2019 Singapore Grand Prix - Marina Bay, 20-22 September

[izzy]

Ferrari might sacrifice Vettel to push Hamilton in to a suboptimal strategy.
E.g. pitting Vettel very early forcing Merc to react while Leclerc goes on with a longer first stint.

yes if Seb stays third he's going to be sacrificed one way or another isn't he, either short or long. Unless he's allowed to jump Charles...

Are we expecting 2 stops? have Ferrari sacrificed race tyre life for grid slots? and Max in there complicating things! it's going to be super tactical

[falonso81]

Merc will be wise enough to not bite the bullet. I agree on the slow pace strategy. Ferrari should just drive slow af so the undercut would not be an option for Merc and then they can pick up the pace a few laps before their pit stop. If Vettel jumps Hamilton at the start, Ferrari can win this.

[Unc1eM0nty]

If Ferrari is bad on soft tyres, then Leclerc can jump on Hard earlier and Vettel should stay longer and blocks Hamilton's pace to allow Leclerc make a gap when Ham comes after first pit

Both Mercedes and Red Bull were faster on race pace, if Vettel goes long he'll end up behind both Max and Valtteri, I don't think Ferrari can play any games with Vettel.

Just watched last year highlights again, the undercut didn't work for Vettel on Max, and there's a high probability of a safety car.

Going long has to be the best option

[MtthsMlw]

One should not forget that Ferrari improved the set up from Friday to Saturday quite a lot. Both drivers were not happy in FP but in Qualy the car was perfect. They might not be that far behind Merc and RB today compared to what it looked like on Friday.

[etusch]

Ferrari might sacrifice Vettel to push Hamilton in to a suboptimal strategy.
E.g. pitting Vettel very early forcing Merc to react while Leclerc goes on with a longer first stint.

yes if Seb stays third he's going to be sacrificed one way or another isn't he, either short or long. Unless he's allowed to jump Charles...

Are we expecting 2 stops? have Ferrari sacrificed race tyre life for grid slots? and Max in there complicating things! it's going to be super tactical

I afraid from Vettel when he is in traffic he can crash into someone and I am afraid that victim can be one Redbull car.
I don't see a podium for Ferrari in a normal start and race.

[NathanOlder]

He’s doing a Ricciardo to Vettel!

Vettel just doing a Vettel is more accurate. Sebs just not as good as he once appeared.

Strange interpretation. If you look at the track improvement during Q3 it easily gained 0.5sec. Many drivers even improved by a second.
Means Vettels Q3 lap was still much better than what the others delivered on pure pace. There is nothing wrong with his pace.
The simple issue is that Vettel does not deliver anymore perfect second runs in Q3 like he did against Webber in the Redbull. This is his problem for him since he lost the diffuser blowing.

So with an extra half second from the track evolution (no way that much) in his last run, must have been so shocking, he was driving like Palmer??

[etusch]

One should not forget that Ferrari improved the set up from Friday to Saturday quite a lot. Both drivers were not happy in FP but in Qualy the car was perfect. They might not be that far behind Merc and RB today compared to what it looked like on Friday.

If Ferrari's updates worked well we will see it today but if not, what you have said explains why they were not good at fp sessions and good at q

[MtthsMlw]

I wonder if it's annoying for the drivers having to wait the whole day until the race finally starts.
I'm happy that it's an hour earlier here than usual

[LM10]

One should not forget that Ferrari improved the set up from Friday to Saturday quite a lot. Both drivers were not happy in FP but in Qualy the car was perfect. They might not be that far behind Merc and RB today compared to what it looked like on Friday.

Wanted to write the same and saw your comment. My thoughts.
One can’t just rely on the data seen on Friday as all team’s performances change overnight from Friday to Saturday. And as we’ve seen and heard from Ferrari drivers, their car changed in a significant way. Which should mean that their race pace will be different as well.

[astracrazy]

I wonder if it's annoying for the drivers having to wait the whole day until the race finally starts.
I'm happy that it's an hour earlier here than usual

They are prob busy to be honest. Maybe a little work our at some point, team meeting, some work with there physio.

[basti313]

Ferrari might sacrifice Vettel to push Hamilton in to a suboptimal strategy.
E.g. pitting Vettel very early forcing Merc to react while Leclerc goes on with a longer first stint.

yes if Seb stays third he's going to be sacrificed one way or another isn't he, either short or long. Unless he's allowed to jump Charles...

