22/09/2024
NEWS STORY
Everything so far this weekend suggests that we could be in for an entertaining couple of hours this evening.
First off we have Lando and Max starting on the front row... and we know how that usually works out.
Then we have the Mercedes pair, whose form and fortune appear to ebb and flow almost hour by hour.
Behind them we have Oscar - who hasn't really looked comfortable this weekend, alongside Nico and just ahead of two drivers always keen to make their point, Fernando and Yuki.
Separating this lot from the likes of Alex and Franco, not to mention Sergio and Kevin, are Charles and Carlos who look likely to have a very busy evening ahead of them.
While we know that Lando can beat Max off the line the problem he has is remaining ahead of the Dutchman, or indeed anyone else, on the opening lap. Over the course of his career, the Briton has started from pole seven times and has yet to find himself leading the way at the end of the opening lap.
Of course, other than the pursuing pack, there is the little matter of Turn 1 which has seen numerous drivers - including the very best of them - come to grief over the years.
We've said it before but we'll say it again, the race cannot be won on the opening lap but it can be lost, and even if Max does get ahead of Lando the McLaren drivers has the pace - and 62 laps - in which to reclaim the lead.
In a prime case of déjà vu, we head into a three week break before the United States Grand Prix with speculation of at least one driver being dropped. Having qualified 16th it is unlikely that Daniel will be able to turn things around, but then again Sergio must really start thinking about next year, especially with Christian Horner hinting at interest in George Russell.
Lizards aside, we have seen numerous incidents so far this weekend, this being another one of those tracks that bites back, and consequently there is an accident waiting to happen around every corner of every lap.
When a pit stop to change tyres costs around 28s, a one-stop is the obligatory choice. On paper, from an initial analysis, a medium-hard scenario is the quickest route, with a pit stop window between laps 21 and 27.
The soft has proved to be a viable option for the first stint, with an earlier stop between lap 14 and 19 to take on the hard. Those starting between the midfield and the front of the grid could also consider starting on the hard to go for the longest first stint possible, with an ideal pit stop window between laps 37 and 43.
Having said that, on this type of track, we have often seen, not least last year here, drivers and teams playing tactically with their race pace, especially on the first stint. Neutralisations and the weather are two other unknown factors that definitely have to be taken into consideration, but there is little one can do about those, apart from being ready to make the most of any opportunity that presents itself.
The pitlane opens and Russell leads the way, followed by Colapinto, Hamilton, Verstappen and Perez.
"A lot of vibration when I brake," reports Stroll. "They're pretty bad," he adds.
One by one the drivers take their places on the grid, the Mercedes pair leaving it until the very last minute.
On the grid, Lando talks to three-time world champion Jackie Stewart.
Ahead of the national anthem, the air temperature is 31 degrees C, while the track temperature is 37 degrees. Humidity is 75%. There is 0% chance of rain.
As the clock counts down to the formation lap, work continues on Stroll's car.
All are starting on mediums bar Magnussen, Stroll, Bottas and Zhou who are on hards and Hamilton and Ricciardo who are on softs. It's fresh rubber except for Hamilton, Alonso and Stroll.
They head off on the formation lap, all getting away cleanly including Stroll.
The grid forms.
They're away! A great start from Norris as Russell pulls across the track to cover Piastri as Hamilton is side-by-side with Verstappen as they head into Turn 1.
A slight lock-up for Russell as Hulkenberg almost passes the Mercedes driver as he holds off the second McLaren.
Caught up behind the squabbling Mercedes and McLaren, Alonso and Sainz are forced to cut the first corner, as does Albon who loses a heap of positions in the process.
"Franco dive-bombed, what's he doing," asks the Thai driver.
At the end of Lap 1, it's: Norris, Verstappen, Hamilton, Russell, Piastri, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Leclerc, Colapinto and Perez, Sainz has dropped to twelfth while Albon is down in fifteenth. Great starts for Colapinto and Perez while Tsunoda has dropped three places. Ricciardo remains sixteenth.
After two laps Verstappen has dropped 1.4s behind Norris but is 1.6s ahead of Hamilton.
"He needs to increase the pace a bit," says Russell of his teammate, "as the guys in front are getting away." The youngster is on mediums compared to Hamilton's softs.
Hulkenberg continues to shadow Piastri, as a DRS train begins to form behind the second McLaren, the other 'carriages' comprising Alonso, Leclerc, Colapinto, Perez, Tsunoda, Sainz, Ocon and Magnussen.
Lap 5 sees a new fastest lap from Norris (37.938), but Verstappen responds with a 37.906.
Piastri drops 2s behind Russell but builds a 1.2s lead over Hulkenberg.
"I took a carbon part on my left-side," reports Leclerc who is told that his car is fine. Like his teammate he is stuck in the DRS train headed by Hulkenberg.
Lap 7 sees another fastest lap from Norris (37.621) as be he extends his lead to 2.3s.
Norris is told he needs a 5s gap to Verstappen, the Briton currently 2.9s clear of the Dutchman.
