FORMULA 1 - 2015

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JOS SAYS RED BULL-RENAULT SPLIT IS A GOOD THING

Former F1 driver Jos Verstappen is sure that splitting with Renault is the best move for the Red Bull camp, and expects Ferrari to power the energy drinks backed outfits.

As speculation swirls in the Singapore paddock, the Dutchman admitted that his “only concern” is the interests of his son Max, who drives for the Red Bull-owned junior team Toro Rosso.

“This year we have had too many engine-related issues,” he wrote in his column for De Telegraaf newspaper. My feeling is that a different engine will significantly push us forward and that’s what it is all about for me.”

On the face of it, Red Bull’s patience with Renault in the new power unit era ran out, while the French carmaker got tired of the constant sniping about its technology.

Carlos Ghosn, the Renault CEO, declared recently that as a mere engine supplier, Red Bull got all the credit for its world championships, and nothing but criticism in the losing period.

“Of course,” Jos commented, “it is true that a lot depends on how, as a business, you deal with criticism. Over the last weeks a months, a lot has been said and written about the engines. If think if the problem had been solved, they (Renault) would have got nothing but praise for how they managed to recover.”

Ultimately, that didn’t happen, and Verstappen said it is because Mercedes invested more money and did a better job, “I can understand a little of what Ghosn says but, in my experience, Renault did get noticed in those earlier successes. Moving on, it is obvious that both teams (Red Bull and Toro Rosso) will now get Ferrari engines.”

“It’s true that with its bigger budget, Red Bull will have the advantage over Toro Rosso, but still I think Toro Rosso is a strong team with good people.

“This year, after all, they managed to build a very good car. So I have every confidence going forwards,” the Dutchman added.

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Why F1's competitive order has been mixed up at the Singapore GP

It was a big shock to see the Mercedes Formula 1 team struggle so badly in qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix.

Fifth-placed Lewis Hamilton was over half a second slower than the next fastest car (Daniil Kvyat's Red Bull), and well over a second away from Sebastian Vettel's pole lap.

We're used to seeing Mercedes top sessions by those margins, not be on the receiving end.

The drivers expressed no real dissatisfaction with the handling of the W06 after the session.

From trackside, the car looked well-balanced in final free practice, and Hamilton said afterwards that he had "100 per cent confidence in the car".

The problem was not one of balance, but simply a lack of overall grip.

So what went wrong?

The problem likely has it roots in a combination of the track layout, the characteristics of Pirelli's super-soft tyre, and how Mercedes has made use of that tyre in Singapore.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff referenced this in his post-session media briefing, when he described the Marina Bay circuit as a "very special track" and talked of searching for "the sweet spot of the tyre".

MASTERING THE SUPER-SOFT

Engineers within the paddock say Pirelli's super-soft is what's known as a 'low working range' tyre, which broadly means it's easy to overheat.

But the super-soft is also a compound that Williams performance chief Rob Smedley describes as "very peaky", which means the range of working temperatures to which it will respond is very narrow.

"It's on a knife-edge," he said. "And if you get it dead right then it rewards greatly, and if you don't get it spot on then it can be more than the usual few tenths that you're off the pace."

More commonly you may expect the problem with this tyre to be one of over-working it, causing a fragile compound to lose performance rapidly over the course of a lap.

This seems to be what happened to Romain Grosjean on his Q3 run, when he got wheelspin at Turn 6.

As soon as that happened, he got further wheelspin at Turns 7 and 8 as the rear tyres ran away with overheating, dropping over the hot side of the peak temperature range and costing him rear grip.

You also get some drivers struggling to get the front and rear tyres balanced.

Sometimes the front tyres are not hot enough for the first part of a flying lap, so drivers lock their brakes and lose time through the first sequence of turns, while in the meantime the rear tyres get worked too hard and start to lose performance towards the end of the lap.

This is what happened to Sauber driver Felipe Nasr, who failed to escape Q1 in the updated C34. The car is still weak over the bumps and struggles for traction, which means the surface of the rear tyres can easily overheat and cause an imbalance.

According to Smedley, there is "no single factor" that dictates correct tyre preparation for a particular car, or how that car/driver combination extracts maximum grip from the rubber.

