Singapore to separate contenders from pretenders

The top five are separated by just 24 points — one less than the 25 awarded for a single win. “The Singapore Grand Prix will be a very interesting weekend because I think it’ll give us a clearer idea of the destiny of the world championship,” said Button.

His British team mate Hamilton won last year but crashed out on the first lap in Monza this month and has now failed to score in two of his past three races. He is desperate to make amends.

“It’s difficult to say accurately how competitive we’ll be in Singapore,” he said. “If Monza most closely resembled a track like Canada,then Singapore is far closer to places like Monaco and Hungary,where we’ve struggled relative to the competition. The race should give us a clearer indication of exactly where we stand as the championship closes down over the next five races,but I definitely want to score as many points as possible in this Grand Prix.”

Like Hamilton,Alonso has form in Singapore,winning the inaugural race in 2008 before a third-place finish last year. The Spaniard is on a high from his victory on home turf at Monza and is expecting to maintain the momentum here. “I am well aware that another top-three finish is very important for the classification and I am convinced that,if we do everything perfectly,then we can achieve that,” he said.

But it is Webber who remains front-runner with a five-point championship cushion. The Australian said he was confident of a strong result on the bumpy circuit to bolster his chances of a first drivers’ title. “I like Singapore,it’s unique as we race at night. You get the impression the crowd is pretty close to the track in most sections,so it’s certainly cosy,” he said. “I’m hoping to improve on last year’s result,as it’s a high-downforce street circuit that should suit our car.