Five talking points of the Singapore GP

Lift leads to Penalty

Fernando Alonso gives Mark Webber a lift to the pit lane on his Ferrari

If Mark Webber was ruing the chances of a prospective podium finish with engine problems forcing him to retire a lap before the Chequered Flag, the veteran Aussie had the stewards give him a penalty for taking a lift-up back to the garage from Fernando Alonso after his Red-Bull had burst into flames.

While most people found it bizarre with Alonso pulling out a friendly gesture of offering a lift, the manner in which Webber and Alonso had pulled off the lift is what got the stewards to slap the penalty.

Alonso stopped the car for Webber on the slowing off lap in the middle of the track that saw the two Mercedes drivers Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton take evasive action to avoid hitting Webber and the Ferrari. Webber, who had walked across on the track to climb-on the sidepod of the Ferrari, had risked himself by walking on the track without asking the marshals the permission for a lift. With this being Webber’s third reprimand of the season, he was awarded a ten-place grid penalty for the next race in South Korea.