"It's based on a number of factors," he added. "The preparation before the tyres leave the garage, how much energy your car puts into the tyre around the lap, sliding energy, sliding velocities around the lap - and therefore the range of temperatures the tyre sees, not just the single average temperature.

"[Also] whether you can keep it keyed into a small temperature range, or whether because you've got more sliding you're tending to go both sides of the peak."

A UNIQUE TRACK

The layout of Singapore's Marina Bay circuit could also play into explaining why Mercedes struggled here relative to its opposition.

Red Bull and Ferrari were both much closer to Mercedes here than at any other track on the calendar during the 2014 campaign.

The layout places a premium on good braking, strong traction, and skilful driving, while the influence of engine power is greatly reduced, as is the effect of downforce variation between the cars, because most of the corners are of short duration and low speed.

That means Mercedes' usual strengths - high-speed corners and long straights that require efficient recovered energy deployment - are not so evident here.

Of course, Mercedes was very fast in Monaco, where the track is similar in terms of demands, and the same tyre compounds are used, but Singapore is much hotter than Monaco, and the circuit is also much longer, which places far more of a premium on tyre management.

So how quick anyone can be here is about how well the drivers and cars can work and manage the tyre, which is a very complicated and tricky process to get right in this era of high-degradation Pirelli rubber.

It's something Red Bull and latterly Ferrari have been extremely good at in the past, and it has not been one of Mercedes' traditional strengths.

The differences could be exacerbated by the length and layout of the track, according to Smedley.

"The tyre is constantly working here, but there are no high-speed corners, so you're not imparting a huge amount of energy into the tyre," he explained.

"We have quite a high value of sliding velocity, so the way the tyre scrubs across the surface of the track.

"You get quite a different relationship here between the bulk temperature and the tyre surface, and it's knowing the key to both of them and how to target both of them.

"There's also not a lot of recovery for the tyre around the lap, so once you put it into a certain situation, trying to recover from that is very difficult.

"On a normal circuit you have a kilometre of straight to recover and it doesn't really remember what it's done a kilometre ago. Here you never stop using it."

This is why Grosjean couldn't recover after his Q3 wheelspin.

The vagaries of the rubber, and the relationship between surface temperature and bulk temperature is something that also confounded McLaren's Jenson Button, who wound up nearly seven tenths adrift of team-mate Fernando Alonso in Q2.

"My second run in qualifying I always picked up massive understeer," he explained.

"We think it's because the brakes get hot. Normally you use the brakes to warm the bulk tyre temperature, and you don't want to raise the surface [temperature] too much.

"I think I was putting too much temperature into the fronts, so always on my second run I had massive understeer even though we put a lot of front wing in.

"I struggled with the tyres today, I'm sure a few others did. I just could not read them at all."

The Mercedes drivers complained of a lack of grip generally, and the early suggestion from within the team is that the W06s were operating the tyre below the correct working range.

Thus the car was well balanced, but just not 'switching on' the tyre enough to go fast.

Why exactly Mercedes could not get the super-soft tyre up into the correct range is still unclear.

"To do that you need to have all the matrices right," explained Wolff. "Rideheight, camber, torque, pressure, temperatures. There is so much influence. This is a new one for us."

The driver also plays a large part in this process, in terms of how they drive their out-laps and 'prepare' the tyres for a quick run.

Small variations in this process between drivers in the same car could explain why Grosjean made Q3 while Pastor Maldonado - complaining of a general lack of grip - could only qualify 18th, or why poleman Vettel was nearly eight tenths faster than Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen at the end of Q3.

There wasn't ultimately a huge gap between Rosberg and Hamilton (0.115s), so there's unlikely to be a huge variation between the two drivers in the way they managed the tyres.

It's thus more likely to be something related to the set-up of the car.

The team's only hope now the cars are in parc ferme is that things will turn around when every car on the grid is fat with fuel and running on used rubber.

Regardless, F1's usually dominant force faces an uphill struggle to win the Singapore GP from here.

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Honda could supply another F1 team in 2017 says McLaren's Boullier

Honda could be ready to supply another Formula 1 team with engines from the start of 2017, according to McLaren racing director Eric Boullier.

The Japanese manufacturer returned to F1 this year with McLaren as its only team, and so far the partnership has been skeptical of any additional teams actually providing a benefit.

