Grand Prix 2016 Singapore Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Some people hate street circuits and some people love street circuits. I happen to be one of the people that love them. The extra skill required to navigate the walled and narrow circuit, along with the driver having to work for every pass, really appeals to me. Therefore believe it or not Singapore is always one of my favorite stops on the calendar. Bahrain and Abu Dhabi may have attempted to steel its thunder where the night race element is concerned but to me Singapore is the ideal setting for a race under the lights with the hustle and bustle of the city going on around it. The venue has given us some memorable moments and talking points over the years and I don't think this year will be much different. One of the things I love about Singapore is it tends to shake the field up and gives the driver a lot more input into whats happening.

From past races you'd probably have to say that Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso (lets forget 2008) are the best around here but Danny Ric and Jenson Button are hardly slouches either. Rosberg has had some good runs but not recently. One driver who has never look comfy round Singapore is Kimi Raikkonen, he has a tendency to hit something or someone. Its hard to tell whether Max Verstappen will be a factor or not having only been here once but his record shows that street circuits are not really his bag. I certainly think Red Bull are going to be a factor round here so will be interesting to see if Max can harness the speed he has into a good result His only race in Singapore had him refusing to move over for his team mate after strict team orders only to be praised by his team boss, who'd given the order in the first place, for disobeying it afterwards. So lets face it he probably thinks he can do whatever he likes round here.

Usually for a race win you don't see past the Mercs and certainly they'll be at the front. If Hamilton gets away in the lead he is going to be hard to beat but we saw a little blip in Monza so its possibly his recent top form may be dipping slightly. Ferrari desperately need a win and I think Vettel is probably thinking this is the best place to do it. The gap between them and Merc will have closed and if he can drive the place spot on he could beat the Mercs this time. His only problem is that the Red Bull's are thinking the exact same thing. Danny Ric is well overdue a win this season and is pretty hot round here. If both Mercedes get sluggish starts I wouldn't be 100% shocked to see a Ferrari/Red Bull battle for the win. Whilst I'm sure Toto Wolff will tell us its all about wins for Mercedes, clearly Rosberg and Hamilton have other things on their minds. Its squeaky bum time and if either of them are in front of their title rival and see Ferrari and Red Bull clearing off down the road I don't think they'll chase too hard. Even if their not I don't think they'll panic, pushing in Singapore can quite easily end up in a DNF which could turn a 2 point gap into a 20 point gap.

My dark horse for Singapore is Mclaren. As much as I enjoy the Fernando Alonso comedy hour on the team radio it would be nice to see him competing at the front again. I just hope he does it through speed and not through a 'special' strategy. Speaking of which is Pat Symond in charge of strategy over at Williams? Singapore was the place Felipe Massa really lost the 2008 title, I wonder if now he's retiring he'll have a chat with Pat about that. Jenson Button, the man who is bored with Formula 1, really has nothing to lose whatsoever this weekend and I think him and Fernando will have a nice little duel. I expect Mclaren to be the 4th best time this weekend and to probably keep pace with Kimi. I also expect Carlos Sainz to be right up there with them. Due to running the old Ferrari engine that Torro Rosso has gone more and more backwards as the season has gone on which is a really shame for Sainz who has been on top form. Singapore should level that out and I expect Carlos to take advantage of that with a strong showing. Its possible that the talented but totally dejected Kvyat could do the same but then its also possible that Kvyat won't be in the car at all and that Pierre Gasly will make his debut. Red Bull is as Red Bull does.

Love it or hate it Singapore always creates a bit of tension and whilst it probably won't be the most action filled race of the season I have a sneaky suspicion it will be one of the closest.
 
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Love this circuit. Always amazes me every year when they do that shot over T1, 2 & 3 . As How we drive at night because compared to f1. Its like someone forgot to switch the lights on. Also i love how singapore almost turns into an endurance race because its always at 2hr limit with races at 1hr 57, 1hr 56, 1hr 58, 1hr 59, 2hr 01, 1hr 59, 2hr & 2hr 01
ability to keep the concentration over a long lap in that humid heat is a feat in itself

Interesting looking at the long runs in FP2 & few teams what ive seen of Mercedes Renault Force India & Red Bull can only seem to get 7 laps out of the ultra softs before they drop off significantly & within few laps you can 2, 3 seconds slower.
 
I'll see your ridiculous McLaren rear wing Greenlantern101 and raise you and astonishingly pointless Ferrari front wing.

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I don't often get to see the practice sessions which take place in daylight at Singapore. Although I think the night race is a pointless and ridiculous gimmick it's probably just as well they do run the race at night as the place looks a complete dump in the day time.
 
Rosberg really owned that but I have a sneaky feel for Ricciardo tomorrow.

Good run from Kimi who doesn't usually go well here. I'd like to put a tenner on him and Max coming together tomorrow though.

Kudos to the Torro Rosso boys too who both showed their talent.
 
Ideal Lap (sum best sectors) in the Qual:
Qual – No – Driver – Qual Result – Ideal Lap – Flaw
1 - 6 - N.ROSBERG - 01:42,584 - 01:42,574 - 00,010
2 - 3 - D.RICCIARDO - 01:43,115 - 01:43,090 - 00,025
3 - 44 - L.HAMILTON - 01:43,288 - 01:43,221 - 00,067
4 - 33 - M.VERSTAPPEN - 01:43,328 - 01:43,328 - 00,000
5 - 7 - K.RAIKKONEN - 01:43,540 - 01:43,540 - 00,000
6 - 55 - C.SAINZ - 01:44,197 - 01:44,197 - 00,000
7 - 26 - D.KVYAT - 01:44,469 - 01:44,271 - 00,198
8 - 27 - N.HULKENBERG - 01:44,479 - 01:44,447 - 00,032
10 - 11 - S.PEREZ - 01:44,582 - 01:44,450 - 00,132
9 - 14 - F.ALONSO - 01:44,553 - 01:44,494 - 00,059
 
I was going to listen to Quali on five live, whilst driving home from Hereford to Scotland. But due to unforeseen circumstances ( being in A and E until 5 am this morning), we missed it. All being well we will drive home tomorrow, and, hopefully, listen to the race on five live instead.
However I am slightly miffed to be missing this race, I like Singapore.

:unsure:
 
Good luck with that Titch, but fear not. I once had a crushingly awful traffic jam on the M25 revitalised by listening to F1 on the radio, so much so that I was upset when the traffic finally started moving.

Ok that last bit's not strictly true but you know what I mean.
 
I have to say Hamilton seems to putting himself in the corner in this weekend by referring to poor starts could cost him championship BUT why does he not turn on about Nico making some ill advised moves which is part of the reason why he's managed to claw back a 43pts deficit
 
An absolute daft decision by Ferrari to keep Vettel out even though he reported that something was broken. He's somehow managed to keep his cool because had that been Alonso he would have let the team know what he thought

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A good showing from Toro Rosso behind the top 3 teams

Perez apparently will drop 8 places for ignoring two yellow flags
 
It's a bummer. At least he's going to put on a show. He probably won't be top 5 but he'll be thereabouts. I doubt Kimi will finish in podium. We'll see.
 
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