Singapore Play Host to F1 Gang

THE good omen for Lewis Hamilton in Singapore started as far back as last Tuesday.

The roots of his superb and commanding win from start to finish in last night's SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, were sown when he first landed here late in the afternoon last Tuesday, and headed for a Mercedes-sponsored public appearance in Paragon.

Looking distinctly more relaxed than he was last year (when he was under pressure to win his first driver's world title and was constantly protected by minders), he showed how much more mature he has become since his explosive entry to the Formula One spotlight two years ago.

With his left leg dangling off his chair playfully as he bantered with the host, he even played 'rah-rah emcee' at one point, asking why the crowd's energy level had dipped at one point.

'Let's bring it up guys!', he raised his voice into the microphone.

Showbiz tips from his Pussycat Doll girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger perhaps? But they had broken up before the Singapore GP date, hadn't they?

Answering the final question that evening, he dropped the bombshell. That he and his Pussycat were reunited and still going strong. Do not believe previous worldwide reports, he said.

The New Paper went to town with it.

At a Bridgestone public appearance on Thursday, he may have been lacking in charisma to the more charming and funnier Jenson Button.

But he did seem intent on winning back the hearts of local fans who thought he was too uptight in Singapore last year (when he and McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen were the only drivers who failed to attend a welcome dinner by President SR Nathan and were panned by F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone and The New Paper too). How Can.... Don't Give FACE to our Prataman!

He told the media: 'The reception I've received in Singapore this year, this time round, is fantastic.

'It's much better than the reception I got last year, I guess, because I'm a bit more experienced now.'

From then on, it was Lewis 'I love Singapore' Hamilton. And it was 'We love you too, Hamilton' by Singapore.

After the final practice on Saturday evening, he criticised the improvements to Turn 10 at the end of the Padang straight.

He said: 'It is a lot worse now. Last year, it was a weird little corner but it was actually good, it was a quick left-right-left, but now it is big fat curves and there is no run-off and I'm sure in a race, someone will crash there.

'If someone were to blow a tyre and have an oversteer moment, slide and hit one of those kerbs, they would fly. It is not very safe.'

Then, Scherzinger - who had pulled out of the weekend's F1 Rocks concert at Fort Canning - made a surprise entrance at the pit building before Saturday night's qualifying.

Morale-booster

That must have given him an extra morale-booster.

And after qualifying on pole position, he was less irritated and said the bumps on the track were not as bad as last year, and that it gave the circuit some character.

Last night, with no driver going off at Turn 10, Hamilton declared the Singapore circuit 'great'.

Again, he paid tribute to Singapore's fans - all 250,000 of them over the past three days - after the race.

Still, as he correctly said later, it also came right for him here because of the enormous unseen team effort behind the scenes.

McLaren's engineering director Paddy Lowe had told The New Paper in an exclusive in yesterday's paper, of the way the team's engineers at trackside had slogged it out till 8.30am on Saturday morning just to make the final adjustments to the car's new upgraded 'For Singapore only' floorboard and front wing.

These parts had been slaved over by the remainder of McLaren's 300-strong team of engineers back in Woking in Surrey, England, for the past seven weeks (after Hamilton won his first race this season in Hungary in late July).

Last night, at Marina Bay, Hamilton roared to his second race win of the season in style as it all came right for him in Singapore.

And for Singapore, he did right all the way.