"You can see Colapinto is struggling," Perez is advised, "let's have him!"
As Norris builds a 4.1s lead, Perez closes on Colapinto.
Hulkenberg is told to extend the gap to Alonso and the rest.
"Magnussen reports that hards seems worse than medium competitors," Leclerc is told as Ricciardo pits and switches from softs to mediums.
"Perez and Colapinto are fighting, there could be something coming to us," Tsunoda is told. "Too much information," replies the Japanese as Albon becomes the second driver to pit. The Williams driver rejoins in 19th on hards.
"I'm sliding around like hell," sighs Magnussen.
As he battles Perez, Colapinto slips to 1.8s behind Leclerc.
Sainz pits at the end of Lap 13, the Spaniard rejoining in 18th on mediums.
"Undercut powers looks strong," Norris is told, "maybe two seconds."
All eyes on Albon and Sainz on the hards. Quickest in S2, the Spaniard posts a PB in the final sector.
Albon has been passed by Ricciardo and has dropped to last.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Marina Bay here.
"He's very good," says Perez of Colapinto, "he's difficult to pass."
Albon has slowed and is clearly heading back to the pits. He retires.
Out front, after 16 laps Norris leads by 11.5s with Hamilton a further 8s behind.
Hulkenberg has Alonso and Leclerc hard on his heels.
Hamilton pits at the end of Lap 17, swapping the softs for hards he rejoins in 13th behind Magnussen.
Having passed Bottas, Sainz closes in on the second Stake, finally nailing Bottas to claim 16th.
Seemingly, Albon had an overheating issue.
Hamilton passes Magnussen for twelfth.
"I think I clipped the wall on the way into the pitlane," reports Hamilton as McLaren goes through the pantomime of a dummy pit stop.
"For our race, we want to go as long as possible," Norris is told, "so if we need to look after the tyres we will. We just don't want to be the first to pit between you and Max."
Hamilton passes Ocon for eleventh, as he queries whether he stopped too early.
Perez has dropped 3.6s behind Colapinto who is 2.7s down on Leclerc.
"This is so frustrating, how many laps are we going to do this," sighs Leclerc as he continues to shadow Hulkenberg and Alonso. "Keep calm," is told. The Monegasque will be further frustrated by the fact that his teammate appears to have undercut him. "We knew it would be frustrating," he is told, "keep calm and keep the tyres for later on."
"You're killing me with this offset," moans Hamilton as Leclerc passes Alonso who subsequently pits. The Spaniard rejoins in 15th as Hamilton passes Tsunoda in Turn 17 but goes too deep and falls back behind the RB.
Meanwhile, Piastri has closes to within 0.6s of Russell.
"Rear tyres are quite bad now," reports Verstappen. "Shouldn't be too long," he is told.
Stroll pits at the end of Lap 27, rejoining in 19th.
Russell pits at the end of Lap 27, the Briton rejoining in 8th as Alonso appears to have undercut Hulkenberg.
"OK mate, this is the race, let's go," Piastri is told as Leclerc is all over Hulkenberg.
Leclerc finally makes a bold move on the Haas in Turn 16 to claim 4th. Elsewhere, Perez pits. The Mexican rejoins in 14th, while Magnussen pits and rejoins in 18th.
"Front wing damage," reports Norris having clipped the wall at Turn 14, as Verstappen dives into the pits.
Verstappen rejoins in third, as Hulkenberg and Colapinto pit.
As he seeks to get his tyres up to speed, Verstappen is caught napping by Leclerc and slips to fourth.
Next time around Norris pits, he rejoins still in the lead the McLaren not needing a wing change.
As Verstappen passes Leclerc for third, Piastri is second but still needs to stop.
Verstappen is angry feeling that he has been undercut by Leclerc though he wasn't.
"We see a small issue with the front wing, nothing serious," Norris is assured.
"I need a bit of encouragement, mate," says Russell.
"These laps are crucial, keep driving like this," Leclerc is urged.
"Target lap will be the Plan C target lap," Piastri is told as Tsunoda pits. The Japanese rejoins in 15th as Bottas also stops.
"We're tempted to stay out but that would mean you would have to overtake Hamilton after the stop, how would that work out?" Piastri is asked. The Australian isn't too keen.
Russell makes a move on Leclerc in Turn 16 but goes wide.
After 36 laps, Piastri, Leclerc and Gasly are the only drivers yet to stop.
A new fastest lap form Norris (36.216).
As Leclerc finally pits he is told that it will be very tight with Hulkenberg. The Ferrari driver rejoins in 8th, 0.8s ahead of the German.
On his fresh rubber Leclerc soon drops the Haas and sets off after Alonso.
"Box, box," Piastri is told at the end of Lap 38, as Gasly also stops. Like Tsunoda before him, Gasly opts for softs, while Piastri rejoins in fifth, 1.3s down on Hamilton.
On his fresher rubber Piastri makes short work of Hamilton as he posts a fastest sector time in the process.
