Singapore GP - Aiming for a podium
Singapore, 24 September - As the drivers stepped from the cockpit of their cars in Parc Ferme at the end of Qualifying, they looked as hot and sweaty as if they had just completed an entire Grand Prix at a “normal” venue, but after four years of coming to Singapore, everyone is well aware there is little that is normal about the weekend at the Marina Bay circuit.
Even if the temperatures go down from the early evening start of the third free practice session to tonight’s qualifying, it’s still the hottest and stickiest session of the year. Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa gave their all in the hot Singapore night, with the Spaniard driving out of his skin, risking all on a lap in Q3 which he described as possibly the best he has delivered so far this year. However, in Formula 1, a driver is nothing without his car and so, with none of the drivers in the top ten shoot-out making any mistakes, the grid order for tomorrow looks more like a parade than a starting grid, with the teams coming in two by two, reflecting the technological hierarchy that has characterised much of the 2011 season.
Leading the parade are the Red Bulls: the hottest man around the 5.073 km track was championship leader Sebastian Vettel, who dominated all three parts of the session, eventually beating his team-mate Mark Webber by almost half a second. Next up came the two McLarens with Jenson Button outpacing Lewis Hamilton, while Fernando is fifth, still within half a second of the pole time and less than a tenth off a front row slot. Felipe is sixth. Still lining up like the animals boarding Noah’s Ark, the fourth row sees the two Mercedes of Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher, followed by the two Force Indias of Adrian Sutil, with Paul di Resta completing the top ten.
Street circuits are notorious for delivering the unexpected, so the Scuderia’s hopes are that a podium should still be a viable target in the fourteenth round of the world championship. Both Prancing Horse drivers have shown that the 150º Italia can be very quick out of the starting gate, but exploiting that in the middle of a city is a tricky task. If this first target goes well, then it will be down to the strategists, the pit crew and every other element of the team to perform their tasks to perfection, while the drivers look for any opportunity, looking after their tyres and avoiding the barriers, all under floodlights and in the heat of the night: no one ever said Formula 1 was easy!
Credit: Ferrari S.p.A. (www.ferrari.com)
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