Singapore GP: Race - Re-Cap & Results

SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX - RACE

    Nico Rosberg took a well deserved victory at Singapore in what may be the most exciting race of the season. It’s rare in Formula One that there’s much of a battle at the front of the field, let alone one that lasts until the very last lap, but a mixed up strategy in the night race made for a battle that kept fans and team personnel alike on the edge of their seats.

    There’s always a safety car at Singapore. This one came right at the beginning of the race, after a collision between Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz.

    Fourth place started Max Verstappen had a slow start, falling back through the pack. Sainz, starting directly behind him, tried to avoid his ex-team mate, but tangled with Hulkenberg.

    The Toro Rosso driver was able to keep going, but was forced to pit a few laps after the green flags returned when the meatball flags were brought out for some damage to the front of his car.

    Verstappen’s slow start promoted Raikkonen to fourth but the Finn wasn’t going to stay there for long. Raikkonen caught up with Hamilton and was in DRS range within twenty six laps, but it took another seven or so laps to make the move.

    When he did, it was a clean overtake for the Ferrari driver. Hamilton locked up his front right tyre at turn seven, allowing Raikkonen to get closer. At turn ten, the Finn dived down the inside to pass Hamilton.

    Further back, there was a battle for the bottom spaces of the top ten. It was a battle of Red Bull past and (possibly) future, as Sebastian Vettel tried to get past Sainz. Vettel started from the very back of the grid, but was on a charge.

    Esteban Gutierrez was following behind Vettel, hoping to follow the Ferrari through when Vettel inevitably got past the Toro Rosso driver. The trio came three abreast for a number of corners, but Vettel eventually got through. Sainz defended heavily, managing to keep Gutierrez behind him.

    Back at the front of the pack, the leading four pitted and, despite Hamilton hoping the team could do something different to get him back ahead of Raikkonen, there was no change of order. The gaps between the top four rose and fell like a spring, but there was no movement.

    Mercedes told Hamilton to switch to plan B. The race was reignited.

    “We need to pull Raikkonen in,” Hamilton was told. The Brit responded by setting the fastest lap of the race at that point, a Singapore race lap record.

    Raikkonen was told to keep squeezing Ricciardo, who was happily running in second, whilst Hamilton caught up with him. With less than two seconds between Hamilton and Raikkonen, the Mercedes driver dived into the pit, losing time but no positions.

    Ferrari panicked. When Raikkonen asked his engineer if they were going to respond, the answer he got was “we’ll let you know”. They did, pitting Raikkonen to put faster tyres on his Ferrari, but he left the pits behind Mercedes. Plan B had worked.

    Ricciardo decided now was a good time for him to pit too. It was a free stop with Hamilton so far behind him. Mercedes almost fell for the same trick they’d pulled on Ferrari, telling Rosberg to pit, only ordering him to abort that moments later.

    Ricciardo was catching him though, taking three seconds out of Rosberg’s lead in the first lap out of the pits. The Australian was told he would catch Rosberg with four laps to go and, as the clock ticked down, Rosberg’s lead grew smaller and smaller.

   There weren’t enough laps though. With the backmarker traffic and Rosberg finding extra pace from his car, the race ended with Ricciardo right under the Mercedes rear wing.

    It was another win for Rosberg that puts him back in the lead of the championship.

    Elsewhere, Vettel recovered all the way to fifth and was followed over the line by a recovering Verstappen.

 RESULTS:

1. Nico Rosberg / Mercedes-Mercedes / Germany / + 25 Points
2. Daniel Ricciardo / Red Bull-TAG-HEUER / Australia / + 18 Points
3. Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain / + 15 Points
4. Kimi Raikkonen / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland / + 12 Points
5. Sebastian Vettel / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany / + 10 Points
6. Max Verstappen / Red Bull-TAG-HEUER / Netherlands / + 8 Points
7. Fernando Alonso / McLaren-Honda / Spain / + 6 Points
8. Sergio Perez / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico / + 4 Points
9. Daniil Kvyat / Toro Rosso-Ferrari / Russia / + 2 Points
10. Kevin Magnussen / Renault-Renault / Denmark / + 1 Point
11. Esteban Gutierrez / Haas-Ferrari / Mexico
12. Felipe Massa / Williams-Mercedes / Brazil
13. Felipe Nasr / Sauber-Ferrari / Brazil
14. Carlos Sainz / Toro Rosso-Ferrari / Spain
15. Jolyon Palmer / Renault-Renault / Great Britain
16. Pascal Wehrlein / Manor-Mercedes / Germany
17. Marcus Ericsson / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden
18. Esteban Ocon / Manor-Mercedes / France

RETIRED - Jenson Button / McLaren-Honda / Great Britain
RETIRED - Valtteri Bottas / Williams-Mercedes / Finland /
RETIRED - Nico Hulkenberg / Force India-Mercedes / Germany / Collision

DNS - Romain Grosjean / Haas-Ferrari / France

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Singapore GP: Qualifying - Re-Cap & Results

SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX - QUALIFYING 

    It's Nico Rosberg who will start from pole position for the Singapore GP, while Lewis Hamilton will start from 3rd. Daniel Ricciardo was able to set a time fast enough to start beside Rosberg, in 2nd.