Are we expecting 2 stops? have Ferrari sacrificed race tyre life for grid slots? and Max in there complicating things! it's going to be super tactical

No. Without a SC it will be very clear. The leader will pit one lap after he is clear of the first midfielder. P2 has to follow or will get the undercut from P3 once this one is clear of the midfield.
It will be interesting if they anticipate the midfield pitstops correctly. This is my bet on Mercedes race win.

[basti313]

Vettel just doing a Vettel is more accurate. Sebs just not as good as he once appeared.

Strange interpretation. If you look at the track improvement during Q3 it easily gained 0.5sec. Many drivers even improved by a second.
Means Vettels Q3 lap was still much better than what the others delivered on pure pace. There is nothing wrong with his pace.
The simple issue is that Vettel does not deliver anymore perfect second runs in Q3 like he did against Webber in the Redbull. This is his problem for him since he lost the diffuser blowing.

So with an extra half second from the track evolution (no way that much) in his last run, must have been so shocking, he was driving like Palmer??

Did you look at the Q2 and Q3 timing? Obviously not...the track was developing like crazy.

And yes, Vet bottled his lap badly...in many corners. Just like Ves on his second, Ham in his first run and Bot in both runs. We only saw clean laps from Leclerc.

[NathanOlder]

Strange interpretation. If you look at the track improvement during Q3 it easily gained 0.5sec. Many drivers even improved by a second.
Means Vettels Q3 lap was still much better than what the others delivered on pure pace. There is nothing wrong with his pace.
The simple issue is that Vettel does not deliver anymore perfect second runs in Q3 like he did against Webber in the Redbull. This is his problem for him since he lost the diffuser blowing.

So with an extra half second from the track evolution (no way that much) in his last run, must have been so shocking, he was driving like Palmer??

Did you look at the Q2 and Q3 timing? Obviously not...the track was developing like crazy.

And yes, Vet bottled his lap badly...in many corners. Just like Ves on his second, Ham in his first run and Bot in both runs. We only saw clean laps from Leclerc.

You are telling me the time difference between the first run in Q3 and the second run in Q3 the track evolved by half a second.

[NathanOlder]

Strange interpretation. If you look at the track improvement during Q3 it easily gained 0.5sec. Many drivers even improved by a second.
Means Vettels Q3 lap was still much better than what the others delivered on pure pace. There is nothing wrong with his pace.
The simple issue is that Vettel does not deliver anymore perfect second runs in Q3 like he did against Webber in the Redbull. This is his problem for him since he lost the diffuser blowing.

So with an extra half second from the track evolution (no way that much) in his last run, must have been so shocking, he was driving like Palmer??

Did you look at the Q2 and Q3 timing? Obviously not...the track was developing like crazy.

And yes, Vet bottled his lap badly...in many corners. Just like Ves on his second, Ham in his first run and Bot in both runs. We only saw clean laps from Leclerc.

And did I look at Q2 to Q3, yes of course I did. And here also makes your "half second evolution in Q3" ridiculous!

Everyone knows the top teams use their "party mode" in Q3, no need for it in Q2, and they limit its use to save engine wear.

So Q2 to Q3 , you have a small amount gained in the PowerUnit ,then add to that the drivers will wring every little bit out of the car they can, they will give it everything because now it really matters. So if the track evolved as much as you say in Q3 alone, the difference from Q2 (likely lower engine modes, and slightly less risks by the drivers) to Q3 must be in excess of 1.5 seconds ? (if the track evolves half a second in Q3 alone and higher power and risks)

So lets look at the gaps for the drivers in Q2 and Q3.....

Leclerc 36.6 -- 36.2 so 4 tenths.
Hamilton 36.9 -- 36.4 so 5 tenths.
Vettel 36.7 -- 36.4 so 3 tenths.
Max 37.0 -- 36.8 so 2 tenths.
Bottas 37.1 -- 37.1 so nothing.
Albon 37.8 -- 37.4 so 4 tenths.

Some of those gains will be the car , lets say 1 tenth through extra power, and the same for the drivers wringing the neck out of the cars. So we can knock 2 tenths off for those.

Now the differences are

Leclerc 2 tenths
Hamilton 3 tenths
Vettel 1 tenth
Max 0 tenths
Bottas 2 tenths slower
Albon 2 tenths.

So after looking at this, please spend time to explain where you feel the track evolved by half a second in the 10minutes between the first and second run in Q3 please, as I have spent time showing how that is likely to be wrong.

Charles and Lewis did the best job in Q3, and they were rewarded.

[djones]

Looking at how badly the people on the dirty side got a start last year I fully expect it to be a Ferrari 1-2 within a few corners.