Posted on 16th September 2015
As we head into the Singapore Grand Prix at the famous Marina Bay circuit (which is the last street circuit on the calendar) that takes place during the night provides a magical experience for the fans and also for the spectators who will be attending the race weekend.
Pirelli have selected the P Zero Yellow soft and P Zero Red supersoft tyres have been chosen for the Singapore Grand Prix (just like last season); which have been selected by them to balance the unique demands of the Marina Bay circuit and offer the grip that the teams and the drivers need to be successful during the course of the weekend.
Singapore has the highest number of corners of any circuit on the Formula One calendar (23), creating more work for the tyres. Coupled with the 80% humidity, two-hour race time, and the fact that it's the second-slowest lap of the year after Monaco (which limits cooling and airflow through the car) this makes Marina Bay the most physically challenging circuit of all for the drivers.
All of these corners mean that traction and braking are the two most vital aspects of the Marina Bay circuit. Like most street circuits on the calendar currently; the surface in Singapore is quite bumpy, and this certainly doesn't help. With very little run-off area, mistakes rarely go unpunished: requiring a high degree of precision from the tyre. The left-rear is the tyre that is worked hardest, while the cars run very high downforce.
With Singapore being a night race with all the practice and qualifying sessions held at night too; the way that track temperature evolves is considerably different to more conventional grands prix. This then has a significant effect on the way that the tyres are used by the teams and the drivers this weekend.
Ambient temperatures tend to be in the region of 30-35 degrees centigrade even at night, making it perfect territory for the high working range of the soft tyre. All of the drrivers will have to manage the supersoft carefully; this will be to benefit from the compound's maximum performance by not overheating it.
There are lots of factors for the teams and drivers to consider when planning strategy: the unusual track temperature evolution, a big performance gap between the two compounds, the need to save fuel over the long and demanding race distance, as well as the high likelihood of a safety car, which has featured at every race in Singapore so far.
Because of all these variables and also the assorted street furniture – painted white lines, manhole covers and so on, (which have caught out a few drivers in the past), the work done in free practice to capture all the necessary tyre data will be even more important than usual.
It has also been announced that Pirelli will also be defining, together with the FIA; a clearer procedure enabling the teams to more easily follow the rules regarding tyre usage. This will be important for the sport in order to avoid any further misunderstandings, by giving the teams more precise indications to comply with, thus avoiding what happened to Mercedes at the end of the last race in Monza two weeks ago.
Here are the facts and figures heading into the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend
•Singapore has hosted the Grand Prix since 2008.
•Sebastian Vettel is the most successful driver at the track with three wins.
•Red Bull is the most successful constructor to win the Grand Prix with three wins.
•Race distance: 309.31km (192.20 miles)
•Number of turns: 23
•Top speed: 297kph
•Lap record: Kimi Raikkonen- Ferrari (2008)- 1.45.599
Winners from the last five Singapore Grand Prix
•2010-Fernando Alonso
•2011-Sebastian Vettel
•2012-Sebastian Vettel
•2013- Sebastian Vettel
•2014- Lewis Hamilton
My five things to look out for this weekend
1.Tyre and brake performance- With the track being hard on tyres and also on the performance of the brakes due to the characteristics of the Marina Bay circuit; we could see teams and drivers struggling to get the Pirelli compounds lasting throughout the course of the weekend and also maintain high levels of concentration in the race. Will this impact anyone's race on Sunday as a result?
2.Safety Car- As I have already mentioned, the safety car has featured at every Grand Prix (the most famous example was in 2008 when Nelson Piquet Jr crashed which caused the 'Crash-gate' controversy'. Will we see the safety car making an appearance this weekend?
3.Renault announcing their future plans in F1- With rumours speculating that Renault are in final negotiations with the Lotus F1 team to buy the team outright; will we hear the news that everyone is expecting this weekend or not?
4.Performance of McLaren-Honda- With McLaren-Honda struggling for pace and performance this season so far, we have seen in the past week that the media is rapidly losing patience with the team's performances as well as Ron Dennis who has been rumoured to have sent a letter to Honda bosses, the spotlight is firmly upon the team. With the team stating that the circuit will suit them this weekend; will this translate into competitive performances for McLaren-Honda and their driver line up of Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso this weekend?
5.Performance of the Mercedes drivers- With Mercedes having dominated in Australia, having a “damage limitation†weekends in Malaysia and Hungary and winning in China, Bahrain, Spain, Monaco, Canada, Austria, Silverstone Spa and Monza; Mercedes are clearly still the favourites to retain both of their championships this season and winning at Monza this weekend. But the real question is; will anyone be able to pose a challenge over the course of the weekend once again and be able to take the lead of the Driver's Championship away from Hamilton?
Sky Sports F1 are showing uninterrupted coverage of every Practice session, Qualifying and race for the Grand Prix (and every race of the season) and the BBC also are showing coverage, details for both are below:-
•Sky Sports F1:- Friday (Practice 1 and 2) 10.45am and 2.15pm [Replays throughout Thursday and Friday], Saturday (Practice 3 and Qualifying) 10.45am and 1.00pm [Replays throughout Saturday], Sunday (Race) 11.30am
•BBC– Saturday (Qualifying highlights) 5.10pm, Sunday (Race Highlights) 5.00pm.
Sarah Jones- @jonesy_laaa
Circuit picture www.grahamandleigh.co.uk
