Grand Prix 2023 Singapore Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

realise the weekend starts tomorrow & this isnt up so here we go.

incredibly this is our 15th year at singapore, & 15 years of racing at night, which i still think of as a new thing. even though we've race in singapore more than we did at adelaide. i think its a great experiment thats went quite well, this going to sound weird but when GP2 used to go as support race singapore in the day looked pretty crap, whereas at night it looks brilliant, id like to talk you through the inaugural year but as massa proved, 2008 was very uneventful nothing happened & i fell asleep by lap 20
Singapore is the toughest race, its as close to a endurance race as we get, 2 hours between the walls, in 33c heat & near 80% humidity. the driver say its like putting on winter clothes & going to run on a treadmill in the sauna. every driver say if they are fit for singapore they are fit for anything. also in the 1st few years Tv crews, teams & drivers encounters other challenges due to staying on european time because the schedule was designed to be normal european weekend, so trying to find breakfast at 3pm & evening meal at 2am was a challenge. but now there are places that stay open especially for F1

but in F1 terms, dont worry Verstappen & Red Bull clinching both drivers & constructors championships, wont happen this week. thats next week in japan & will equal schumacher record as the earliest the championship has ever been won. & because of the renovation on the float. we have a revised circuit this week & until 2026. which they think could make laptimes 10 seconds a lap quicker. it will make what is now T16 chicane. a fascinating corner, reminiscent of wall of champions, if you take too much speed & the wall will be there. because last year it was a 2nd gear at 70mph after a 130m run. but now they are coming to the same corner coming off what is now the 2nd biggest straight on the circuit

if your interested in what the Singaporeans are renovating & what F1 will be going through in either 2026 or 2027.

pre 2022

from 2026 onwards

 

[F1Brits_90]

Presumably, given the precedent of Norris being penalised for unsporting behaviour for slowing the pack down, Leclerc should expect a 5 secodn penalty as well

yeah i surprised he got away with that did stewards forget about leclerc

 

[F1Brits_90]

that Singapore GP was sensational, i said in the morning that F1 without red bulls is healthy because the 2nd best team changes week to week, but 1 of the best closing stages to a race i can remember for a very long time. absolutely incredible to see 4 cars going for the win in the final 10 laps. can we have Red bull being crap every week. what impressed me was it such was great tactical awareness from sainz in the most stressful of scenarios, to effectively say ill give you the DRS to defend the mercedes, if you dont attack me. because sainz knew if russell passed lando he was finishing 3rd or even 4th

but as great as sainz was you have wonder again what happened on strategy at that VSC, because im not saying pit both drivers but you spilt your stategies at least. leclerc shouldve been brought in. it was a no brainer

although i cant believe, red bull & Verstappen, he's had the worst weekend potentially of his F1 career & yet he nearly finished 4th.

Liam Lawson impressing once again, unless he is dreadful at suzuka, i feel the writing is on the wall for tsunoda & 1 of F1 weirder stories that Riccardio breaking his hand might have cost tsunoda his drive, because can you get rid of a driver who has just taken your best result of the season

 

[Il_leone]

that Singapore GP was sensational, i said in the morning that F1 without red bulls is healthy because the 2nd best team changes week to week, but 1 of the best closing stages to a race i can remember for a very long time. absolutely incredible to see 4 cars going for the win in the final 10 laps. can we have Red bull being crap every week. what impressed me was it such was great tactical awareness from sainz in the most stressful of scenarios, to effectively say ill give you the DRS to defend the mercedes, if you dont attack me. because sainz knew if russell passed lando he was finishing 3rd or even 4th

but as great as sainz was you have wonder again what happened on strategy at that VSC, because im not saying pit both drivers but you spilt your stategies at least. leclerc shouldve been brought in. it was a no brainer

although i cant believe, red bull & Verstappen, he's had the worst weekend potentially of his F1 career & yet he nearly finished 4th.

