2015 Singapore GP @ Marina Bay Circuit

[auaq]

Least favourite track for me. Either ways, I won't be following up on this race since I'm going to the NHRA Zmax drag race in Charlotte, NC this weekend.

I'm guessing either a RBR or Ferrari as a runner up in this race.

Drivers	Championship Points
Lewis Hamilton	252
Nico Rosberg	199
Sebastian Vettel	178
Felipe Massa	97
Kimi Raikkonen	92
Valtteri Bottas	91
Daniil Kvyat	58
Daniel Ricciardo	55
Romain Grosjean	38
Sergio Perez	33
Nico Hulkenberg	30
Max Verstappen	26
Felipe Nasr	16
Pastor Maldonaldo	12
Fernando Alonso	11
Carlos Sainz	9
Marcus Ericsson	9
Jenson Button	6

Constructors	Championship Points
Mercedes	451
Ferrari	270
Williams	188
RBR	113
Force India	63
Lotus F1	50
Toro Rosso	35
Sauber	25
Mclaren	17
Manor	0

[BoldUlysses]

Yeah I'm not a huge fan either. The track is a maze, difficult to follow and very character-less from a spectator standpoint. The drivers seem to like it OK, though, except for the heat and humidity factors.

[auaq]

I think the track is just too narrow (although you could also argue for Monaco too ...), I feel like there are no overtaking opportunities except for that long straight although few have found places to overtake, too many turns/corners/bends, makes the race too long and not really exciting to watch.

[BoldUlysses]

Monaco has elevation changes and scenery and has history and glamour Singapore doesn't. Marina Bay seems just like one long flat, twisty, lighted tunnel.

Really hoping for a Williams top 10 finish, although if Monaco and Hungary are any indication, that isn't likely (though Bottas was running in the top 10 in Hungary until his puncture).

[RidgeBack]

One thing that helps with corner sector ID for me (before I get my eye in) are the colors of the walls. You can tell which part of the track they are on just by the colors:

Sector 1 is blue
Sector 2 is green
Sector 3 is yellow.

This is why helps to watch the free practice sessions too because it allows me the chance to get my eye in for all the camera positions to easily spot which corner they are on.

I actually prefer the racing here to Monaco but I prefer the overall vibe from Monaco. I do like that it's a night race because the cars colors/liveries really do look very cool under the lights.

A few teams are bringing updates (Sauber is bringing a major update) but it'll be dominated, as usual, by Lewis and Nico again.

Cars that will do well here are the ones with downforce and driveability and good/better corner exit traction and tire wear. Merc has all of these so it's going to be tough to beat them.

[auaq]

Well aside from the history and elevation changes, I just don't find this track that interesting. As you've said, this track is mostly straight and sharp 90* turns and that's about it. Plus, they're too short or that the drivers just can't find the time and place to get close enough and get side-by-side. Although there have been few instances where we did see some side-by-side action but it's hard for them to stick real close, by the time they get off throttle, apply brakes, turning in, then back onto throttle, you've approached to the next corner already.

[jayjaya29]

Looks like smog might be a factor this weekend:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/120822

[BoldUlysses]

One thing that helps with corner sector ID for me (before I get my eye in) are the colors of the walls. You can tell which part of the track they are on just by the colors:

Sector 1 is blue
Sector 2 is green
Sector 3 is yellow.

This is why helps to watch the free practice sessions too because it allows me the chance to get my eye in for all the camera positions to easily spot which corner they are on.

Good tip about the wall colors. Will watch for that.

A few teams are bringing updates (Sauber is bringing a major update) but it'll be dominated, as usual, by Lewis and Nico again.

Cars that will do well here are the ones with downforce and driveability and good/better corner exit traction and tire wear. Merc has all of these so it's going to be tough to beat them.

I wonder if Merc's reliability will let them down again? To me that's the only way one of the Ferraris or Red Bulls sneaks past.

[RidgeBack]

Looks like smog might be a factor this weekend:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/120822

Hopefully it doesn't impact the race. Luckily, they don't need a helicopter because the hospital is just minutes away by car.

Good tip about the wall colors. Will watch for that.




I wonder if Merc's reliability will let them down again? To me that's the only way one of the Ferraris or Red Bulls sneaks past.

