Singapore GP Race Report

Race day finally arrived in Singapore and it felt long-awaited for.  Hamilton turned up in special spangly jeans.  Another fashion he has pioneered is use of a scooter by the drivers to get around the paddock; even Hulkenberg had one.  Somewhere children are going without.

There was no Safety Car last year and no rain before this race so there was a feeling that anything could happen at this year's race.  Somehow Verstappen kept his place at the start despite a formidable challenge from Leclerc.  The car floors sparked in the night's darkness as they ran down towards the corners.  Russell started from the back of the grid and by the end of lap two, he was in seventeenth place, so it was looking good for him.

After that there wasn't much competition so it was disappointing to be shown a great team mate battle between Bearman and Ocon in the mini-screen rather than full frame.

The Safety Car opportunity came at the end of lap eight when Bortoleto pulled his car over to park it at the end of the pit lane.  It was a Virtual Safety Car though and too early to be capitalised on.  The teams tried to figure out their next move.  Norris talked with his engineer who asked him if he wanted to go with his idea from the briefing, which the driver agreed to.  This was much more coded than Ferrari who told Leclerc that they would be going for Plan C with the opposite to Verstappen.

Those first stops came on lap 17 with Hamilton moving from medium to the preferred soft tyre, Leclerc doing the reverse seven laps later.  With perfect timing at exactly half way through the race, Colapinto stopped, he drove off the track and into what appeared to be a civilian car park.  Norris and Piastri sensed a Safety Car coming and pitted with Piastri getting a delay and slow stop.  But Safety Car came.

Meanwhile Antonelli diced with track limits as he often does.  The one person who we can rely on to bring drama to a race finally did.  Stroll stopped on lap 39, retiring from the race and calling for Virtual Safety Car conditions.  Leclerc and Antonelli pitted at the front.  Russell came in but of course just missed out on it being a cheap stop because it finished.

McLaren called Piastri in for an unusually early second stop and it seemed like their were losing their strategic nous but it turned out he had a slow puncture.  The Aussie has had no luck this year.  He and Russell should form a club.

Ferrari were handling strategy in their own special way and there were times when it would have been a good idea to switch the position of their drivers but they waited until lap 46 of 62.  Verstappen, whilst seeming to be cruising to an easy victory out front, suddenly had a very slow lap.  We couldn't figure it out because his radio transmissions were not broadcasting, to us or to his team.

Towards the end of the race it became do-or-die time.  Norris had decided that he was going to get past Hamilton, who was not on good tyres.  This was his own call and he apologised for it later.  However both drivers went wide and Antonelli got past them both.  Norris is now back to self-recrimination.  Eventually Norris did get past Hamilton and we were treated to Kim  Kardashian's reaction.  Bonno was busy telling Antonelli off for exceeding track limits but the race was done.  Norris offered to help Piastri get past Hamilton was but was told not to worry, it wouldn't have been any recompense for tipping him out of the Sprint anyway.  Piastri managed it himself.

Russell started from the back of the grid and made it to ninth.  Hadjar started in the pit lane and made it to tenth.  Both were points positions but is it what their team mates would have achieved?

Singapore marks a new milestone in this season of F1; a driver can now secure the championship at the next race.  Exciting times and Antonelli did do the usual play of saying they would not think about it but took on the challenge with glee despite looking absolutely exhausted at the end, clutching his water bottle for dear life.

So there we are, a week off for good behaviour and we are on the championship straights.  Austin is always amusing and I feel we are heading into Kardashian territory now.  Yee ha!

Singapore GP Qualifying Report

With the sun set and the drivers fresh from a wet Sprint, Verstappen was looking to maintain his dominance over the race weekend.

Not everyone had such confidence.  Ocon went into the wall as soon as the first Qualifying session started.  Hadjar's awful weekend continued with more problems on his car.  He kept resetting, trying again but could not set a time.  There were no such issues for the other Red Bull and perhaps he is beginning to see what Webber, Sainz, Ricciardo, Gasly, Albon et al were dealing with.  Hamilton set the fastest time and at last there seemed to be a real challenge for Verstappen.  The Audis are beginning to get stronger and are now looking officially "midfield".  Out went Alonso, Albon, Stroll, Perez, Bottas and Hadjar.

In the second session it was Colapinto's turn to hit the wall straight away.  Predictably Hulkenberg, Bearman (who had an outstanding Sprint with a great battle with Gasly), Ocon, Sainz, Bortoleto and Colapinto were dismissed from Qualifying.

The third and final session passed without any incidents, no one even kissed the wall.  The Ferraris tried to challenge and Norris hoped for "a miracle lap" but Verstappen took pole.  Leclerc beat his team mate Hamilton to second, which had not looked certain at all.  I don't know why Leclerc is wearing a black costume this weekend and Hamilton red?  A mystery.  Behind them were Antonelli, Norris, Russell (who will start from the back of the grid after a power unit change), Piastri, Gasly, Lawson and Linblad.  The Red Bulls and Racing Bulls are showing their strength.