    Sebastian Vettel was struck with mechanical issues and missed out on a fast lap in Q1 and will start all the way back in 22nd. Vettel has since then had his engine and gearbox replaced and was handed a 25-Place-Grid-Penalty but will still start from 22nd.

    Both Sergio Perez and Romain Grosjean have grid penalties as well. Grosjean's is due to a gearbox replacement. Perez was handed two separate penalties. The first was for failing to sufficiently slow under yellows after Grosjean had a minor crash and the second was for passing Gutierrez under yellows.

HOW IT WORKS:

Q1 = 18 minutes. All cars allowed to go out. At the end of the session, the six slowest are eliminated.

Q2 = 15 minutes. The remaining cars go out. At the end of the session, the six slowest are eliminated.

Q3 = 12 minutes. Final 10 cars go out. The final order at the end of the session is how the grid will line up. Fastest car starts from Pole Position.

GRID LINE-UP

1. Nico Rosberg / Mercedes-Mercedes / Germany

2. Daniel Ricciardo / Red Bull-TAG-HEUER / Australia

3. Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain

4. Max Verstappen / Red Bull-TAG-HEUER / Netherlands

5. Kimi Raikkonen / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland

6. Carlos Sainz / Toro Rosso-Ferrari / Spain

7. Daniil Kvyat / Toro Rosso-Ferrari / Russia

8. Nico Hulkenberg / Force India-Mercedes / Germany

9. Fernando Alonso / McLaren-Honda / Spain

10. Valtteri Bottas / Williams-Mercedes / Finland

11. Felipe Massa / Williams-Mercedes / Brazil

12. Jenson Button / McLaren-Honda / Great Britain

13. Esteban Gutierrez / Haas-Ferrari / Mexico

14. Marcus Ericsson / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden

15. Kevin Magnussen / Renault-Renault / Denmark

16. Felipe Nasr / Sauber-Ferrari / Brazil

17. Sergio Perez / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico*

18. Jolyon Palmer / Renault-Renault / Great Britain

19. Romain Grosjean / Haas-Ferrari / France**

20. Pascal Wehrlein / Manor-Mercedes / Germany

21. Esteban Ocon / Manor-Mercedes / France

22. Sebastian Vettel / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany***

* - (Perez) 5-Place Grid Penalty for failing to slow sufficiently under yellows & 3-Place-Grid-Penalty for overtaking Gutierrez under yellows

** - (Grosjean) 5-Place-Grid-Penalty for gearbox change

*** (Vettel) - 25-Place-Grid-Penalty for engine change (20 Places) and gearbox change (5 Places) (Driver was starting 22nd before grid penalty was added)

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Singapore GP: Free Practice 3 - Re-Cap & Times

SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX - FREE PRACTICE #3

    Nico Rosberg topped the final practice session of the weekend and Hamilton found himself outside of the top 5 once again. Max Verstappen finished in 2nd with Raikkonen, Ricciardo and Vettel rounding up the top 5.

    Pascal Wehrlein had a minor crash during the session and was able to walk away, but he lost out on setting any more laps ahead of Qualifying. Felipe Nasr and Lewis Hamilton each had a significant spin during the session but both managed to avoid any major damage to their cars.

    Max Verstappen had a close encounter with a decent-sized Monitor lizard that got on the track and ran across just as Verstappen's Red Bull was approaching it. The lizard got away unharmed an marshals were seen chasing after it. The situation was definitely one of a kind.

