Over the weekend, we have seen some dramatic moments in Singapore’s frist ever Formulae 1 Singtel Singapore Grand Prix. There were plenty of thrills and spills.

We will look into some highlights and see how it is associated with students taking their O Level Chemistry exams in less than 3 weeks time.

Before last night, the drivers’ championship race was a tight race, with Ferrari’s Massa just a point behind leader Hamilton. Yesterday, on lap 18, Massa entered the pit as the race leader for 16 laps (he was leading the pack after starting at Pole Position – a 1st car line-up position he earned on Saturdays race). His crew’s signal that he could leave the pit came too early, and he drove off with a huge part of the refuelling rig still attached to his car.

With no other choice, he had to drive all the way to the end of the pitlane to clear the other nine teams’ garages (defending constructors’ race champions Ferrari’s garage is the first in the pits) before he could pull over. Massa could only sit helplessly for more than an agonising minute as Ferrari’s pit crew has to first serviced teammate Kimi Raikkonen’s car before sprinting roughly 250m to Massa’s and detach the hose. To make matters worse, Massa was hit with a drive-through penalty for pulling out dangerously close to another car, and he rejoined the race in 18th place.

Here is a lesson for students that had done really well in their Preliminary Examinations.

Do not get complacent even you have been getting A1s for Chemistry for Preliminary Exams or other previous qualifying exams. So many times, we have seen “smart” students crying when they only get a B for Chemistry when results for O Levels are released. You need to be focussed and consistent all the way before the finals.

Back to the race which was won by Renault’s Spanish driver Fernando Alonso. For former two-time drivers’ champion, this is his first win in over a year and was a sweet victory following a disastrous qualifying session on Saturday. He was fastest in the second and third practice sessions. But his engine failed halfway through qualifying and crashed out. On saturday, a frustrated Alonso threw his hands up in the air while leaving his car. He had the pace to contend for pole position, but instead start 15th out of 20 cars on the starting grid yesterday.

Many enthusiats have already written him off. But yesterday, after climbing out of his car after the race, Alonso raised his arms, this time in jubilation. Many written him off – but he has never given up hope, and kept chasing and performing, till he have the final smile on the track.

Here is a lesson for students that have failed in their Preliminary or other Qualifying Exams:

There is no such thing as absolute failure. In fact, there is no such thing as failure – there is only unsuccessful method learned and strategies used. Just get the right method and have the correct mindset, and you can be the eventual Winner. We have seen many cases where students that failed their Prelims – and came back to top their cohort or to score the As they wished for so long..

You won’t know the final outcome until the finish line. There is still 3 weeks for you to prepare for your O Level Chemistry Examination – enough time for you to pull up something remarkable like Alonso. Question is – Do you believe you can do it & whether You want to do it!

Until next time next blog-post, i wish you the best during your exam preparation.

PS: Drop me a comment or two, i would love to hear from you.