Liam Lawson impressing once again, unless he is dreadful at suzuka, i feel the writing is on the wall for tsunoda & 1 of F1 weirder stories that Riccardio breaking his hand might have cost tsunoda his drive, because can you get rid of a driver who has just taken your best result of the season

I don't think Tsunoda can be dropped because of Honda

 

[Il_leone]

cider_and_toast with the exception of Monaco
The super DrS just plays to Red Bull strengths

 

[F1Brits_90]

I don't think Tsunoda can be dropped because of Honda

good point but Honda technically aren't on the grid until 2026, its red bull powertrains although we all know the rumours where some say honda never left

 

[Wombat]

Don’t be fooled by the changes made to this circuit layout—nothing has really changed. In regard to actual racing it’s still just basically Monaco under the lights. Except in some cases involving artificial intervention by safety car periods it produces little other than processional parades because overtaking is so ridiculously difficult. In one way it’s worse than Monaco in that the gaps between cars down the order tend to be smaller (even than at Monaco) when the lead driver carefully controls the pace—this then largely eliminating even the possibility of an undercut by the trailing car because it will come back out so far down the order and then be stuck there because it’s so difficult to overtake. About the only difference between here and Monaco is that a greatly superior car might be able to do some limited overtaking as might a car with a huge tire offset advantage, whereas even these things generally won’t help at Monaco. Again, don’t be fooled by the artificially generated “excitement” in the latter segment of the race. If not for the intervention of the VSC period which allowed Merc to try their major tire offset strategy, the race would almost certainly have ended in typical processional form. I never liked this circuit and the modified layout hasn’t changed that.

Regarding Merc, I think most people agree with their call to attempt that tire offset strategy. And I think it very likely would have worked if Lewis had been the lead Merc car because he was considerably quicker than GR. He was 5 secs. behind GR when they emerged from their stops yet he erased that gap in just a short number of laps (and he did it on his own, before GR got bogged down behind Norris). I would guess that the thought probably entered Toto’s mind that he would rather have had Lewis as the lead car attacking Norris but I believe that Brundle had it right when he said that there was no way that Merc would ask GR to give up a probable podium at that point. With neither driver in contention for the title, such a call would be an instant recipe for ruining that driver’s relationship with his teammate and the team. Besides, GR had driven a strong race and deserved a good result (and he figures heavily in Merc’s future plans, especially for after Lewis retires). What ultimately happened to GR was so sad and I think most fans feel for him.

All credit to Sainz for driving such a smart, clean race (notably for keeping Lando in DRS range to help him keep GR from overtaking).

 

[Tuscan1969]

I'll be slightly controversial I saying that Singapore is a boring race only made bearable by accidents jumbling up the running order and strategy. The racing itself is poor despite the spectacular setting.

That said it was refreshing to see a varied cast at the front so let's hope Red Bull domination is on the wane.

 

[Il_leone]

Best race of the season as we didn’t have to listen to the Austria
national anthem.

We did not have to listening to Horner telling us his love for Max for once and complain about not getting air time

 

[Il_leone]

For some strange reasons the humid conditions did not work for Red Bull

 

[Il_leone]

good point but Honda technically aren't on the grid until 2026, its red bull powertrains although we all know the rumours where some say honda never left

When Honda completely severs ties with Red Bull then Tsunoda will be dropped...he must hate Red Bull as Verstappen ruined his quali and Perez took him out

 

[FB]

I listened to it on the radio and then watched the highlights package Sky put together. It's more exciting without the pictures, although it wasn't a bad race by any stretch of the imagination. An observation for the new commentator 5-Live are using, things that are not like chess: Formula one motor racing.

 

[F1Brits_90]

When Honda completely severs ties with Red Bull then Tsunoda will be dropped...he must hate Red Bull as Verstappen ruined his quali and Perez took him out

& lawson just nicked the teams best result of the season off tsunoda

 

[Johnny Carwash]

Still not sure which was more of a surprise, Red Bull not winning, or Ferrari making a race strategy work.

 

[F1Brits_90]

Still not sure which was more of a surprise, Red Bull not winning, or Ferrari making a race strategy work.

did ferrari make it work or did sainz make it work

 

[F1Brits_90]

Wombat i know what you mean about it being boring at the start. got a message from my mate who forgot im at work on sunday afternoon. no spoilers just WHAT A RACE, INCREDIBLE & by lap 40 it was alright but WHAT A RACE, INCREDIBLE seemed a million miles off. but i dont mind a slow burn if you get a pay off. a bit like the ashes this summer 1st 4 days were often a set up to the incredible drama we got on the 5th day. but the problem is F1 normally promises what we had on sunday but actually get nothing

is the ending contrived. F1 is full of variables this is just 1. surely the VSC because ocon had broken down in a dangerous place. is no difference to mother nature bringing the rain down in closing stages of a race. but even if it was, sport is entertainment for me,

Hamilton was quicker with his expierence & knowledge being a 7x world champion it couldve been a different result, but russell earned the opportunity to have ago by being quicker throughout qualifying & race up to that point.

 

[Il_leone]

& lawson just nicked the teams best result of the season off tsunoda

So what I mean this week at Honda 's home track Tsunoda will get an extension