F1 drivers on Singapore GP return: 'It's going to be super-tough'

F1
- Last updated: September 28th 2022

F1 returns to Singapore for the first time in three years this weekend – drivers explain why it's one of the toughest on the calendar

Red-Bull-F1-driver-at-the-2019-SIngapore-GP

Mastering the bumps at Singapore will be key

DPPI

Formula 1 returns to Singapore this weekend after skipping two years due to the pandemic. Amid the ongoing debate about where we should be racing, few dispute that 14 years after its debut the event remains an important event on the calendar.

The Marina Bay track has tended to produce processional races but, like Monaco, it’s a real challenge for the drivers, especially in the energy-sapping humid conditions. A mistake is never far away and the possibility of a safety car creating a strategic opportunity for someone is always there.

Historically high attrition also means that points are potentially available to teams and drivers who usually hover just outside the top 10.

“Singapore is super-tough. It’s the race that I think of when I need some motivation in the gym.”

After being away for a couple of years, drivers will require a few laps to dial themselves in on Friday. It will be a completely new experience for Mick Schumacher, Nicholas Latifi, Yuki Tsunoda and Zhou Guanyu, none of whom have raced there previously.

Teams have no recent data to which to refer, and of course they are coming back with very different cars, fitted with 18-inch rims that react differently to the kerbs compared to their predecessors. Indeed when you consider that the last Singapore GP was won by Sebastian Vettel in a Ferrari you realise that three years is a lifetime in F1 terms…

The track has also been resurfaced by Italian specialists Dromo, and it remains to be seen what impact that will have both on the bumps and on how tyres behave.

In fact the resurfacing is only partial. It includes the full width of the pit straight to just after Turn 1, from Turn 5 to just before the braking point for Turn 7, from Turn 12 to Turn 13, from the braking point for Turn 14 through to the exit of the corner, and finally from Turns 15 to 19. That still leaves a section of the track untouched, and potentially creates some tricky transitions between old and new.

“Singapore is all about slow corners and maximising traction” says Pirelli’s Mario Isola. “We’ve got the three softest compounds for maximum speed and grip, but looking after the rear tyres in order to ensure the drive needed will be key.

Alpine-F1--driver-Esteban-Ocon

Ocon: “I love Singapore, but the track itself is not my favourite”

DPPI

“With the tendency of the latest cars to understeer, it will be even more important to find the right set-up balance to ensure a strong front end without compromising acceleration at the rear.”

The big question is how the 2022 cars will behave in terms of bouncing and porpoising. It was a major issue at Baku and Montreal, similar temporary tracks with long straights and bumps. It’s been less of a topic since then, partly because of the FIA’s efforts to oblige teams to dial it out, and partly because of the nature of the venues we’ve been to recently.

“It’s going to be very bumpy,” said Esteban Ocon. “A big challenge I think for us, very physical. I love Singapore, but the track itself is not my favourite. They are go-karts on kerbs, it’s going to be a tricky one.

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“It’s not going to be fun. But we’re up for the challenge. And I think it’s going to be interesting also to see who chooses what, in terms of set-up. If you go for the car that rides well, or the car that has grip [you’ll do well].

“I think Canada has been pretty bad, but probably it [Singapore] will be one of the worst ones. It always is.”

This is one venue where Kevin Magnussen, who missed the 2021 season, is not at a disadvantage, since he was present at the last race three years ago. Curiously he has twice earned fastest lap with a late switch to new tyres.

“It’s one of the toughest races because of the weather and also just because the track layout is how it is with corner after corner after corner without any rest,” says the Dane.

“On most tracks you get a couple of straights around the lap where you can get a breather but in Singapore, even on the so-called ‘straight’, it’s still kind of turning. It’s also very bumpy so you can’t really relax.

“There’s no specific way to prepare, at least for me. I train as hard as I can and, as I said, Singapore is the race that I think of when I need some motivation to keep pushing in the gym. You can always remind yourself that you’re going to Singapore and that’s going to be a super tough one.”

Crash-at-the-2017-Singapore-GP

Tight Marina Bay has the capacity for chaos

DPPI

So what of the formbook? There’s every chance that Red Bull and Ferrari will line up at the front again, but this is one race that Mercedes believes that it can win, even if team boss Toto Wolff is being a little cagey.

“I think that track layout should suit our car,” says the Austrian. “The bumps not. On the simulations again it says it should be one of our better tracks, but I’m trying to stay on the, let’s say careful side with any predictions.”

George Russell is also a little hesitant about the prospects for the W13, although he is hopeful.

“I think, on paper, Singapore should suit our car,” he notes. “But when we look back at the street circuits of Monaco and Azerbaijan, our car doesn’t fare too well over the bumps.

“So, we’re not too sure how it will fall out. But we need to keep on pushing, keep on improving the car and I’m pleased that we’ve got a clear direction we need to go now.”

Mercedes technical director Mike Elliott agreed that Singapore should be good for the car.

“I think when you look back at the learning we have gathered over the season, we expect that Singapore will be a bit more like we’ve seen in Budapest and Zandvoort,” he says.

“It’s a bumpy circuit which is going to provide its challenges, but in terms of the nature of the corners we think it could be a bit better for our car. So, hopefully we will have a good result there.

“As always with all the pre-simulation work we need to do, we will maximise our learning in the practice sessions and hopefully we turn that into a good result over the weekend.”

Mercedes-F1-boss-Toto-Wolff-in-the-pits

Cautiously optimistic Wolff: “It would be awesome if we could win a race on merit”

Mercedes

A Mercedes win would certainly be a good story, and would be a useful boost for the sport at a time when a second title for Max Verstappen has become a formality, and could even be secured this weekend if he wins and things unravel for Ferrari and Charles Leclerc.

“I think it would be awesome if we could win a race on merit, without any grid penalties,” says Wolff.

“I think if you would have asked us after Spa I would have said impossible, then after Zandvoort, we nearly won that one.

“So I think that must be the target. We don’t want to end up the season with no race win, even if the sails are absolutely set for 2023. It would be quite a nice thing in a difficult season for all our people.”

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