I highly doubt it. It was the chassis that caused the issue with the new PU. I believe (although I may be incorrect) it was related to the damage caused to the chassis (and there was quite a bit) by the rear tire blow out at Spa. They fixed the chassis but something wasn't 100%. They've fixed the chassis and the PU for this weekend so Nico will be running with the PU he was supposed to use at Monza.

FP is going to be interesting to see who's got the quali and race pace. I think RBR stand a "decent" chance for a podium here and I think McLaren will beat Manor

[burninator]

Even though it sucks as a race, I kinda like Singapore from a spectator standpoint. I just want to watch from that rooftop hotel pool.

[RidgeBack]

Error in my previous post:

Rosberg to take a new "upgraded" engine for Singapore. Merc still investigating the fault with the old new engine.

Source

[bawareca]

Bring back Flavio and it may get interesting suddenly

[BoldUlysses]

Any takeaways from the FP sessions?

[RidgeBack]

Any takeaways from the FP sessions?

Watching FP1 now but I'll give a better breakdown once it's finished. However, I did learn something interesting from Bottas in the pre-interviews (paddock):

Bottas says his car was running with lower fuel pressure (a problem with the Fuel Flow Indicator) and therefore had less fuel delivered to the engine compared to Massa at Monza. Incredible drive by Bottas then to finish .3 behind Massa in that race.

- - - Updated - - -

Tires this weekend: Softs and Super Softs.

FP1 Session Red Flagged with 3 minutes left due to Rossi binning his Manor into the entrance beneath the grandstand tunnel. Both right front and rear suspension are totally broke. He was doing well until that point - only 2/100ths off Will's time but the Manor looked really hard to drive - just constant steering input through the corners = zero chassis balance. Got rear lockup on entry and couldn't correct before sliding into the guard rail tires at low speed. Also Rossi is quite tall and he was having issues when turning the steering wheel in that when at lock it made the clutch lever hit the top of his thigh. His engineer was on the radio saying please watch the clutch.

Anyways,

Merc - still dominant (Nico edging Lewis by 3/10ths) Lewis seemed to be struggling a little.
RBR - Ric was 3rd but Kvyat only got 5 minutes of running due to a fuel line/pump issue. RBR is known to run fast in the FP sessions that doesn't necessarily mean their race pace is on par.
Ferrari - a 10th of RBR
Bottas did a few good laps but still 1.3 secs off pace - well ahead of Massa who's best time was 3 seconds off pace. However, Williams are known not to run max during FP1 - they have a different agenda to pretty much everyone else in the FP sessions so they were probably a little up on fuel with the engine turned down a bit.
Then Verstappen and Hulkenburg
followed by Sainz and MadMal. Maldonado clipped the wall with the right rear but it was slight and didn't damage the car however he to retire from the session with 16 minutes to go because his engineer said that they need to work on the gearbox. Could have been a result of him clipping the was but we don't know for sure.

Lotus is still having a devil of a time with finances even though they have a new large XBOX logo on the top of the engine cover.

Looks like McLaren could be fighting with Sauber for 3rd last manufacturer here. Even though Sauber has brought a new "short" nose.

Manor is obviously again way off the pace - almost 6 seconds a lap.

Still this is only FP1 so nothings really set in stone.

- - - Updated - - -

Not much to tell from FP2 even though they were going quick lap then for long runs (mostly on the Super Softs)

RBR definitely seems better on their tires than Merc or Ferrari. And the RBRs looks really easy to drive.
But I think Merc and Ferrari were both running higher fuel loads than RBR.

Kvyat was fastest but Ric was held up in traffic during his fast lap. So it's quite possible that RBR would have been 1 and 2 in this session

Kimi was quicker than Seb by 3/10ths

Then Lewis followed by Chico and nico.

Alonso pulled 8th out of the bag but Button was battling with grip.

Hulk 9th and then the STRs.

We know that Williams program is different but they didn't even get into the top 10.

My opinion:

Merc and Ferrari were running higher fuel loads than RBR - hence the more deg on the tires (it's a rear limited circuit) counter clockwise so the front right takes a lot of punishment too.

However, RBR definitely stands more of a chance here than anywhere else due to chassis being almost as important as power here. Also the reason why McLaren can consider getting into the points.

