HE WAS a picture of utter frustration last Saturday, after his car's engines failed him during qualifying, even saying that his race was lost.

But last night, Fernando Alonso felt complete joy, as he became the first Formula One night-race winner, clinching the inaugural SingTel Singapore Grand Prix in dramatic style.

The 2005 and 2006 champion clocked 1hr 57min 16.304sec in his Renault, 2.957sec ahead of second-placed Nico Rosberg of Williams in an incident- packed race which saw two occasions when the safety car was deployed.

The Spaniard had started in 15th place on the grid, after suffering engine failure during the second qualifying session. Said a jubilant Alonso: "It's going to take a couple of days for this win to sink in.

"On Saturday, we were very unlucky. Today we were really lucky."

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton was third, 5.917 behind Alonso, but the six points he earned opened up a seven- point gap between him and Ferrari's Felipe Massa, who suffered a disaster-filled race.

The Brazilian, who started in pole position, was on course to take the championship lead from Hamilton when he entered the pit stop after the safety car was deployed on Lap 15 as Nelsinho Piquet Jr crashed near the Marina Bay Floating Platform.

He was given the green light to go, but the fuel hose was still connected as he accelerated away.

The Ferrari dragged the hose down the pit lane, knocking over mechanics in the process.

After mechanics removed the hose, the Brazilian rejoined Formula One's first night race at the back of the field.

He was then given a "drive-through" penalty for what stewards described as "unsafe release from pit stop".

The luckless Massa could manage no more than 13th, and Ferrari suffered further setback when his teammate Kimi Raikkonen crashed out with four laps left.

By that time, there was already another safety-car deployment, after Force India's Andrian Sutil slammed into the barricades right under the Marina Bay Floating Platform.

Throughout, Alonso kept his cool and took his chances, and earned his first race of the season since he rejoined Renault after an unhappy stint with McLaren last year.

"It had seemed impossible after Saturday, but the first safety- car incident changed everything," he said.

"I'm very happy to become the first night-race winner."