1 – 0 and have moved up to the heady heights of mid table obscurity of 12th. To say that the goal was fortuitous is an understatement, Rory Fallon will claim it but I doubt he knew much about it as Wes Morgan’s attempted clearance hit Fallon rebounding into the back of the net! I’m happy however the win comes, it may not have been pretty but it’s effective, Forest should have no complaints as Plymouth were the better side with Paul Gallagher narrowly missing twice and Jamie Mackie hitting the woodwork and some excellent saves from Larrieu. A much improved performance from the team, let’s hope that we can carry that form into tomorrow’s game at Ashton Gate to beat Bristol City away for the second season in succession! If Argyle can pull off another three points there is a possibility that we may find ourselves in a play-off spot two weeks after being bottom of the Championship!
Liverpool also had a much improved performance after their recent scoreless draw with Stoke City and the rather unconvincing win over Crewe Alexandra on Tuesday in the Carling Cup. Liverpool beat Everton 2 – 0 in the first round of the Merseyside Derby at Goodison Park. Fernando Torres was again hero of the day scoring both of Liverpool’s goals in a three minute passage of play. It does make me worry what will happen if Torres’ gets injured as he is definitely Liverpool’s point man, no other Reds player seems to be able to find the back of the net like the Spaniard! Torres is definitely the key to Liverpool’s title challenge this season, *fingers crossed* he doesn’t pick up an injury. Liverpool remain in second place hot on the heels of leaders on goal difference Chelsea who also won this weekend. Arsenal slipped up against Premiership new boys Hull City being beaten 2 – 1 at the Emirates Stadium and fall two points behind Liverpool and a point behind Aston Villa.
It’s nice to know your details held at council offices are secure isn’t it? Have a read of this news article and think again, want the front doors keys to your local council office, check eBay, a bargain at less than a pound. You can’t even get a set of keys cut at a key-makers for that price. Government agencies have been plagued with data loss in recent months and this story does make you think that the people running their IT departments must be incompetent fools, pen pushers who are all constantly passing the buck onto someone else!