TIMES:

1. Nico Rosberg - 1:44.362 / Mercedes-Mercedes

2. Max Verstappen - 1:44.411 / Red Bull-TAG-HEUER

3. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:44.860 / Ferrari-Ferrari

4. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:44.903 / Red Bull-TAG-HEUER

5. Sebastian Vettel - 1:45.104 / Ferrari-Ferrari

6. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:45.316 / Force India-Mercedes

7. Daniil Kvyat - 1:45.503 / Toro Rosso-Ferrari

8. Lewis Hamilton - 1:45.806 / Mercedes-Mercedes

9. Carlos Sainz - 1:45.879 / Toro Rosso-Ferrari

10. Valtteri Bottas - 1:45.947 / Williams-Mercedes

11. Sergio Perez - 1:46.112 / Force India-Mercedes

12. Fernando Alonso - 1:46.164 / McLaren-Honda

13. Esteban Gutierrez - 1:46.316 / Haas-Ferrari

14. Felipe Massa - 1:46.529 / Williams-Mercedes

15. Kevin Magnussen - 1:47.116 / Renault-Renault

16. Jenson Button - 1:47.277 / McLaren-Honda

17. Felipe Nasr - 1:47.293 / Sauber-Ferrari

18. Romain Grosjean - 1:47.411 / Haas-Ferrari

19. Marcus Ericsson - 1:47.956 / Sauber-Ferrari

20. Jolyon Palmer - 1:48.689 / Renault-Renault

21. Pascal Wehrlein - 1:49.201 / Manor-Mercedes

22. Esteban Ocon - 1:49.565 / Manor-Mercedes

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Singapore GP: Free Practice 2 - Re-Cap & Times

SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX - FREE PRACTICE #2

    It was Nico Rosberg who topped the second session of the weekend, while Lewis Hamilton suffered technical issues and missed most of the session. However, Hamilton was still able to finish the session in 7th with a time of 1:45.275. Kimi Raikkonen finished the session in 2nd, followed by Verstappen, Ricciardo and Vettel.

    Romain Grosjean suffered more car troubles as well and completed just under 15 laps. He also had a minor crash which resulted in him losing most of the back wing of the car. A piece of the wing was left embedded in the barrier.

    At the end of the session, just as the Chequered Flag had been called, it was Fernando Alonso who stopped in one of the run-off areas with a suspected gearbox issue. In FP1, it was Jenson Button who had stopped on track. It looks to be a difficult weekend for the Woking-based team.

TIMES:

1. Nico Rosberg - 1:44.152 / Mercedes-Mercedes

2. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:44.427 / Ferrari-Ferrari

3. Max Verstappen - 1:44.532 / Red Bull-TAG-HEUER

4. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:44.557 / Red Bull-TAG-HEUER

5. Sebastian Vettel - 1:45.161 / Ferrari-Ferrari

6. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:45.182 / Force India-Mercedes

7. Lewis Hamilton - 1:45.275  / Mercedes-Mercedes

8. Carlos Sainz - 1:45.507 / Toro Rosso-Ferrari

9. Fernando Alonso - 1:45.779 / McLaren-Honda

10. Daniil Kvyat - 1:46.029 / Toro Rosso-Ferrari

11. Sergio Perez - 1:46.063 / Force India-Mercedes

12. Jenson Button - 1:46.574 / McLaren-Honda

13. Esteban Gutierrez - 1:46.727 / Haas-Ferrari

14. Felipe Massa - 1:46.856 / Williams-Mercedes

15. Valtteri Bottas - 1:46.960 / Williams-Mercedes

16. Kevin Magnussen - 1:47.161 / Renault-Renault

17. Jolyon Palmer - 1:47.166 / Renault-Renault

18. Felipe Nasr - 1:47.531 / Sauber-Ferrari

19. Romain Grosjean - 1:48.391 / Haas-Ferrari

20. Marcus Ericsson - 1:48.487 / Sauber-Ferrari

21. Pascal Wehrlein - 1:48.505 / Manor-Mercedes

22. Esteban Ocon - 1:48.823 / Manor-Mercedes

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Singapore GP: Free Practice 1 - Re-Cap & Times

SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX - FREE PRACTICE #1

    It was a Red Bull 1-2 in the first practice session at Marina Bay Street Circuit. While most of the weekend is known for being under the lights of the circuit, the first session is done while the sun is still mostly out. Max Verstappen took the top spot on the time sheets with a 1:45.823. Ricciardo followed close behind. Vettel, Hamilton and Rosberg completed the top 5.

    Button's McLaren stopped on track only 4-5 minutes into the session and the circuit marshals had to push it all the way back to pit-lane and to his garage. He was back out by the end of the session but the same couldn't be said for the the Haas of Romain Grosjean. He endured mechanical issues early on in the session and never got to set a time.

    Nico Rosberg had a minor crash at turn 18, but was able to reverse and head back to the pits, only missing his front wing. Turn 18 has seen multiple crashes over the course of the time that the circuit has been in Formula 1 and the drivers know just how cautious you have to be in order to not have your race ended early. Other parts of the circuit are hairy as well and multiple drivers including Sainz, Verstappen and Vettel all had moments where they lightly tapped the walls/barriers but managed to avoid any major damage.

