Singapore Night GP 2008

[Jersey Tom]

Phenomenal effort by Massa. Likely a bit low on fuel, but the position will make up for it.

Seen a couple of the top drivers make little mistakes here and there. Kubica has a shot at a good race if he keeps up being smooth and consistent.

[lebesset]

what a lap by massa ..LH may be heavier , but for sure not .6 worth !

[boci]

Massa may truly be the next street circuit king

[timbo]

Massa may truly be the next street circuit king

Yes, Massa impresses - 3 poles out of 3 on street circuits this year.

To me that was interesting that on this track I couldn't visually judge the quality of the driving, I looked at Heikki's last lap and it seemed like clear and solid driving but he was way behind others in terms of speed...

Another thing I noticed is that Ferrari again wasn't running front wheel covers, I guess it is logical on the track like this where top speeds are low.

Yeah, and why Kovalainen did all his attempts (or at least, last atttempt) in Q3 on option tyres, as harder tyres worked better for others?

[andartop]

Vettel did an amazing job again, esp considering the red bulls are 13th and 14th, not to even mention his team mate.
Kimi I think looks strong if he manages not to crush out of the race.
I hope Massa is not too light, though I 'm afraid he probably is. Still, amazing lap time!
Feel very sorry for Alonso, I wish he had made it to Q3, keeping LH OUT of the Q3, which I think FA would have enjoyed even more than me! That would give us the opportunity to admire LH's amazing overtaking moves once again as in Monza and France and see him finish another history-making 7th or 10th!!!
The track did look quite bumpy but I hate people moaning about such things since it's the same for everyone and they can alter their ride heights/stiffness if they so wish. I believe it was much bumpier in the Nordschleife, or even when they go to Interlagos (for those who hate comparisons with the past).

[andartop]

In fact, concerning Massa'a performance, it's only the third time this year that the pole position winning lap was quicker than the 11th position lap!!! The other two were Massa again in Monaco and LH in Canada. Anyone remembers whether Massa pitted early in Monaco or LH in Canada? (I definitely remember LH coming out of the pits in Canada...)

[Rodzilla]

In fact, concerning Massa'a performance, it's only the third time this year that the pole position winning lap was quicker than the 11th position lap!!! The other two were Massa again in Monaco and LH in Canada. Anyone remembers whether Massa pitted early in Monaco or LH in Canada? (I definitely remember LH coming out of the pits in Canada...)

massa didnt pit early in monaco, he was one of the longer guys to stay out

although lewis did get his free early pitstop if i recall, so there was no telling how long he would go

a good point in singapore is that lewis was able to beat felipe's 1st q3 time with 3 laps less fuel (an in lap, out lap and flying lap is required to post a 2nd time)

i dont believe he will be more than 2 laps longer on strategy, and kimi may be as much as 3 laps behind

also i see no logical reason to put a car out there that is 5 or 6 laps lighter, because on this track 2 or 3 laps would be enough to guarantee pole

[gcdugas]

This race is going to be a nightmare if it rains heavily.

Does this race give new meaning to the word "nightmare"? Can any other race even become nightmares since they are run during the day? These are difficult questions. Were this a literature forum we could argue for artistic license, metaphorical application, figurative speech, and allegory. But since this is a technical forum those excuses are unavailable to us.

[woohoo]

I think its terrible that there are so many bumps.
In this day and age, that a track is so bumpy....
I know that part of the track is a freeway / motorway / autobahn, but when it takes three weeks to set the track up, you might as well lay new asphalt in certain areas...

Becasue of this and the stupid pitlane entry, I think its a bad track.

[myurr]

I think its terrible that there are so many bumps.
In this day and age, that a track is so bumpy....
I know that part of the track is a freeway / motorway / autobahn, but when it takes three weeks to set the track up, you might as well lay new asphalt in certain areas...

Becasue of this and the stupid pitlane entry, I think its a bad track.

Going to respectfully disagree. I think it's been a brilliant circuit so far - hopefully the race won't be too processional.

What's the downside to the bumps? The drivers are having to work a bit harder, that's all.

Agree about the pitlane though - but that'll be corrected for next year.

[gcdugas]

Going to respectfully disagree. I think it's been a brilliant circuit so far - hopefully the race won't be too processional.

What's the downside to the bumps? The drivers are having to work a bit harder, that's all.

Agree about the pitlane though - but that'll be corrected for next year.

It sucks! It will be a procession just like Valencia. We may have as little as three or four actual passes during the race after the usual first lap mayhem settles. Alonso will need a miracle to even make the points even though he is light-years faster than the nine cars immediately in front of him on the grid. F1 needs to address the passing issue seriously. And until the cars can honestly overtake, they need to steer clear of this type of circuit. Ignoring the sound and the fury for a moment, there is very little excitement on track spectacle in F1 and we must be honest enough to admit this.

What is the point of a "race" when 95% of the outcome has been determined before the first lap is ever run?

[myurr]

Oh ok, was trying to be positive for a change.

Also got to say that I think Massa's not fueled any more lightly than Lewis - I just don't think he hooked it up in Q2 or Q3.

Got to ask though, what's going on with Ferrari in Q1? That's the second or third time in the last few races where they have had one appalling run, followed by a return to the front on the second run. Are they just scrubbing tyres as Brundle speculated?

[axle]

The Ferrari is looking ominously stable any half decent driver should have secured pole with it.

The McLaren on the other hand seems to be getting more and more unstable as the track rubbers in. Not sure what McLaren did setup wise but I hope they sort it out for the race or it's by by Massa...They are sooo slow on the super softs!

Felt sorry for Alonso, he should have been a mile away on the grid from the frankly pathetic Piquet. Though out of Alonso's misfortune I'm glad Lewis survived Q2.

Glad to see both Williams' make it into the top 10, shame they didn't banzai it in Q3 for grid position and go for a 3 stopper, missed opportunity possibly?

Heidfields penalty is a joke...good to see him continue to match the pace of Kubica.

[timbo]

Got to ask though, what's going on with Ferrari in Q1? That's the second or third time in the last few races where they have had one appalling run, followed by a return to the front on the second run. Are they just scrubbing tyres as Brundle speculated?

Interesting. Gotta check if they have same tyre spec on both runs in Q1. However, I think if they were just "scrubbing" I guess they could run a single lap. In-out + actual lap seems like far from mere "scrubbing" to me.

[myurr]

Got to ask though, what's going on with Ferrari in Q1? That's the second or third time in the last few races where they have had one appalling run, followed by a return to the front on the second run. Are they just scrubbing tyres as Brundle speculated?

Interesting. Gotta check if they have same tyre spec on both runs in Q1. However, I think if they were just "scrubbing" I guess they could run a single lap. In-out + actual lap seems like far from mere "scrubbing" to me.

It may be a combination of scrubbing with a banker lap I guess. From memory I think Massa used the hard, Kimi was on the soft for their first Q1 run.