What did we learn from the Singapore Grand Prix?
The 2019 Singapore Airline Singapore Grand Prix brought a real strategy battle between Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull. At the end of the action-packed race, Sebastian Vettel came out of top, securing his first victory of the season and his fifth triumph at Singapore.
New record – Ferrari not only recorded its first one-two finish in 2019, but by doing so it has become the first ever team to score a double victory in the Singapore Grand Prix history. In the previous eleven editions of the spectacular race, no team has managed to leave the Marina Bay Circuit with the maximum amount of championship points.
Double victory – Next to his on-track success, Sebastian Vettel scored today an off-track victory as well. He was voted the driver of the day by fans with 21.2 per cent. Charles Leclerc got the second most votes with 14.3 per cent followed by Max Verstappen with 11 per cent.
The monarch in Singapore - A perfect performance from the four-time champion put Sebastian Vettel back on top of the podium and gave him a record fifth Singapore win. Ahead of today’s race Vettel shared the record for the most win in Singapore with Lewis Hamilton.
A long drought – Sebastian Vettel had to wait exactly 22 races, 392 days to win again a Formula One race. The German has come close to victories on a couple of occasions since his last win during the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix, but different happenings have hampered his way. His win at today’s Singapore Grand Prix was his 53th career victory and the 14th triumph at Ferrari.
The fast Dane again – Like in 2018, it was once again Kevin Magnussen who set the fastest race lap in Singapore. The Dane recorded a lap time of 1m42.301 on lap 58 on fresh tyres which was just under four tenths of a second slower than his best lap time in 2018. Despite to his efforts, he did not earn an additional point with his lap time as he finished outside the top ten positions.
Big crowd - 268,000 spectators attended the street race in Marina Bay over the weekend to watch the 12th edition of this Grand Prix, its second highest crowd figure ever.
21 – That is the number of the safety car appearances during the 12 grands prix in Singapore. Due to the close walls, safety car driver Bernd Maylander often gets involved in the race happening at the Marina Bay Circuit. Today’s race was no exception as the former touring car driver had to visit the track with his 577-horsepower Mercedes AMG GT R on three occasions.
Finally again – Even if for only a few laps, Alfa Romeo led again a Formula One race thanks to Antonio Giovinazzi. The last time out that an Alfa Romeo car led a race was the 1983 Belgian Grand Prix when Andrea de Cesaris led a couple of laps after starting from the third position. The Italian’s glory did not last long though as he retired with an engine-related problem.
Once again – Williams left the Singapore Grand Prix with the fastest pit stop – a remarkable achievement from the Grove-based squad for another time! The successful outfit changed the old tyres to fresh ones on Robert Kubica’s car in 2.24 seconds. Toro Rosso and Red Bull occupied the next spot with a time of 2.31 seconds.
Colourful top ten – Seven different outfits managed to leave the Marina Bay Circuit with points in their bags. Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull scored points with both their cars while Toro Rosso, Renault, McLaren and Alfa Romeo were present in the top ten with one of their drivers.
Total control – Lewis Hamilton failed to secure a podium finish in the Singapore Grand Prix, but with his teammate Valtteri Bottas finishing behind him, the Briton extended his lead in the Drivers’ Championship. Hamilton has 296 points and he is 65 points clear of Bottas. Leclerc is third in the standings with 200 points. Max Verstappen has the same amount of points. Interestingly, the duo of the young drivers have the same amount of wins, both have won twice, but the Monegasque has two second-place finishes while the Dutchman only one. Fifth-placed Sebastian Vettel has closed in on Leclerc and Verstappen with his victory on Sunday, but he is still six points adrift of the third place.