"What are we waiting for," asks Tsunoda, the Japanese wanting his teammate to yield. "We need to stay calm," he is told. "We need to close up and then we swap." "I'm close enough," he insists."
Leclerc passes Alonso for 7th as Piastri closes to within 2.9s of Russell.
As Leclerc posts a new fastest lap (36.166), Sainz is asked to move aside for his teammate. The Spaniard duly obliges.
Lap 42 sees a new fastest lap from Piastri (35.888) as he closes to within 1.3s of Russell.
"If you keep this pace we should catch Hamilton as the end," Leclerc is advised. The Monegasque responds with another fastest lap (35.849).
Russell is warned that he could be "interacting" with Leclerc by the end of the race. The Briton is currently under attack from Piastri.
The Australian goes around the outside of the Mercedes driver in Turn 8 to claim third.
After 45 laps - of 62 - Piastri is 18.5s down on Verstappen.
Having yielded to his teammate, Ricciardo is now passed by Ocon and Magnussen.
"Tyres a looking very good, very good," Hulkenberg is told.
"It's like a sauna in here, mate," says Russell.
Ricciardo pits again at the end of Lap 47, as replay shows Norris having another close encounter with the walls.
"I have no traction," complains Perez as he shadows Hulkenberg. "Do what you can," he is told.
A new fastest lap from Norris (34.925) despite that clash with the wall.
After 50 laps, it's: Norris, Verstappen (+26s), Piastri (+ 16.8s), Russell (+ 7.5s), Hamilton (+ 7.1s), Leclerc (+ 1.5s), Sainz (+ 16.2s), Alonso (+ 4.2s), Hulkenberg (+ 1s) and Perez (+ 0.8s).
Having clouted the wall at Turn 5, Magnussen is heading back to the pits.
"How are these tyres for a restart," Leclerc is asked, Ferrari thinking debris from Magnussen's error might come to the rescue.
Talking of the Dane, he is back on track on fresh softs.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Marina Bay here.
"I have understeer and I have oversteer," reports Russell. He subsequently admits to hitting the wall.
"I don't care about Norris," declares Leclerc when told of the race leader's pace.
Magnussen posts a new fastest lap (34.925), which begs the question will Norris risk stopping for a set of softs.
"Chill out and bring this car home," Norris is told.
Perez continues to harry Hulkenberg, with Colapinto in hot pursuit.
Magnussen's fastest lap time is deleted as he ran wide, handing the point back to Norris.
As he closes on Russell, Leclerc demands constant updating on lap times.
Told that he is about to be lapped by the race leader, Perez is told to keep pushing in his pursuit of Hulkenberg.
At the end of Lap 59, Ricciardo and Magnussen both pit, but for the Dane it appears terminal.
Ricciardo heads out on fresh softs, Red Bull's sister team looking to deprive Norris of the point for fastest lap.
"They have very good traction," says Leclerc of the Mercedes.
As Norris begins the final lap, Ricciardo goes quickest in S1. The Australian maintains the pace in S2, finally crossing the line at 34.486.
Norris takes the flag but not the fastest lap. Verstappen is second, ahead of Piastri, Russell, Leclerc, Hamilton, Sainz, Alonso, Hulkenberg and Perez.
"Warm!" laughs Piastri when asked how he feels. "No, it was a good race," he continues, "a good recovery from qualifying... it wasn't my best afternoon yesterday.
"A big thank you to the team as clearly the car was exceptional this weekend, and some great points."
"My race was just by myself, do the best I could, manage my own race," says Verstappen." On a weekend we knew we were going to struggle, P2 is a good achievement, but now we need to improve, and that's what we'll do.
"We just need to keep on trying, and overturn it," he admits, "not always finishing behind. I'm looking forward to a bit of rest."
"It was an amazing race," grins race-winner Norris. "A few too many close calls," he admits, "I had a couple of close moments in the middle but it was well managed I think.
"I could push, we were flying the whole race. Still tough, I'm a bit out of breath, but a good one.
"It's not that you are over pushing, sometimes you are chilling too much," he adds, "maybe it was a bit of both but it was easy to lock the tyres, and I wanted the biggest lead possible. I wasn't taking it easy."
While a lot of people raved about last weekend's race in Baku, this has been somewhat similar.
Though, unlike Baku, the lead was never really in question, the battles were all about unfulfilled anticipation, for as we awaited that special move it never actually came courtesy of the nature of the cars and their inability to follow closely.
A commanding win for Norris, and while Verstappen limited the damage all at Red Bull must be thanking their lucky stars that McLaren's turnaround didn't come earlier in the season.
Ferrari's weekend was over yesterday, while Mercedes clearly benefitted from the Maranello outfit's issues.
Great performances from Alonso and Hulkenberg, while Colapinto continues to impress.
Of course, not being in those sauna-like cockpits it is easy to be critical and advise on what should have been done, and in that respect kudos to all involved.
We now head into a three week break which is likely to see at least one driver change, while the action will resume at a track that always provides entertainment.
Check out our Sunday gallery from Marina Bay here.