Grand Prix 2019 Singapore Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Here we go you lucky ducks. Our good friend Olivier signed up for this one, but since he's not around you're stuck with me doing it instead, sorry ;)

As we head into Asia and the race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit of Singapore the balance of power looks to have shifted slightly in the 2019 season. We started off the year with the domination of Ferrari in testing and then when the racing started we were back to square one. Mercedes were on the front foot and off up the road like a robbers dog winning every race going it seemed. Bottas, complete with his new beard, even showed some fight against his team mate and took a couple of wins in Australia and Azerbaijan, he was the only one who managed to deny his team mate in the first eight races as we all sat back and expected total domination by the German team and Hamilton, it seemed likely.

Then we went to Austria and something happened. Now Austria is always a track where Mercedes as a whole and Hamilton in particular has struggled more than at other circuits from what I can tell, Hamilton did again this year it would seem. The young Dutch driver Max Verstappen managed to stun us all and pull a win out of the bag, followed home by both Ferrari's and Bottas ahead of Hamilton. Since then out the last five races Hamilton has only won two, his dominance seemingly less than it was. Whether he's so far ahead in the championship he's not as driven to win, or if it's something else, who knows? Red Bull and Ferrari seem to have suddenly found a way to beat him, at least Verstappen and Leclerc have, let's not mention their team mates just now for various other reasons.

Singapore is another track like Monaco where the walls are incredibly close, the turns tight and twisty and where pretty much anything can and often does happen. We rarely see a race there without at least one safety car, often there is more than one due to the nature of the track and lack of run off areas etc. not to mention the narrow and cramped pit lane. It's a bumpy circuit, and although the race is run in the evening when it should be cooler, note the should, the temperature inside the cockpit can get up to 60C (140F). The humidity is also incredibly high making it even harder on the body, along with being one of the longer races which can trouble the two hour limit. So it's not for the feint hearted. You need to be on your game both mentally and physically to win in Singapore.

Of the eleven times it's been raced since we returned there in 2008, Nico Rosberg has won it once, Fernando Alonsohas won (ahem) it twice and both Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton have four wins under their belts. The way things are going you have to wonder if either of them will win it again this year. Vettel likes this track but in his current form I have to wonder if he can up his game enough to take his first win of the season on such a demanding track, especialy when his younger team mate Charles Leclerc is showing such brilliant form and could potentially make it three wins a row. Then again will Max Verstappen put in another sterling performance to take his first win here and third win of the year as well? Will Hamilton find that extra something that seems to have been missing in some of the recent races and grab another win here, his fifth here and his ninth of 2019? Under the artificial lights and in the heat and atmosphere of Singapore you can bet whoever wins it will be physically drained by the end of it all. Probably we will too if the race is anything like as demanding as it had been sometimes.

Last year your pole sitter was Hamilton and your podium was 1st Hamilton, 2nd Verstappen 3rd Vettel. On a side note, Kevin Magnussen managed to grab the fastest lap there which just proves how unpredictable this place can be.

Turn on your fans, sit back and let's hope we all enjoy Singapore 2019!
 
*tries to resist weighing in on 2008 and can't*

Ahem...Nico Rosberg would not have won it in 2008 because he too benefited from the act of cheating all be it unknowingly. If you want a free untampered result you would go back to the map prior to the Piquet result. This means Felippe Massa won it on half points and is now 2008 world champion (which is why when they ruled it a year later they didn't change the result).
 
Since it is at the bottom of the same peninsula as Sepang and just under 200 miles away it rains pretty well the same way. Strangely I have never been there and awake when it has done so but i have woken up to see everything soaking wet.
 
I can assure you it very definitely rains buckets and the monsoon ditches hardly cope, it is so heavy that if you are caught in it you may as well jump in the sea you can't get wetter LOL
 
I forgotten to post what I think is greatest qualifying lap since senna in 88, basically gave him opportunity to take huge step to winning the title

 
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It doesn't really say what they'll do if it gets too bad though. I mean will they delay it, cancel it, what? It just says they have a plan. I mean it's a bad thing to be happening, you have to feel for the poor people who have to live with it.
 
Well, looks the Ferrari's are good everywhere, now getting pole on a slow track. They may well have the best car now. Shame they completely threw away the first half of the season.
 
Apparently Danny Ric has been disqualified from qualifying due to his power train producing too much power. He will start either at the back or from the pits.
 
How boring is this race going to be.

The fastest car once again on pole and likely to win.

It's going to be a worthless win considering it's the fastest car, etc., etc.

In my day, drivers only deserved wins if they started from the pits, in reverse, blindfolded.
A day after the GP.
 
Apparently Danny Ric has been disqualified from qualifying due to his power train producing too much power. He will start either at the back or from the pits.

The team said Ricciardo’s disqualification came about “after he benefitted from an advantage measured at one microsecond [0.000001s] due to a kerb hit that caused his MGU-K to over-rev on his slowest lap of Q1.”

The rules are the rules but really
 
See I'm not so sure it will be that way Brogan, given the front four cars here and the nature of the track I think we're going to be lucky if all four of them make it through the first few corners without at least one of them suffering major damage. None of them are the sort to back off and if we don't have at least one of them out and a safety car I'll be amazed.
 
huge shock very few saw that coming but my thoughts were, was that as we have often said Lewis or Mercedes. when great pole lap like 2018 singapore, was leclerc great talent or was it ferrari had good car that took that pole. because as ive said very few saw this majority saw this as Lewis v Max you look at the odds even ferrari expected comfortably 3rd quickest. because surely that new front wing couldnt have gained them 6 tenths on Lewis 1.1seconds on Max & poteinally 65 seconds in the race in 6 weeks. that is impossible as that gained time over season not 6 weeks :o

also Vettel now that hurt because it 1 thing to be under performed but when you were great, & had a fantastic lap you still get beat for 8th time, he must be thinking what do i have to do, also Hamilton pretty fantastic lap, 8 tenths faster than your teammate if it wasnt for leclerc wouldve been star of qualifying
 
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