Predictions are difficult at Singapore; it is all down to driver error and whether there are Safety Cars and Red Flags.  It seems likely that Verstappen's experience and talent will win out though.

Singapore GP Sprint Report

The rain came down before the Sprintt and I wish I had watched in it full rather than on Channel 4.  Verstappen made a "horrendous" getaway from pole and lost the position to a hero start from Russell in second.  It was hero to zero for the Mercedes driver though as the was first through the final corner at the end of lap one, was delivered a power spike, misjudged it on the painted white lines, found more rainwater than he expected and spun off and into the wall.  He gave his car a thump in frustration.  It took seven corners for the Safety Car to be called for which was not good enough for safety-minded David Coulthard.

Russell was not the only retirement though, oh no!  Perez and Stroll also came together and took each other out of the race at the end of lap one.  Hadjar had a power unit failure and parked up.  Colapinto stopped on lap four.  Linblad was nearly out when he spun his car, then drover the wrong way around the track to be able to spin himself around and get going again.

At the restart, Verstappen held the lead and did not let it go even if Hamilton was pushing him slightly.  Albon, Bottas and Bortoleto were not expecting the backing up if the pack and came together in a motorway-style incident, putting all three drivers out of the Sprint.  

Would there only be fourteen finishers?  No.  The McLarens had been close together with no team orders and, more importantlly, no mention of Papaya Rules.  On the last lap, Norris believed there was a gap and, having been pushing for the previous sixteen, went for it.  It was not big enough, he tagged Piastri and put him out of the race too.  I cannot remember an event recently with such attrition and it shows what this street track can do, Singpore tends to let the top drivers shine and the lesser ones struggle.

If it's a dry race though, Verstappen will dominate and everyone will have to think very carefully about their strategies.

Singapore GP Sprint Qualifying Report

As usual, when we go to the OG night race, everything looks amazing in Singapore; the car livery's dazzle, the lights shine out, drivers choose sparkling helmet designs.  All was not going so glisteningly well for the FIA.  Having had to prostrate themselves for the wet running conditions software glitch last week in Bahrain, sorry Malaysia, no, sorry, Bahrain, a similar incident was triggered when Perez crashed his Cadillac in Sprint Qualifying 1 and a Red Flag stopped the session.  Something about this meant that when the drivers went back out again, some of them had limits put on their Power Units.  Is this what all that fuss was about a fortnight ago when we were told that AI would kill us all?

I didn't see the whole incident but I do feel that Cadillac possibly need to sack both drivers and start afresh next year.  And I am not asking them to hire Ocon.  Piastri, Verstappen and Hadjar were all effected by the timing of the Yellow and Red Flags and had one shot to put in a quick lap to get them through to the second session.  They all managed it, indeed Verstappen went fastest of  everyone.  Out went Linblad, Stroll, Alonso, Perez, Bottas and Sainz.  Sainz was one of the drivers who the software failed for and it seems unfair that he should be starting behind Perez.  The results show that Williams just don't seem able to pull themselves back into any kind of contention again.  If they finish the year battling with Cadillac, this is a new low and think they should rebrand as a new kind of Formula 1 team and bring back Sargeant and Latifi, with Stroll as reserve driver.

Former championship challenger, Russell, had a huge lock up in the first series of runs in the second session and nearly put himself out of contention.  The Ferraris look very fast at this circuit and Leclerc was quickest in the session.  Colapinto, Hulkenberg, Bearman, Bortoleto, Alonso and Ocon were dismissed.

The final session was straight-forward.  Several drivers could have taken pole but the Mercedes did not seem to be in contention, certainly not that of Antonelli, perhaps it was past his bedtime?  Verstappen took pole, followed by Russell (who should be cheered), Leclerc (deserved second?), Piastri (from out of nowhere), Norris, Hamilton (should have had a better result), Antonelli, Hadjar (will be looking to get closer in the proper Qualifying), Lawson and Gasly.  Lawson's year continues to look much better than the last one.

One can only assume that Verstappen on Sprint Pole for the Sprint means Sprint victory and Sprint points for the Red Bull driver.  Lots of Red Flags and Safety Cars are the only way out of a procession.  As I said, where are Latifi and Sargeant when you need them?

Bahrain in Malaysia GP Race Result

With Max Verstappen on pole, this race seemed to be an inevitable win for him and with spits of rain in the lead up to the start, this could only help him.  The other aspect looming over the race was the more textured track than usual which would eat up tyres, so we might get a lot of tyre chat.

As the pit lane opened for drivers to go to the grid, the rain came down heavily.  The track was very hot so it would evaporate quickly but the mechanics were scurrying around to find wet weather tyres.  Everyone was keen to get out to discover what this track, nay any track, would be like for these regulation cars.  By the time Martin Brundle hit the grid, it was raining torrentialy; the surface was a vast pond.  The start would be delayed but it would have been much better to have a rolling start behind the Safety Car as Jean Alesi had requested.  Most drivers went back to sit in the garage but some stayed inside their car on the grid or at the side under an umbrella.  The medical car went around and around displacing some water whilst the marshals went out with brooms and water-sucking vehicles drove about.