However, when asked on Saturday evening at the Singapore Grand Prix if more teams could be added to Honda's roster, Boullier said McLaren and its engine partner are open to the possibility.

"You all know that in the current agreement for an engine manufacturer to enter Formula 1 there is the possibility to supply other teams," said Boullier.

"It's a question we have discussed already and we keep discussing with Honda.

"And at the right time for our partnership we would be ready - Honda would be ready, yes - to supply another team.

"We are partners, we are discussing, and we will agree when we do it."

Boullier denied McLaren has a veto over Honda supplying other teams, and he said it could be possible from 2017.

"Our voice is considered as a partner - it's not a veto," he said.

"[From 2017] it could be possible, why not? That means the engine would be attractive for another team, so I see that as a positive."

Boullier added he is not surprised to see Mercedes and Ferrari engines commanding the market in F1 at the moment.

"When we had the V8 and the frozen engines that were more or less all the same, there were some commercial deals and it was fairly split [between the manufacturers]," he said.

"Today the two strongest engines on the grid are Mercedes and Ferrari so it is not surprising most of the teams want them.

"At some stage, you could say you have to 'rebalance' the market."

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Windtunnels could become 'obsolete' in F1 if teams update CFD

Windtunnels could one day be rendered obsolete in Formula 1 if teams are able to upgrade their dated CFD systems, says McLaren racing director Eric Boullier.

A windtunnel ban with greater CFD use was proposed at Monday's meeting of the F1 Strategy Group as the push to reduce costs continues.

Teams are currently allowed up to 25 hours per week of windtunnel time or 25 teraflops of CFD data or a combination of both.

Boullier believes that before Formula 1 can begin to consider increasing the reliance on CFD, the technology must be updated and if that happens, McLaren would readily introduce it.

"On the CFD topic there is a lot of discussion for months about the regulation," said Boullier.

"It appears this teraflop restriction has pushed the engineers, as usual, to go to the limit of the regulations and we basically had to use some old chips.

"The consequence of this is we are not using the latest technology in terms of computing.

"We don't think it's good for Formula 1 to use 10-year-old technology - we are supposed to be at the top."

"Some discussions have taken place about changing the regulation from this teraflop story to an energy bandwidth control.

"This would allow more freedom for the teams to do what they want with their computers, but still being regulated, the same with the FIA.

"That's something we are very much in favour of, because it would be right for F1.

"Then on the windtunnels if you allow the CFD development maybe one day windtunnels could be obsolete.

"We would be happy to implement [the new technology] as soon as possible."

Boullier added that plans for a new windtunnel at McLaren's HQ in Woking hinge on the outcome of the windtunnel proposals.

"There is still a plan to make a new windtunnel, but we need some confirmation about long term commitment," he said.

"You are not going to invest a lot of money if the regulation will change in two years.

"We have different scenarios in place including an upgrade of the current windtunnel we are using."

Williams deputy team principal Claire Williams said in Singapore her team would not support a ban on windtunnels.

"We absolutely do not and will never vote for the banning of windtunnels in Formula 1," said Williams, whose team has two tunnels at its HQ in Grove.

"How can you operate at the pinnacle of motorsport and not use one of the finest tools in aerodynamics? It doesn't make any sense to us."

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff added: "We are a road car manufacturer and we have just commissioned a brand new windtunnel in Stuttgart.

"A windtunnel is needed today to put a car on the street, verify what's being done in CFD and to get correlation."

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Tough Singapore GP good for Mercedes and F1, says Jenson Button

Jenson Button feels Mercedes will understand its surprise difficulties at the Singapore Grand Prix is not only good for Formula 1, but also for the team itself.

After a run of 23 successive poles - one shy of Williams's F1 record set in 1992-93 - Mercedes found itself off the pace in qualifying at the Marina Bay street circuit.

Instead, Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton - who had enjoyed a personal run of seven straight poles - and Nico Rosberg will start from fifth and sixth, with the reigning world champion 1.4s adrift of polesitter Sebastian Vettel in his Ferrari.

"I think it's better for the whole sport, the shot in the arm the sport needs right now," Button said.

"It's great to see a mixed-up grid at the front. It's good for everyone, including Mercedes."

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff added: "We've had one race weekend [Hungary] and one qualifying that hasn't lived up to our expectation.

