planetf1.com

Source - www.imgur.com


Source - www.imgur.com

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Feel The Fourth

IMO 1 of the best race weekends of the year! Also expecting drivers like Checo to announce his drive for 2019 this week!

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Feel The Fourth

Not a lot of love for the Softs from Ferrari I see

The hypersofts! Haven't seen them for a while.

Only one set of softs each for Ferrari, have they made the same mistake as in Monza?

No one is going to use that tyre in the race really.

It's like using the white striped tyre when the red and yellow striped are available.

Is the rain expected?

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Feel The Fourth

It's been mooted, here's hoping.

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PF1 Pick 10 Competition

2013: 5th Place
2014: Champion
2015: 3rd Place
2016: 4th Place
2017: 9th Place
2018: 7th place

Wins: Canada 2018, Abu Dhabi 2017
Podiums: (6)

No rain forecast for Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

Hasn't it been discussed on this forum that the hardest of the tyres available generally does get used in the race this year?

Edit - yes it has. Below is from the Hard, Medium and Soft thread. The hardest compound is the most used compound over the season.

Yeah, that was my thinking. Not much wiggle room for strategy adjustments.

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Mission WinLater

I think scattered thunderstorms are looking more likely the closer we get.

All the races the hypersoft has been used no one competitive has used the hardest compound.

Be that as it may, if you have a first lap shunt, you may want to put on the hardest available compound to make a run all the way to the end of the race. I would like to at least have two sets of those harder compounds. One set to test during free practice and one set for the race. It's about preserving your options for unforeseen events rather than optimum pre-planned race strategy.

There is a military truism that battle plans don't often survive intact after the first contact with the enemy

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Mission WinLater

The track layout has had a minor tweak ahead of the race weekend. This happened due to construction work being carried on around the track. Hence, the overall track length will be be 2 meters shorter but the total no. of laps (61) won't be changed.


Source - https://www.motorsportweek.com/admin/ck ... titled.png

https://www.motorsportweek.com/news/id/19841

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Feel The Fourth

Yes, thunderstorms. Mere 'rain' very unlikely. Periods of 'cats and dogs' or 'bucketing down' extremely likely.

When it was it does come it can mean stopping the race until clear but leaving a wet track.

Not for the top teams.

Whatever!

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Mission WinLater

Don't know how accurate this is but came across this:


Source - https://scontent.fbom16-1.fna.fbcdn.net ... e=5BEEF295

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Feel The Fourth

Every single year we have had them say the the rain might come during an evening session, last year was the only time it delivered to my memory. I think it basically rains every single day in Singapore at this time of year buts its usually in the mid afternoon and by the time qualifying/race starts its already completely dry due to the heat there.

Some interesting stats:

- Sebastian Vettel is the record holder for most Singapore GP wins and poles (4 each), and has led the most laps in Marina Bay history (221). Vettel led the Singapore GP from start-to-finish in 2011, 2013 and 2015, with the 2013 race being a grand slam victory (led every lap from pole with fastest lap).

- Monza pole-sitter Kimi Raikkonen has never qualified on the front row in eight previous visits to Singapore, and has only outqualified a team mate twice here (2009, 2016).

- Daniel Ricciardo has finished on the podium at Singapore in all four of his previous visits with Red Bull – the only circuit on which he has achieved this – although he has never won at Marina Bay and he’s only ever led one lap here (in 2014).

- Pole position is vitally important here. In the last nine Singapore GPs the pole-sitter has won seven times, with the exceptions being 2012, when Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren broke down while he was leading the race from pole, and 2017, when Sebastian Vettel was hit within 150 metres of the start.

- The Safety Car has appeared in every Marina Bay F1 race ever held, with 12 laps of Safety Car running last season (more than 20% of the entire race). Furthermore, Lap 1 accidents have caused a Safety Car deployment in each of the last two years.

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Feel The Fourth

Safety cars or virtual safety cars will be Mercedes' best chance here. I think they need to try to go long for the first stint and not stop until the safety cars factor in. A VSC can completely change the outcome here and overtaking here is unbelievably hard.

I agree with you sandman that it is Mercedes best chance but I wonder how many of those safety cars have been on the first lap.

