Grand Prix 2015 Singapore Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Next stop Singapore for a race you either love or hate. Its F1’s premier night race and whilst the racing has not always been amazing its always looked magnificent. Unlike the Monza horse powerfest this place is not all about the grunt of your engine, which could possibly be good name for us. As much as I admire Lewis Hamilton’s skill and I think he’s on amazing form this year I don’t want to just be watching time trials. I want to see him pushed to go even better and its quite possible we might get that this time out. Nico Rosberg’s engine in flames in Italy pretty much spells the end of any sort of title race so now its all about pride and one upmanship from here on out.

Why? Well the temperature will play a part. The Ferrari has always looked better in warmer weather and they are certainly better on their tyres. We all know when Vettel gets a sniff of it like in Malaysia he suddenly comes alive and Singapore has always been a track he’s been good on. The other part is the fact that the Red Bull’s will certainly come into play here as well. The Renault engine won’t hinder them as much as it has done and we all know how good that chassie is. Ricciardo and Kvyat have both been chomping at the bit to show what they can do and I expect them to jump in the mix like they did at Hungary and Monaco. The great news as well is that they’ve altered the track layout slightly in order to give more overtaking opportunities. If that works and, like I predict Ferrari and Red Bull will be closer, we might maybe possibly have a fight for a race win.

Another team looking forward to Singapore will be Mclaren whose Honda engine will be less of a millstone round their neck. Alonso has been talking about how good they will be at Singapore and after yet another DNF in Italy you have to wonder how much pressure the team feel to give their superstar something to get excited about. I saw Alonso talking to Flavio on the gird last time out. Button into the pitwall anyone?

Williams won’t be looking forward to this one as much as they will probably sink back into the pack. Even if they don’t I’m sure tactically they’ll find a way to put themselves back there. Force India’s B car will be fully up and running but I don’t expect them to be up where they’ve been for the last couple of races due to the circuit. Will the Enstone team even managed to make it there? I can see them taking the option of skipping the flyaway to save money and keep the team afloat.

This race is always going to look beautiful given the setting and the cars under the lights but I think what F1 needs and we all want is and actual race. I’m strangely optimistic we might get one.
 
screenshot.87.jpg
 
Don't get your hopes too high RasputinLives , Lewis also goes very well at this track. He's had two wins from pole, last year, and 2009 in an underperforming McLaren. He was also leading from pole in 2012 when his gearbox broke. Also, if Lewis wins it, it gives him the same wins from race starts as Ayrton had, and whilst that won't be foremost in his mind . I think he'd love it to happen.
Rosberg is looking and sounding defeated, I don't think a challenge will come from there. Ferrari and Vettel? Possibly. But An error or unreliability for Hamilton Are your best bet I think.
 
racecub - Ferrari were quite close in Budapest, and they certainly seemed to improve relatively at Monza.

If Ferrari have a good close-season, then who knows? Next year could be a proper 1991 with a Hamilton/Vettel title battle. Who wouldn't want to see that? (Put your hand down, Nico.)
 
Yes Id like to see that. I hope Ferrari are closer next year. I think they will be, I think it will be Ferrari that bring the challenge. Well Vettel to be exact. But I think Hamilton will have the edge, certainly the rest of this year. Next year? Depends how much they improve their engine, they're heading in the right direction, but then Mercedes aren't standing still.
 
Appatently Ferrari are claiming they have gained 40 horse power alone from just improving their fuel!

I'm still sceptical about that but thats the claim.
 
Well you know what. I remember right at the beginning of these new engines reading an article about how closely Mercedes had worked with Petronas on the fuel for the Turbo. I'm not technical but remember it was something to do with viscosity and getting the particles able to be shot Into the engine faster. At the time it was considered that the gain from the fuel would not be that great but Mercedes said it would. And I believe Shell began working on it too, but of course much later than Mercedes and Petronas. Perhaps they are now beginning to reap those rewards.
It was a long time ago I read this, I doubt I'll be able to find it now but I'll have a ferret around.

EDIT: I found a couple of articles that touch on this, not the one I read originally but along those lines. The first is a Petronas media announcement, so a sort of advert I guess, but still informative.

PETRONAS FLUID TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS: The lifeblood for efficiency and performance | PETRONAS

And the second one I think is just a technical article but again stressing how important it was that a petronas where very involved from the outset and still are.

Green Car Congress: Mercedes AMG PETRONAS unveils 2015 F1 W06 Hybrid
 
Last edited:
I'm predicting that Red Bull will announce an engine deal with Ferrari on the Friday before the race weekend, but then go on to beat Ferrari on Sunday at a circuit where power isn't so critical. Then watch the drama unfold as Ferrari management try to justify the engine deal :popcorn:.
 
Didn't Ferrari state earlier in the year that Red Bull would only get b grade engines from them anyways?

Just like the Merc customers are at the moment.
 
I think Red Bull will be the likely threat to Mercedes

I expect Williams and Sauber to fall back. Toro Rosso could surprise and Mclaren ought to be showing better performance otherwise Arai san is going to be put on the chopping block if he has not gone by then

Ferrari will probably be there and there abouts
 
Does anybody have any kind of info on what latest estimates are of current hybrid engines' total output? We can't be far off the 1,000 hp-mark by now?...
 
Also Vettel and Alonso have been in the top 10 in every race since it began its current stint in 2008.

Vettel looks espcially like he likes this track. He even landed a 2nd in front of Danny Ric last year and we all know how rare that was. Bodes well for an interesting race.

I remember Alonso winning in 2010 with Vettel up his gearbox for the entire race. I wonder if Vettel gets ahead of Lewis off the start we might see a similar situation develop.
 
Does anybody have any kind of info on what latest estimates are of current hybrid engines' total output? We can't be far off the 1,000 hp-mark by now?...

The article below has these upper estimates:
Mercedes: 900bhp
Ferrari: 890bhp
Renault: 840bhp
Honda: Not stated directly. Similar conventional engine power to Renault but far worse engine recovery - leaves them >160bhp down on second half of long straights.

The other issue is that the fuel flow regulations means they're not really extracting anywhere near the performance they could be.

BBC Sport - Why Honda engine is a nightmare for McLaren & the solutions
 
Last edited:
So when they say they are only second in horsepower to the the Merc engine they are probably technically correct - its just they are not able to extract what they could out of the engine!

That makes a lot more sense to me now so thank sushifiesta
 
Back
Top Bottom