"We've seen a very good Ferrari and a Red Bull bouncing back, and if you look at it from the optimistic, positive side, it is good for the sport, although it's not what we would have wished for.

"We've had a very good car throughout the season, and I don't see any reason why this would change going forward."

Button also feels Mercedes will be back at the front in next weekend's race in Japan, although he hopes the supremacy previously enjoyed by the team does not return.

"Maybe it's a one off. Who knows? Maybe it could continue, but there is no reason why it should continue if you look at it," said Button.

"Take this race out, you would never expect them to lose 1.4 seconds, not after Monza [where Mercedes dominated].

"When we go to Suzuka you will see them strong again, but it's whether they have the advantage they have enjoyed for 32 straight races.

"Hopefully they are not going to have the advantage, that there is more of a fight."

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Carlos Sainz Jr's crash partly due to uncertainty

Carlos Sainz Jr said his crash at the end of Q2 in Singapore Grand Prix qualifying was partly due to him not knowing how close he was to getting into the top 10.

Sainz hit the wall on the exit of Turn 19 in the final sector, damaging his Toro Rosso car and disrupting the laps of several other drivers due to yellow flags.

But afterwards the Spaniard said if he'd been aware of how achievable a Q3 slot was, he would not have pushed so hard.

"We had a couple of problems that didn't let me get a good baseline for a second run [in Q2]," said Sainz.

"On the dash I didn't have my laptime so I didn't know some things.

"I didn't have my normal page, so I spent a whole lap trying to change it.

"So I needed to push quite hard and I was properly on the limit to get into Q3.

"I was eight tenths quicker than my previous lap, but I didn't know that four tenths higher would get me easily into Q3.

"If I would have known that I would have probably not gone so crazy, so aggressive.

"It was a mistake - I caught a bit too much kerb and then I hit the wall, that's it."

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Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz 'positive' on Ferrari F1 talks

Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz has confirmed "positive and encouraging" talks have been held with Ferrari regarding a Formula 1 engine supply from next season.

Red Bull is to split with long-time supplier Renault at the end of the year despite a season still remaining on the contract between the two companies.

Mateschitz has confirmed Mercedes was his preferred option as supplier as it has done "an outstanding job".

He added: "To get Mercedes powertrains was the priority of Milton Keynes, but we were turned down by one person [Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche]."

That leaves Ferrari as Red Bull's only option for 2016, and Mateschitz says talks - being handled by his company's motorsport advisor Helmut Marko - are "positive and encouraging".

"How Ferrari has improved since winter testing, when they were on level with us is astonishing, is almost incredible," he added.

"But if Ferrari at this stage is not capable of winning the championship with

[sebastian] Vettel, we would not be either.

"But with Ferrari powertrains it would be possible for us to start from the second or third row on the grid and finish on the podium."

Mateschitz said the decision to split with Renault was made via "mutual consent" with Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn as "to become fifth or sixth in the world championship cannot be [Red Bull's] target".

He added: "We agreed to terminate the contract [by the end of the season] several weeks ago."

He indicated for Red Bull to extricate itself from the deal with Renault, in return title sponsor Infiniti has been released from its contract with the team.

With sister team Toro Rosso also no longer taking Renault engines, Mateschitz said: "You cannot harm the two teams any more than what has happened".

The 71-year-old has also confirmed it was planned to badge a Mercedes engine as Aston Martin given Daimler has a five per cent stake in the British luxury car maker.

That side of negotiations ended, however, as the financial commitment was too great for Aston Martin.

While Red Bull continues to claim it is prepared to quit F1 if it does not land a competitive power unit, Mateschitz insists the workforces at both Red Bull and Toro Rosso would keep their jobs.

"We would do something else and have the people work on this," he said.

VW NOT A SHORT TERM OPTION

Red Bull continues to be linked with the Volkswagen Group, however, a tie-up in F1 would not be possible for 2016.

Addressing the rumour, team principal Christian Horner said: "It's very interesting to see the speculation about the VW/Audi group.

"It's great they are showing interest in Formula 1, but anything beyond that is purely speculation.

"For any manufacturer to start from scratch and to build a competitive engine you are talking two to three years.

"So if they come in the long term it's potentially an exciting prospect, but it doesn't solve today's problem."

