2012 Singaporean GP - Marina Bay

[myurr]

I think we'll see a mix of 2 and 3 stoppers tomorrow. The front runners could very well be pushed to using too much tyre life for a 2-stopper and be forced to 3-stop, but I think a 2-stop is very advantageous here. A LONG and SLOW pitlane means about a 37s time penalty for stopping a third time - will a set of new tyres be enough to counter that? I'm not sure.

Interesting that Vettel and Grosjean were the only two drivers to not improve their Q2 laptime in Q3. Even Webber could improve. Perhaps this is indicative of setup changes geared for better tyre life pre-Q3? Does anyone know if track & ambient changed from Q2 to Q3?

Isn't it more likely that their tyres fell out of their optimum operating window as the track cooled?

[Nando]

Igor haha

but you can´t deny his pace, my god Igor can drive the wheels of that car.

I´m just scared for tomorrow seeing as Maldonado and Hamilton are very much similar in their mindset.
True fighters but i´m hoping Wolf have told Maldo that they want the car back in one piece.
2nd place would be perfect to take some points of Vettel and Alonso.
Also hope Button does a team effort here.

[myurr]

As for Lewis' car, i dont think it was that hard of an impact. Most of the force was absorbed byu the tyre. It was nothing like what we have seen from Perez Webber Senna or Petrov

He damaged the extra set he managed to save in Q2... the good news is that his fastest time was on the other set.

A good super-soft -> lap 12 soft -> lap 32 soft -> lap 52 super-soft strategy I would choose for the race.

Exactly what I was thinking. What were the mercs on when they didn't run in Q3? I didn't get to pay too much attention to who was using what tyres

They were on soft but didn't set a time so can still choose either tyre for the start.

[Mika1]

I think Hamilton will go SuperSoft---Soft---Soft

Yep, that sounds likely to me too.

I agree.

[Phillyred]

It's gonna be Lewis' race to lose. Being a LH fan, I hope he drives away with this win like Monza. It makes for a boring race, but I'm sure the rest of the pack behind him will keep it interesting. I predict at least 2 full course yellows. Even if its a boring win for Hamilton, it certainly makes the WDC chase wayyyy more interesting for sure!!! I pray to the reliability gods that the car finishes the race and that the pit crew has their sh!t together tomorrow!

[marcush.]

I think we'll see a mix of 2 and 3 stoppers tomorrow. The front runners could very well be pushed to using too much tyre life for a 2-stopper and be forced to 3-stop, but I think a 2-stop is very advantageous here. A LONG and SLOW pitlane means about a 37s time penalty for stopping a third time - will a set of new tyres be enough to counter that? I'm not sure.

Interesting that Vettel and Grosjean were the only two drivers to not improve their Q2 laptime in Q3. Even Webber could improve. Perhaps this is indicative of setup changes geared for better tyre life pre-Q3? Does anyone know if track & ambient changed from Q2 to Q3?

you can only change tyre pressure and electronics settings the setup is fixed as Q1 starts.no reasons for Q3 fade.apart from the team KNOWING something about tyre preparation for the race comromising their q3 speed.

[PlatinumZealot]

I think Hamilton will go SuperSoft---Soft---Soft

Yep, that sounds likely to me too.

I agree.

Super soft might only last for 12 laps by my estimates, so are you thinking 25? laps a piece for the soft? Or 20 laps on the first set then 30 laps on the second set?

[beelsebob]

Super soft might only last for 12 laps by my estimates, so are you thinking 25? laps a piece for the soft? Or 20 laps on the first set then 30 laps on the second set?

12(SS) -> 22(S) -> 28(S) sounds pretty reasonable to me.

[Banki]

Super soft might only last for 12 laps by my estimates, so are you thinking 25? laps a piece for the soft? Or 20 laps on the first set then 30 laps on the second set?

12(SS) -> 22(S) -> 28(S) sounds pretty reasonable to me.

I think If Maldonado stays in P2 and Hamilton on P1 after the start, Hamilton will be able to save his tyre longer than 12 laps.

[beelsebob]

Super soft might only last for 12 laps by my estimates, so are you thinking 25? laps a piece for the soft? Or 20 laps on the first set then 30 laps on the second set?

12(SS) -> 22(S) -> 28(S) sounds pretty reasonable to me.

I think If Maldonado stays in P2 and Hamilton on P1 after the start, Hamilton will be able to save his tyre longer than 12 laps.

Possible, but all teams are struggling a bit with tyre deg here it appears

[Nando]

I think If Maldonado stays in P2 and Hamilton on P1 after the start, Hamilton will be able to save his tyre longer than 12 laps.

That is my thought as well.

In Monza he went 3 laps longer then Vettel, 1 lap longer then Button, 2 laps longer then Webber, 3 laps longer then Alonso, 6 laps longer then Raikkonen.

Obviously it´s a different tire and different track but i think there´s definitely a fact that you can manage your tires better when in the lead.

If he´s got good race pace all he needs to do is get out of DRS window then manage the gap to Maldonado and essentially run at a theoretically slower pace (i.e Maldo´s pace) and thus save tires for 1-2-3 laps longer which we have seen can make or break you in the end (Monza)

[Nando]

2 or 3 stop. It all comes down to the Super Softs and their longevity.

who knows, they might be completely shot by lap 8 for all we know.

[Mika1]

2 or 3 stop. It all comes down to the Super Softs and their longevity.

who knows, they might be completely shot by lap 8 for all we know.

Agreed, but it depends. The track will rubber in during the race, so the last set of tyres will last longer.

[Nando]

2 or 3 stop. It all comes down to the Super Softs and their longevity.

who knows, they might be completely shot by lap 8 for all we know.

Agreed, but it depends. The track will rubber in during the race, so the last set of tyres will last longer.

True, i guess if there´s a lot of safety car periods you could gamble on a set of SS in the end.

Hamilton has a massive advantage in the pits as well. Sometimes he puts a second on guys in the pits alone.
They have really been superior after the embarrassment in the beginning of the year.

[dren]

Guys, as I said before, Grosjean is the man to watch out for at the start, not Maldonado. I'd put money on Grosjean running up the ass of Schumacher thus creating a domino reaction. If Maldonado does knock out Hamilton, Hamilton will come to fists with him. I'll put money on that one too. If Grosjean decides to wait mid-race to crash, Kimi will win.

This race is usually a bore-fest but with the tires this year I expect the last 15 or so laps to be pretty wild.