When the start time was announced all the drivers came out on their scooters to get to their cars.  The tyre strategy was now a free-for-all because the formation lap would be behind the Safety Car.  Hadjar and Norris were the only drivers to go off on that lap with Lawson stuck on the grid but eventually getting going.  Hamilton's car broke down as well and he dropped to the back crawling around.  He got back around the final straight but the Audis had not overtaken him so he powered down and got the whole system going.  I think it was too much for the Race Director, who decided to stop the ridiculous carry on and brought all the cars back to the pit lane to try again in a few minutes.  The mechanics scrambled back out.  It was a shambles.  Meanwhile Antonelli said the track was drying out very quickly, so all our excitement about the potential of a wet race was dying out quickly.  No one knew what order the cars would start in.  The Safety Car was parked in the middle of all the race cars.  All the drivers were back in the garages with their headphones on.  It was decided that the race would start again from the original grid line-up.  It had been over an hour since the race should have started.

At this point, it had stopped raining and drivers were hanging out in the pit lane.  Bearman was hanging with Bortoleto, Russell was chatting to Piastri, Stroll was chatting with his engineers.  Finally, we got a third start time and I was two cups of tea down.  There was a complete mix of tyre choices amongst the cars with no one wisdom prevailing.  Verstappen on pole was on intermediate wets as was third place Antonelli and their team mates, the Racing Bulls and the Williams.  The McLarens and Aston Martins were on the medium compound and everyone else was of soft tyres with Haas splitting their strategy.  Gasly went off on his, it was a big backwards cruise across the grass.  Hamilton also regretted his choice.  

We thought the race was underway.  Then the Safety Car took them around for another lap.  Perez came in to change his tyres to wet tyres before we went to the standing start.  Several drivers including Norris and Hamilton asked to come in for wet weather tyres and were effectively given a shush and stroke over the radio.  We would see who has the deeper level of talent to get around the first few laps.  McLaren didn't trust Piastri and gave him them, splitting their strategy.  Bortoleto came in too so those drivers would all start from the pit lane.  It would make sense if you were changing to dry tyres as you would have to start from the pit lane but to go wets and know you will have to change again some time soon was madness.  

They were tentative off the start and looked like they were on ice.  Both Mercedes made an awesome getaway and got past Verstappen.  All the drivers on dry weather tyres dropped straight to the back with Hamilton in 12th being the highest running after the first lap.  Leclerc came in for intermediates and a new nose as he had come together with Hulkenberg.  The gap between wet and dry runners was then a pit stop's worth of time.

Lawson made it up to fourth place by overtaking Hadjar.  Hamilton could not make his soft tyres work and was asked to pit but he negotiated and decided to stay out and gamble.  Verstappen got into the groove and was able to get past Russell. There was certainly lots of overtaking.

Hulkenberg was the first driver to change from wet to dry tyres.  As the intermediate tyre lap time matched the soft tyre lap time, Bottas spun into the gravel and beached his car to help out all the other drivers.  It was obvious that a Safety Car would be needed and it gave all the intermediate tyred drivers a chance for a free stop.

At the restart experience showed, Verstappen and Russell were both past Antonelli.  We seemed to be back where we were to start the whole show off.  The race calmed down and as we approached half way one of the most important overtakes happened: Antonelli took Russell for second place.

With twelve laps to go, Williams had lost all the advantage they had gained through basic ineptitude, a collision with Hulkenberg and then Albon's car was done and he pulled over to the side of the track.  A Virtual Safety Car was called for to slow the cars down, thus completing the F1 Procedures Bingo Card.  There was a rush for new tyres.

Something was amiss with the rescue of the stranded car and it was switched to a full Safety Car and anyone who hadn't piitted went now.  The tractor came out and the vehicle was lifted.  All the cars pulled up close behind Verstappen and it would be a sprint to the end.

Crofty said that it should be the Safety Car ending this lap several times.  As it began to look more likely that the Race Director might call it, Russell pulled up to the side of the track from third, his whole body language showing the disappointment and frustration as he climbed out.  Norris went off into the gravel as he took avoiding action as the cars in front slowed down, it was some kind of telepathic sympathy but regained the track.

There were three laps to go when the Safety Car came in.  Unfortunately Hadjar was not able to hold on to third position to gain a second podium in eight days as Hamilton overtook him to try and get back to close to where he was to start off with, around 36 hours ago.  Leclerc had fallen back at the restart but was also able to get past the Red Bull for a good Ferrari resurgence which will help Fred, whose abilities are being questioned.  

It was a race with everything apart from an actual Red Flag and perhaps a lot of on-track action.  Alonso scored some points.  Other than that there were no surprises in the top ten.  Singapore can throw up some surprises and as the last race in a triple-header some of the drivers might find it additionally challenging.  With Abu Dhabi and Qatar confirmed for the calendar this year, the end is not in sight yet.