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SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX: VETTEL’S NIGHT TO REMEMBER

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel turned a superb pole winning lap, which he delivered 24 hours earlier, into a commanding victory in an incident packed Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday and with it celebrated on the top step of the podium for the third time this year and a fourth time at the Marina Bay Circuit.

From the moment the red lights went dark, Vettel took command setting a blistering early pace which saw him with a five seconds lead within a handful of laps.

Even a couple of safety car periods – first after the collision between Williams’ Felipe Massa and Nico Hulkenberg in the Force India and a second one when a spectator bizarrely strolled on to the track – could do little to hamper the German on his way to one of his most famous victories.

Ferrari capitalised and stuck the knife into Mercedes’ curious loss of form at the tricky street circuit venue, which saw Nico Rosberg finish fourth albeit 24 seconds down on the winner, while world championship leader Lewis Hamilton was forced to retire with a technical issue when in fourth and within sight of the leaders, but with nothing in his arsenal to attack.

Ferrari clearly found an edge in Singapore which Vettel made the most of and prompting memories of his ruthless dominance at Red Bull not long ago. He was simply unstoppable and did not make a single mistake all night.

Afterwards a delighted Vettel, who equaled Michael Schumacher’s record of three wins in his first season at Ferrari, said, “It must be one of my best races. It was pretty intense. Lots of pressure form behind, Daniel had a very good race looking after his tyres. Second stint I was dictating the pace. From then, I was trying to control the gap. We had a really great weekend.”

“The party on Sunday night… we will have some drinks, definitely. My drink bottle failed halfway through the race so I am quite thirsty. If we have more weekends like this, yes we can catch Mercedes. Massive attack. Maybe we can make the impossible possible – we will definitely go for it,” added Vettel.

Behind him Daniel Ricciardo chased gamely all race long in his Red Bull to finish second, ahead of third placed Kimi Raikkonen whose sour face on the podium was probably attributed to the fact that he finished 17 seconds down on his teammate.

Big smiling Ricciardo said, “Seb experimented a bit today – at the start of the race he just went. If there was no safety car we could have been close for the undercut but the two safety cars came at pretty crucial times. It was really good to back up qualifying. We matched Seb in race pace and we have got to be pretty happy.”

Poker face Raikkonen summed up his thoughts, “We hope this is a sign of the future. Saturday I struggled for whatever reason, I was surprised to finish third in qualifying and today was a struggle again and I had no chance to do anything about first or second.”

Singapore Grand Prix Race Report

From the start Vettel made a good getaway to take the lead ahead of Ricciardo. Raikkonen too held his starting position to sit in third ahead of Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat, while Hamilton and Rosberg kept their starting positions of fifth and sixth position, ahead of Williams’ Valtteri Bottas.

There was trouble for Max Verstappen though. The Toro Rosso driver, who was starting eighth, stalled on the grid and the rest of the field swarmed past him as the grand prix got underway. Verstappen was wheeled back to the pit lane where his car was restarted and he re-joined a lap down.

Vettel meanwhile was flying. By the end of lap two the Ferrari driver was a 4.4s ahead of Ricciardo and after four laps he’d stretched the advantage to 5.2 seconds.

After six laps, though the lap times began to stabilise, with Ricciardo’s race engineer Simon Rennie telling the Red Bull driver that “Vettel has calmed down a bit”. Ricciardo began to chip away at the gap and took a second out the German over the next handful of laps.

Lotus’ Romain Grosjean was the first to shed his opening supersoft tyres – the Frenchman switching to soft tyres on lap 10. On the next lap he was followed to the pit lane by McLaren’s Fernando Alonso, Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz, Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson and Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado. Sainz lost time in the stop though as he was held in his pit box as Ericsson and Maldonado made their way along the pit lane.

On lap 13, however, the Virtual Safety Car was deployed as Williams’ Felipe Massa and Force India Nico Hulkenberg made contact. Massa was re-joining after his pit stop and Hulkenberg gave the Brazilian nowhere to go as they went into the following corner.

They collided and Hulkenberg was pitched into the wall and out of the race. The Singapore Grand Prix’s 100% safety car record was maintained when the physical safety car was then briefly deployed as marshals cleared the debris from the crash.

Hulkenberg was later penalised with a three-place grid drop at next weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix for causing the collision.