Out of interest what strategy could you use to benefit from a lap 1 safety car?

Possibly do Q2 on the softest tyre available then hope to switch to the hardest on the first lap for a 1 stopper?

Either Ocon has got a lot of fans due to his pleasant personality or they pity him for possibly not being on the grid next year.


Source - https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dm-pGutXsAEHfVZ.jpg

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Feel The Fourth

I have always wished the F1 powers would shorten this race by 5-6 laps. At Hamilton's fast lap pace last year, 61 laps takes a full 110 minutes. And of course, the 1/2 half of the race on fuller tanks means the lap times are longer. So, the race always runs afoul of the 2-hour time limit. Add any rain or the inevitable safety car, and it almost always becomes a timed race.

As a practical matter, I record these races on DVD, and in 2-hour recording speed, I'm always in danger of not documenting the checkered flag. And since there are no commercials this year, there won't be any opportunity for "pauses" to conserve any time. LOL

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Short-time member, Life-Long Fan from 1965 -- More than 550 Grand Prix recorded since 1982 (all but 3), and counting...

So Vandoorne is trying out a new floor and they change it during FP1 causing him to miss just about all of the session, I'm baffled.

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PF1 Pick 10 Competition

2013: 5th Place
2014: Champion
2015: 3rd Place
2016: 4th Place
2017: 9th Place
2018: 7th place

Wins: Canada 2018, Abu Dhabi 2017
Podiums: (6)

In the end, he had to pit as the car suffered from hydraulic issues!

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Feel The Fourth

FP1 done:


Source - https://scontent.fbom16-1.fna.fbcdn.net ... e=5BED3315

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Feel The Fourth

They are far removed from what they once were.

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PF1 Pick 10 Competition

2013: 5th Place
2014: Champion
2015: 3rd Place
2016: 4th Place
2017: 9th Place
2018: 7th place

Wins: Canada 2018, Abu Dhabi 2017
Podiums: (6)

It's abit quiet in here today, Hamilton been locking up a few times, Vettel has hit the wall and losing liquid.

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PF1 Pick 10 Competition

2016: 24th place
2017: 4th place

Wins: Spain 2016, Canada 2017, Malaysia 2017
Podiums: 2nd Germany 2016, 3rd Mexico 2016

The Red Bulls really do look to have fallen off the pace now and the Merc and Ferarri look pretty close, closer then I and many others suspected maybe. And when will commentators learn, no sooner had Coft crowned Vettel king of Singapore than he bumped a wall.

Hamilton has locked up two different sets of HS but the second set didn't look to bad. Vettel looks like he has a radiator problem and has got out the car, seemed to be taking the most risks with the walls.

I think Red bull did there faster runs on the second flying lap but I did expect them to be closer.

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PF1 Pick 10 Competition

2016: 24th place
2017: 4th place

Wins: Spain 2016, Canada 2017, Malaysia 2017
Podiums: 2nd Germany 2016, 3rd Mexico 2016

Supposedly Redbull has stopped developing this year’s car as they are focusing on next year’s car already.
Merc (Hamilton) don’t look too bad here. So far they are only slower than Ferrari in s1.
But we all know that may change tomorrow.
Not ideal for Vettel to sit out the long runs. Another costly error? And Kimi seems ahead of him this weekend again. So already on the back foot here.

Looks like the top cars will start on the US.

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PF1 Pick 10 Competition

2016: 24th place
2017: 4th place

Wins: Spain 2016, Canada 2017, Malaysia 2017
Podiums: 2nd Germany 2016, 3rd Mexico 2016

FP2 done:


Source - https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DnD2FVqW0AA9KCK.jpg:large

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Feel The Fourth

I predict that Bottas will be used as a massive roadblock in this race.

Looks like the form book may have changed here. Red Bull not so strong, Mercedes not so weak.

Even if Red Bull are a little weak, they could be contention nonetheless as a safety car intrusion is a surety here.

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Feel The Fourth

Another day another mistake from vettel

Yeah
Ferrari’s drivers for next year look like they’ll do just fine against mr. consistent number 1 and mr. consistent number 2 from Mercedes