F1: Alonso shines in the dark

For the second time in recent races, Massa's team flicked the button to turn the green light on in the cockpit: if that light could speak, it would be screaming "give it welly and let's get out of here."

So Massa did. Right into the path of a McLaren (kind of the point, one suspects) but also tearing the fuel hose from the delivery system, and dragging it first through his crew and then down the pit lane - seemingly empty.

That effectively held up the McLaren - but as Massa came to a halt at the far end of the pit lane and his (in some cases surprisingly rotund) crew ran after him, he sat, wide eyes staring through his helmet, waiting to find out exactly what was going on.

What was going on was an object lesson in the circle of life. Having gained his previous victory by a disgraceful decision by the stewards at Spa and supported by an equally disgraceful FIA Court of Appeal, Massa had started the race on pole and streaked ahead of Hamilton. He was six seconds ahead when one of only two crashes in the entire race brought out the safety car: Piquet somehow managed to knock the engine of his car, and then end up with the engine stuck between the body and the wall.

Massa's delaying of Hamilton in the pit lane pushed him back to eighth - and he spent much of the race trying to pass David Coulthard. But by then Massa was last.

Then the stewards made another decision that favours Ferrari. Massa did as he was told and went when the light went green. It was a team not driver fault. But the stewards decided to give Massa a drive through penalty. From second last, as he was by that time, that penalty was not injurious to his progress. US racing has much wrong with it - but if a crew member gets damaged, the team suffers as one and a large fine is usually imposed - and that's what should have happened to Ferrari.

The prancing horse lay down and got no points: Raikkenon's increasingly magnetic attraction for walls as the end of races approaches was demonstrated again.

Hamilton finished third - and should have been second if he had not been delayed by the Ferrari mess. That is not to take anything away from Kubica who drove a superb race.

But the star of the weekend was Fernando Alonso: fastest in several practice sessions, he performed poorly in qualifying. But he drove an inch-perfect race to win, and to win entirely on merit.

It's the first Renault win for two years and Alonso's first this year.

Even Hamilton smiled as they shook hands, although Alonso seemed a bit dazed by it all.

The Singapore track was much bumpier than I expected, having driven around it in a road car just two weeks earlier and having been impressed by the smooth roads. But the end result was a fine race (with poor camera angles, unfortunately, so that there was not much viewer involvment) and excellent lighting making it easy to see everything.

Hamilton is now seven points clear but there are three races to go. And he lost the championship at this stage of last season. This year, he says he is more mentally prepared.

Certainly, Massa and Raikkenon have a lot of morale boosting to do.