TIMES:

1. Max Verstappen - 1:45.823 / Red Bull-TAG-HEUER

2. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:45.872 / Red Bull-TAG-HEUER

3. Sebastian Vettel - 1:46.287 / Ferrari-Ferrari

4. Lewis Hamilton - 1:46.426 / Mercedes-Mercedes

5. Nico Rosberg - 1:46.513 / Mercedes-Mercedes

6. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:46.890 / Ferrari-Ferrari

7. Carlos Sainz - 1:46.936 / Toro Rosso-Ferrari

8. Daniil Kvyat - 1:47.683 / Toro Rosso-Ferrari

9. Felipe Massa - 1:48.044 / Williams-Mercedes

10. Esteban Gutierrez - 1:48.109 / Haas-Ferrari

11. Fernando Alonso - 1:48.202 / McLaren-Honda

12. Sergio Perez - 1:48.214 / Force India-Mercedes

13. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:48.359 / Force India-Mercedes

14. Valtteri Bottas - 1:48.453 / Williams-Mercedes

15. Felipe Nasr - 1:49.595 / Sauber-Ferrari

16. Jenson Button - 1:49.615 / McLaren-Honda

17. Jolyon Palmer - 1:49.794 / Renault-Renault

18. Kevin Magnussen - 1:50.263 / Renault-Renault

19. Pascal Wehrlein - 1:51.122 / Manor-Mercedes

20. Marcus Ericsson - 1:51.479 / Sauber-Ferrari

21. Esteban Ocon - 1:52.379 / Manor-Mercedes

22. Romain Grosjean - NO TIME SET / Haas-Ferrari

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Liberty Media Buys F1

LIBERTY MEDIA TAKES OVER FORMULA 1

    Liberty Media have started the process of buying Formula One.

    Chase Carey has replaced Peter Brabeck-Letmathe as chairman of the company as part of the deal, whilst Bernie Ecclestone will remain as CEO.

    Seven hundred and forty six million dollars. Cash. That’s what Liberty Media paid to Formula One’s current parent company, Delta Topco, for just 18.7% of Formula One, a minority share. That’s only the first part of the deal, though. Liberty Media plans on owning 100% of the company, once it’s satisfied some conditions.

    “I am thrilled to take up the role of Chairman of Formula One, and have the opportunity to work alongside Bernie Ecclestone, CVC, and the Liberty Media team,” said Chase Carey. “I greatly admire Formula One as a unique global sports entertainment franchise attracting hundreds of millions of fans each season from all around the world. I see great opportunity to help Formula One to develop and prosper for the benefit of the sport, fans, teams and investors alike.”

    When rumours of the deal began to circulate, there was hope among many fans that this would be the end of Bernie Ecclestone, who many blame for Formula One’s faults. The Formula One figurehead will continue as CEO, though. Still, Liberty Media have ensured that things will change, with a focus on improving the social media side of Formula One, which the series has lacked compared to other motorsport series.

    As well of this, Liberty Media has said “The teams will be given the opportunity to participate in the investment in Formula One”. According to the company, some teams have already expressed an interest in this opportunity.

    Change may not be immediate, but Liberty Media’s take over will mark a new chapter in Formula One’s history, one we hope will make fans happy.

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Singapore GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Manor

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - MANOR RACING F1 TEAM

Pascal Wehrlein - “Checking into my hotel room, seeing the view of the Marina Bay Circuit laid out right in front of me, was a very nice feeling. An incredible view of an incredible city and a fantastic location for a Grand Prix. Tough conditions, a demanding circuit for car and driver – exactly the kind of challenge I love. Bring it on!

I’m prepared for the fact that it will be tough-going; high temperatures, high humidity, 23 corners on a track that is not so long compared to some. The track conditions can be changeable, with two practice sessions in daylight, and qualifying and the race at night - and, of course, the rain. Plus, it’s a street circuit, so it can be quite unforgiving. But, you won’t find me complaining. Pretty much every track is new for me this season, so while each one is to be respected, I don’t worry too much about acclimatisation; it’s something I really enjoy. I’ll let you know how it goes!”

Esteban Ocon - “I’m loving and learning every minute - and there’s so much more still to come. It’s a big challenge stepping up to F1 in the middle of the season; so much to get to grips with and no time to stop and think, only to keep pushing forward. It’s a big test, but that works for me! In only two races I’ve had some things go well and some things go less well, but I’ve got two race distances under my belt and I’m really happy with the way I’ve slotted into the team, and with my own performances. Six of the next seven tracks are new for me, so some exciting challenges are ahead, which is great! Plus, we have some important objectives as a team, which we need to be very focused on.

