A bad weekend in Belgium meant that Mercedes had a lot of work to do and do it they did. Walking in to Monza, they dislodged Ferrari from a home victory by exposing qualifying errors for the Italian team. This weekend in Singapore, many felt that qualifying and error corrected, Ferrari were still the team to beat on the streets of the Lion City. They were wrong.
Lewis Hamilton once again capitalized on qualifying bobbles from Ferrari but it was his tremendous qualifying effort that placed a large stamp on his 5th championship bid. Strolling into the race with a hefty 30-point lead in the driver’s championship, Lewis claimed victory in Singapore by converting his pole position to a win and stretched his lead to 40 points.
Photo by: www.kymilman.com/f1The win left Ferrari fans downtrodden and questioning the team errors and the time wasted in qualifying and perhaps doubting the red cars still have the power advantage they seemed to have gained with their spec 3 engine in Belgium. Mercedes fans, on the other hand, are elated that the team seem to have bounced back to find the speed they need to claw their way back ahead of Ferrari.
Win
A big win for Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes who not only expose and capitalize on Ferrari errors in strategy and qualifying but have managed to innovate their way back to the top. Both Mercedes and Ferrari brought their spec 3 engines in at Spa Francorchamps and it seemed that the red cars had the edge but Mercedes has managed to whittle away at that power advantage and out-developed Ferrari since Belgium.
Photo by: www.kymilman.com/f1Win for Max Verstappen and Red Bull who have secured a podium in Singapore every race this decade. Max’s dodgy engine torque issue was a plague all weekend but the Dutchman managed to drive around the issue, keep the race clean and bring home second place having jumped Ferrari’s Vettel on their pit stop.
Photo by: www.kymilman.com/f1A win for McLaren and Fernando Alonso with a 7th place finish. While Alonso calls it a one-off, the team did manage to get the Spaniard a reliable car on a track that suited it’s lack of power and with his teammate, Vandoorne, down in 12th it sends yet another affirmation that Lando Norris is the right choice for 2019.
A win for both Renault drivers who finished in the points as Force India’s Sergio Perez single-handedly destroyed the pink team’s race. Renault were off the pace from the leaders but still managed a good points haul to put some space between themselves and Haas F1 who were well off the pace in Singapore.
Photo by: www.kymilman.com/f1A win for Sauber with Charles Leclerc in the points with a 9th place finish and Marcus Ericsson in 11th. The team ran Ericsson longer than anyone else and it didn’t quite pay off but Leclerc had a spirited drive and good passes to claim more points for the team.
Fail
A fail for Ferrari who managed to waste time during Q2 in qualifying with a bumbled Ultrasoft compound attempt and then missing pole position by not getting the timing right in order to get heat in their tires. This translated to a 3rd place starting position with Max and Lewis in front of Sebastian Vettel and the weekend only got worse from their as their undercut attempt early was ill advised and neither Seb nor his teammate, Kimi Raikkonen, could make any ground on the field. Mercedes is slapping Ferrari in the face with every single error they make.
Photo by: www.kymilman.com/f1A fail for Force India and Sergio Perez who managed to take his teammate, Esteban Ocon, out of the race on the first lap and then nearly took himself out by hitting Sergey Sirotkin on lap 34 due to red mist. The Mexican’s antics denied the team any chance for points.
Photo by: www.kymilman.com/f1A fail for Haas F1 who just didn’t have the pace in Singapore to keep their fight against Renault alive in the constructor’s championship. A fastest lap record for Kevin Magnussen was the best they could achieve.
A fail for Toro Rosso who just didn’t have the pace all weekend long on a track that exposed the lack of power and the lack of downforce they have.
A fail for Williams F1 who equally were exposed for the lack of chassis performance that did absolutely nothing to flatter the Mercedes power they have.
WTH
A WTH moment for Sergey Sirotkin who went from tidy defending mode to forcing drivers off the track. Sure, Sergio Perez caused his own drama but Sergey forcing Brendon Hartley off track was a poor way of showing your frustration with the car.
Photo by: www.kymilman.com/f1I’m curious with Lewis’s radio message about his Soft compound tires not working well as if they were cold. The team agreed that temps were cold but wear was good. Was the new wheel rim working too well for such a hard compound? The new rims are designed with heat elements to transfer heat from the tire to the wheel.
Photo by: www.kymilman.com/f1The race was ultimately marred by the tire compound degradation rates and the pace was a managed affair with fast laps being set back in 17th place and the mid-field pushing harder than the leaders. It is the very type of processional racing detractors disliked about F1 in the early 2000’s.
