Race starts at 2:10 pm in Japan/1:10 pm in Malaysia
Race starts at 2:10 pm in Japan/1:10 pm in Malaysia
The super successful McLaren Mercedes titan duo is coming back to the world of Formula 1 and we can’t be more excited about the legendary prospect. McLaren Racing together with Mercedes-Benz announced that the McLaren F1 team will be powered by Mercedes starting in the 2021 season. (more…)
♦ Lewis Hamilton finally gets a win after 4 races and increasing assurance of another world championship title, possibly being confirmed in Mexico.
♦ Controversies again in the Ferrari camp led to Sebastian Vettel retiring with engine problems and Charles Leclerc losing his lead due to the virtual safety car being deployed.
♦ Red Bull’s two drivers – Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon – started the race in poor form, the former having been given a penalty and the latter having had an accident in qualifying. But they managed to finish 4th and 5th (Albon moving up from 20th at the beginning) to collect points for the team.
♦ Poorly planned pit stop saw Kimi Raikkonen’s Alfa Romeo immobile longer than necessary and dropping way down the field to end 13th. He must miss the lightning-quick and precisely planned pit stops at Ferrari.
(Provisional results)
Next race in Japan (Suzuka) on October 13
♦ A 1-2 finish for Ferrari in Singapore and for Sebastian Vettel to stand at the top of the podium – which he has not done since August last year.
♦ ‘Unfair’ was how Charles Leclerc felt when the Ferrari team allowed Vettel to undercut him and come into the pits one lap earlier, resulting in Leclerc losing his lead.
♦ Lewis Hamilton managed only fourth among the finishers but his strong points lead still gives him a comfortable buffer for the remaining rounds.
♦ Although his qualifying time got him eighth place on the starting grid. Daniel Ricciardo was disqualified and dropped to last position. This was due to the MGU-K of the Renault exceeding the power limit during the qualifying session.
Next race in Russia on September 29
The F1 races in Malaysia and Singapore have always been physically the toughest due to the high temperatures and high humidity. This year, the drivers must also cope with the haze though it does not seem to have been mentioned as much of a problem.
The steel beams underpinning the concrete of the Esplanade Bridge are magnetised and the magnetic fields created are strong enough to interfere with some sensors on the cars. Therefore, teams replace some sensors with special sensors that are less susceptible to interference. In order to prevent the magnetic field impacting the hydraulic valves in the gearbox, they are shielded with what’s called ‘mu metal’ (a special nickel alloy which is effective against magnetic fields) – only used in Singapore.
The first ever F1 race at night was run at the Marina Bay Circuit in 2008. There were concerns about whether the lighting conditions would be good enough to ensure safety, especially on a narrow street circuit. The organisers installed 1,600 lighting projectors around the circuit and no one has ever complained of conditions being unsafe due to inadequate illumination.
Drivers can lose around 3 kgs of weight through sweating over the course of the race, due to the incredibly high temperatures and humidity. Fluid loss is also a factor for team members, so keeping hydrated is crucial. The recommended amount of fluid intake on a hot day ranges from three to five litres.
Drivers change gear about 62 times during one lap of the Singapore circuit, the second most number among current circuits. In the 2018 race, Lewis Hamilton completed 3,100 gear changes and Valtteri 4,140.
The drivers and crews do not change their ‘body clock’ to Singapore time, which means that when the race starts in the evening, it will be like their usual afternoon timing in European events. Therefore they stick to European time and routines, having breakfast at midday and lunch around 6 pm. Dinner times vary depending on the day and workload but are usually from 1 am onwards. The drivers will go to bed around 6 am to get 8 hours of sleep.
UPDATE FOR STARTING GRID: Daniel Ricciardo starts from last position due to disqualification for exceeding the MGU-K power limit during qualifying.
Previous Winners Of The Singapore Grand Prix
2008: Fernando Alonso (Renault)
2009: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes)
2010: Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
2011: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Renault)
2012: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Renault)
2013: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Renault)
2014: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-AMG)
2015: Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
2016: Nico Rosberg (Mercedes-AMG)
2017: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-AMG)
2018: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-AMG)
♦ Second consecutive victory for 21-year old Charles Leclerc. He also gave Ferrari its first win on home ground after 9 years.
♦ Although under attack from both Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas at different stages of the race, Leclerc stayed cool and remained out of reach to take the chequered flag.
♦ Sebastian Vettel’s race was one he would want to forget. After losing control of his car at a chicane, he was involved in a collision with Racing Point’s Lance Stroll got him a 10-second penalty.
♦ Although Ferrari seems to be competitive enough, the improvements being made to their car can’t be fast enough to collect more wins before the season ends, especially if circuits are tight with lots of corners.
♦ Daniel Ricciardo’s fourth placing was the best for Renault since the carmaker returned to F1 in 2016.
♦ The McLaren team was fined 5,000 euros (about RM23,000) for an unsafe release that caused Sainz to retire from the race.
Next race in Singapore on September 22
Race starts at 3:10 pm in Hungary/9:10 pm in Malaysia
♦ Max Verstappen will start from pole position with Valtteri Bottas alongside. It’s the first F1 pole position for the 21-year old Aston Martin Red Bull Racing driver.
♦ The 4.38-km circuit is often referred to as ‘Monaco without walls’ because of the tight and twisting layout. This is not good for the Ferraris as their downforce is not as strong as the leading rivals.
♦ Improved aerodynamics on the Williams cars have helped George Russell perform better. This is especially important on the Hungaroring circuit’s flowing sequences of slow and medium-speed corners and frequent changes of direction. The teams are using the highest levels of downforce seen all year at a purpose-built track to Hungary.
♦ The Ferrari team is concerned about tyres. The circuit layout also places relatively high lateral loads on tyres and that, allied to often high track temperatures, means that rubber is put under some stress. Sebastian Vettel expects it to be a very difficult race today in terms of tyre management and given the characteristics of the car.
♦ This will be the last round before the teams take a summer break. The next race will be in Belgium on September 1.
♦ As the team managers enjoy their holiday break, they will also be thinking about the driver line-up for 2020. Although there are rumours of Verstappen moving to Mercedes-AMG, this is unlikely to happen and the team’s boss will be looking at retaining Bottas or letting current reserve driver Esteban Ocon partner Lewis Hamilton.
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