Merc>Ferrari/RBR>FI/Williams/STR>McLaren/Sauber(Lotus was terrible)>Manor

Still, it's just guessing at this point because we don't know fuel loads nor engine maps.

Oh and Madmal clipped the wall again.

--

Stevens binned it into the wall damaging the rear of the car 8 minutes into the session. That meant that there was no Manor on the track until they got Rossi out after fixing his car with 20 minutes to go.

--
New regs with regards to tire pressures:

Pirelli may now measure the tire pressures anytime from 5 minutes to the formation lap till the start of the formation lap. The tires have to be minimum 17 PSI rear at any time during this period. Not sure if it's 16 or 17 PSI for the front tires. Regardless of whether the tires are have blankets or not.

(If this rule was in place properly at Monza it would have meant that Lewis and Nico got DQed).

[hakentt]

who paid money so that Rossi can race?

[RidgeBack]

John Booth said in a post race interview (available FIA.com) that they were evaluating Rossi in order to be informed when it comes times to pick their 2016 driver lineup. (note this does not mean that Rossi's seat isn't paid for)

Will Steven is paying for his seat so it was obvious that Roberto would have to stand down for the races Rossi will drive.


As a side note:

There's a lot of rumors going around about engines specs from suppliers and banning wind tunnels but please note that none of these things have been decided. These are merely ideas put forward during the Strategy groups and they'll have be approved and ratified by the FIA prior to any changes being made to the regulations.

To quote Toto indirectly: it's all nonsense

[BoldUlysses]

Supposedly Williams is bringing new aero bits to Singapore specifically to address the rear downforce issue, but...for as many times as I've heard "New parts! We'll be awesome!" this year, I'm a little skeptical.

[RidgeBack]

Supposedly Williams is bringing new aero bits to Singapore specifically to address the rear downforce issue, but...for as many times as I've heard "New parts! We'll be awesome!" this year, I'm a little skeptical.

They didn't show anything in FP1 or 2. So I really don't know.

Ferrari had a new floor they were testing. Don't know the results or if they'll run it. The floor had a bunch of little "cut outs" directly in front of the rear wheels at the edge of the floor. Where previously there were 3 there's now 7 or 8. Supposedly to help air to the inside of the rear wheels towards the diffuser instead of the outside of the wheels where it's wasted.

[jayjaya29]

Vettel takes pole by half a second wow

[BoldUlysses]

Well well. Could get interesting down Singapore way. The grid:

1 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1m43.885s
2 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull +0.543s
3 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari +0.782s
4 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull +0.860s
5 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +1.415s
6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes +1.530s
7 Valtteri Bottas Williams +1.791s
8 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso +1.913s
9 Felipe Massa Williams +2.192s
10 Romain Grosjean Lotus +2.528s
11 Nico Hulkenberg Force India +2.420s
12 Fernando Alonso McLaren +2.443s
13 Sergio Perez Force India +2.500s
14 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso +3.009s
15 Jenson Button McLaren +3.134s
16 Felipe Nasr Sauber +3.080s
17 Marcus Ericsson Sauber +3.203s
18 Pastor Maldonado Lotus +3.438s
19 Will Stevens Marussia +7.136s
20 Alexander Rossi Marussia +7.638s


So what's the story with the Mercs? Quali strategy? Driver foul-up? Technical snafu? Or just a simple lack of pace?

[badmonkey]

Mercedes performance coincidence with tire pressure enforcement?

[RidgeBack]

Wow! just Wow!

I never got to watch FP3 so it came as a total shock. Button's right: it's just what F1 needs.

1.x seconds behind because they couldn't find grip. Couldn't get the tires into the operating window.

Huge Kudos to Ferrari and RBR!!

So excited for the race tomorrow! Ric's got nothing to lose so I expect he'll pull some risky moves. Vettel has everything to lose so he'll be a little more cautious. Plus safety car/s. Going to be one hell of a race.

[gary88]

Vettel reminding us he's still a 4x champion

[m3fuz]

Absolutely - I couldn't watch qualifying this morning and am kicking myself for not making it happen. Should be an interesting race.

[RidgeBack]

Vettel reminding us he's still a 4x champion

But but but but.... it was his car and he only needed to beat Webber

What do his crew call him? I thought I heard his crew call him Tito but wasn't 100% sure.