Singapore GP results
| Pos | Driver | Car | Laps | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 61 | 1h51m11.611s |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Renault | 61 | 8.961s |
| 3 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 61 | 39.945s |
| 4 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 61 | 51.930s |
| 5 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 61 | 53.001s |
| 6 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull/Renault | 61 | 53.982s |
| 7 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren/Renault | 61 | 1m43.011s |
| 8 | Carlos Sainz | Renault | 60 | 1 Lap |
| 9 | Charles Leclerc | Sauber/Ferrari | 60 | 1 Lap |
| 10 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 60 | 1 Lap |
| 11 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber/Ferrari | 60 | 1 Lap |
| 12 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren/Renault | 60 | 1 Lap |
| 13 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso/Honda | 60 | 1 Lap |
| 14 | Lance Stroll | Williams/Mercedes | 60 | 1 Lap |
| 15 | Romain Grosjean | Haas/Ferrari | 60 | 1 Lap |
| 16 | Sergio Perez | Force India/Mercedes | 60 | 1 Lap |
| 17 | Brendon Hartley | Toro Rosso/Honda | 60 | 1 Lap |
| 18 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas/Ferrari | 59 | 2 Laps |
| 19 | Sergey Sirotkin | Williams/Mercedes | 59 | 2 Laps |
| – | Esteban Ocon | Force India/Mercedes | 0 | Collision |
Driver’s Championship
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | 281 |
| 2 | Sebastian Vettel | 241 |
| 3 | Kimi Raikkonen | 174 |
| 4 | Valtteri Bottas | 171 |
| 5 | Max Verstappen | 148 |
| 6 | Daniel Ricciardo | 126 |
| 7 | Nico Hulkenberg | 53 |
| 8 | Fernando Alonso | 50 |
| 9 | Kevin Magnussen | 49 |
| 10 | Sergio Perez | 46 |
| 11 | Esteban Ocon | 45 |
| 12 | Carlos Sainz | 38 |
| 13 | Pierre Gasly | 28 |
| 14 | Romain Grosjean | 27 |
| 15 | Charles Leclerc | 15 |
| 16 | Stoffel Vandoorne | 8 |
| 17 | Lance Stroll | 6 |
| 18 | Marcus Ericsson | 6 |
| 19 | Brendon Hartley | 2 |
| 20 | Sergey Sirotkin | 1 |
Constructor’s Championship
| Pos | Constructor | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercedes | 452 |
| 2 | Ferrari | 415 |
| 3 | Red Bull/Renault | 274 |
| 4 | Renault | 91 |
| 5 | Haas/Ferrari | 76 |
| 6 | McLaren/Renault | 58 |
| 7 | Force India/Mercedes | 32 |
| 8 | Toro Rosso/Honda | 30 |
| 9 | Sauber/Ferrari | 21 |
| 10 | Williams/Mercedes | 7 |
Wasn’t able to get up in time for the race. Sounds like I didn’t miss much.
A tire conservation battle. :)
I really dislike the amount of race controlling there is now. I realize it’s done in every series in the world, but F1 seems to go to the extreme. Lewis couldn’t even keep his tires warmed up (in a Mercedes which is known for overheating its tires!). Maybe it’s time to set a minimum lap time for the race and if you do too many laps over the required time you get to tour the garage area for the rest of the race.
Or they could just get rid of HD tires. :)
That and the fuel flow limit
I’d rather have both of those ideas (no had tires and no fuel flow limit). As a concession I’d be willing to keep the fuel flow limit, but increase the fuel load
One word for the race . . . BORING! Simply boring. Aside from the processional nature of the race/track, it was just a boring race.
It was a bit processional wasn’t it? Quick…who was everyone’s “Pass of the race”?
The only exciting part of race I can think of is when Max held off Seb when coming off pit road. That’s as close as I can come to as “pass of the race”.
There were, what? Three to choose from, right?
Perez on Ocon because it was just a matter of time, spiced up the first lap and gave the race a much needed moment to calm down and regroup from all the action up to that point.
(Note: This was sarcasm)
Gotta be Seb on Max on the first lap, that was just the right amount of aggrasiveness from Seb. As a Max fan i’m glad he got p2 back with the pit stop. Second was Leclerc on Gasly, but that was more down to Gasly making a mistake on old tyres.
The only pass that I can even think of is Seb on Max on lap 1.
There was a pass? How about VER coming out of pits ahead of VET
Careful! The Ferrari Principal was hammered by the UK media for making the same observation.
Clearly it was Hamilton on Sirotkin and Grosjean for getting past without getting taken out or losing a place to Max
With the back markers almost causing some excitement in the race, has the time come to change the meaning of the blue flags? I propose they should just be a notification that a faster driver is approaching from behind. If a driver is fast enough to lap another, they should be fast enough to overtake that driver. Such an approach would reward those drivers who are good overtakers rather than just those who can lap quickly.
Pass of the Race – Hamilton on Sirotkin and Grosjean – for getting by without getting taken out or losing a place to Max
I give pass of the race to Hulkenberg on Sirotkin. The Hulk did in a quarter lap what Perez couldn’t over what seemed like eternity. ;
Perez on Sirotkin ;-)
Lol!
I guess Vettel on Verstappen at the start, or Verstappen pit pass on Vettel…. otherwise it’s Perez doing the ‘ole knock ’em out of the way tactic!
You know it’s a tyre management race when KMag sets the fastest lap.
Maybe they should change the rules to 3 tyres per driver per season, to spice up the show and stuff.
I sadly feel like could be done with following this sport, after 30 years of watching…
The American Highway Institute announced a new plan this weekend for promoting safety by reducing speeds. They’ve hired Sergey Sirotkin to drive continuously around the interstate highway system. With the Russian Roadblock clogging up the roads, no one will possibly be able to drive over the speed limit ever again!
Q3 ended up really being a booby prize for the midpack teams. Being forced to start on the hypersoft tires meant having to go in for a very early pitstop and getting hung up behind the backmarkers, more than negating the initial advantage of better grid position. Once you were stuck in the big group behind Sirotkin, who had already gotten his pitstop out of the way, you were basically eliminated from points contention.
I don’t want to give the impression that everybody is wrong, but this was the most beautiful, exciting, fabulous spectacle of the whole year. Oh, and the race itself? Who cares? The sky shots! The Crazy Rich Asians setting! The Video platform for the winner… WOW! Wasn’t that worth the whole race being boring?
No, of course not.
hey everyone get a sense of humor!
Hi folks, after an update of the comment software, some comments aren’t showing up for some reason. I have issued a trouble ticket to software group to seek a solution. I can see Darrel from STL’s comment but it isn’t showing up on post. Sorry about that, hope to have it fixed soon.
“Not good enough damn it! Not good enough!”