I think we’ve shown that when everything goes our way, we can expect to be in Q2. Pascal has been able to show that it’s possible. So that’s the next target for me personally. When we start further up the grid, we can create opportunities for the race, and then, who knows, another point is a real possibility. At this stage, that would be a dream come true in a long list of dreams I’d like to realise.”

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Singapore GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Haas

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - HAAS F1 TEAM

Romain Grosjean - “It’s pretty cool. Everyone loves it, especially the VIPs, who then go partying after the race. It’s a special one, for sure. It’s a race everyone waits for. It’s a tricky track, and you’re racing at night downtown when it’s very hot and humid, so there are a lot of factors that make it exciting. It’s actually easier at night because the lights never change. The luminosity is always the same. You stick with the same visor, and driving at those speeds in those conditions is absolutely fine.

There are a few corners where you can actually run wide and go over the kerbs. I think last year they removed some. So, yes, most of the time there are walls in close proximity - you pretty much have to hold your breath and hope for the best, especially when you’re pushing in qualifying, as you run so close to the walls - but there are a few occasions on the track when you can use a bit more of the width than was perhaps first designed. Especially between Turns 3 and 4, and on the long straight, it’s very bumpy. You really want to find the right line there. When you make an overtaking move there, you’ve really got to be sure you’ve got the car with you as it’s very tricky. To be honest, every corner is tricky.

It can be very physical. All week we never see the sunlight, so that takes a bit of energy away. Then it’s humid, it’s hot and it’s always a long race. We usually reach the two-hour limit. It’s very, very demanding. I remember back in 2013, I lost four kilos (nine pounds) of water during the race, which is quite a lot. Mentally it’s very difficult, as much as it is physical. It’s clearly one of the races where you need to be at your fittest in the season. We (drivers) love a challenge. That’s why we race in Formula One and that’s why we drive these cars and race at over 300 km/h (186 mph). We love it.”

Esteban Gutierrez - “I like very much the first section - Turns 1, 2, 3 and 4. You arrive very quick from the straight, so it’s a sequence of corners which makes it very interesting. I also like the last part where you have a lot of chicanes where you can use the kerbs. It’s a lot of corners in a very short period of time, so it’s very physical. The overtaking opportunities are on corner 1, corner 8, which is after the long straight, then after the hairpin, as well. There are two or three places which are pretty good for overtaking, even though it’s a street circuit and usually street circuits are a bit more difficult for that. The first time I came there was in GP2 and I went straight into practice without knowing much about it. There used to be a very special corner, a triple chicane, which now has been changed, so that part and that section will be new to me. I’m looking forward to getting to know it.”

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Singapore GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Williams

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - WILLIAMS MARTINI RACING

Valtteri Bottas - “We’re back into the fly-aways with Singapore, one of the most challenging race weekends on the calendar. That track has so many corners, so as a driver to complete the perfect lap in Singapore it’s quite tricky. But it’s really rewarding when you do. Personally, I do like the challenge. It’s a night race and in terms of how much you need to focus, it’s probably the most difficult track after Monaco. There’s no room for mistakes. It’s extremely hot, which makes it much more physical for the driver and hard on the car. It’s a very unique and cool looking Grand Prix.”

Felipe Massa - “Singapore is one of the few night races that we have, together with Bahrain and Abu Dhabi. It’s a very difficult race. It’s very humid and so hot; a tricky race for everybody and one of the hardest on the calendar. That said, I really enjoy racing there and it’s a very rewarding track. It’s always a good feeling racing in Singapore.”

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Singapore GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Sauber

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - SAUBER F1 TEAM

Marcus Ericsson - “The Singapore Grand Prix is surely one of most exciting as well as challenging race weekends. The typically high temperatures, the high humidity, and the fact that the race is held at night makes it to one of the highlights of the season. For the spectators it is a real experience - besides the action on track, there are also many events going on off track. Thinking about last year’s race, I was very close to the points by finishing in P11. As we saw positive results from the car package during the recent race weekends, our aim is certainly to fight for points in Singapore.”

Felipe Nasr - “I like the Singapore Grand Prix a lot - the night race as well as the atmosphere in the city once Formula One is there makes it a special race weekend. It is a great street circuit and racing under these high temperatures is a real challenge. I have good memories from last year’s Singapore Grand Prix, as I was able to score one point. Looking back to the tests during the previous race weekends, I have confidence in our car, as I felt that we made a step in the right direction, although we cannot see it in the results yet. In Singapore a lot can happen during the race, so we need to take every opportunity that might come up.”

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