The period under the SC meant that all cars pitted, though some with more success than other. Jenson Button’s stop in front of the McLaren garage went horribly wrong as a problem with his front right wheel delayed him for some time and he rejoined in P16.

The order at the top under the SC saw Vettel leading from Ricciardo and Raikkonen, with the top three having taking more supersofts in their stops. Hamilton was fourth on soft tyres as was fifth-placed team-mate Rosberg.

Kvyat, also on supersofts, lost out under the VSC and had dropped to P6 ahead of Bottas, Force India’s Sergio Perez, Sauber’s Felipe Nasr, who has climbed to P9 from 16th on the grid and Lotus’ Romain Grosjean. Verstappen, meanwhile, had the chance re-join the lead lap during the safety car period.

When the action resumed Ricciardo kept pace with Vettel and on lap 22 the Australian was 0.8s behind the lead, with Vettel appearing to hold back a bit. Raikkonen was another 0.9 ofassecond back but Hamilton was beginning to lose touch with the podium positions, slipping to over two seconds down on the leaders.

On lap 27 Hamilton began complaining of a loss of power and the Briton was swiftly passed by Rosberg and Kvyat.

The team told Hamilton that his throttle was failing to open completely but that there was no electrical problem. Hamilton responded that he could no feel a pedal issue and as the investigation went on Hamilton to P11 by lap 30.

It was then Felipe Massa’s turn to encounter problems as he radioed his team to say that his car had suddenly jumped into neutral. He made a detour through the pit lane without stopping and then was told to retire the car.

Hamilton’s frustrations finally came to an end on lap 33. The championship leader had been complaining that the issue was worsening and then informed his team that the brakes were becoming too cold to continue in comfort. The team told him to box and he too retired.

On lap 35 Kvyat made his second stop from P5 but there was a problem with the rear left wheel and he lost out again as his stop took 6.6 seconds. He dropped to seventh.

On lap 37 the Safety Car was deployed again, though this time it was because of a spectator invading the track.

It was the cue for all of the field to make another pit stop and when the order sorted itself out under the SC Vettel still led from Ricciardo and Raikkonen but Rosberg was now fourth ahead of Bottas with Kvyat sixth. Perez was now seventh in the sole remaining Force India, with Grosjean eighth ahead of team-mate Pastor Maldonado.

Button, in the sole remaining McLaren following an earlier retirement for Fernando Alonso, was in the final points position, though he too would soon exit the race with a gearbox issue.

When the action resumed, Vettel this time powered away, with the German rapidly building a two-second gap to Ricciardo. Further back Button tangled with Maldonado as they battled for P9 and the Briton clipped the back of the Lotus, losing his front wing in the prices. He pitted for a new wing and re-joined in P14.

Toro Rosso’s drivers, meanwhile, were on a march, with Verstappen passing Maldonado for P9 and with Sainz repeating the moved almost immeditaley afterwards. Verstappen then set the fastest lap of the race so far on lap 43 of the 61 scheduled.

The Dutch teenager then passed Grosjean for P8 on lap 47 with an excellent move into Turn 16. Sainz followed but his move was riskier and both drivers went over the kerbs on the exit, with Grosjean complaining that he had been forced wide and had “no place to go”. The move stood, however, and Sainz held ninth.

Verstappen’s next target was Perez in seventh but he could find no way past the Mexican. His race ended in somewhat controversial circumstances when his engineer told him to swap places with Sainz in the closing laps. Verstappen refused and held station to claim eighth ahead of his team-mate…

At the front the order also remained unchanged, with Vettel taking his 42nd career win just 1.4s ahead of Ricciardo, with Raikkonen third. Rosberg closed the gap to title rival Hamilton by 10 points by claiming fourth with Bottas fifth ahead of Kvyat and Perez.

With the Toro Rosso pair eighth and ninth, the final points position when to Sauber’s Felipe Nasr.

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VETTEL: THERE IS A MAN ON THE TRACK!

A 27-year-old man has been arrested after he set pulses racing at the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday when he walked on to the circuit midway through the Formula One race.

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel got the fright of his life when he spotted the man strolling along the inside of the protective barriers.

The German screamed down the team radio that there was a man on the track as race stewards instantly unfurled their yellow flags, ordering the drivers to slow down.

The safety car was deployed while the man slipped back through a hole in the fence, seemingly unharmed but not before he had sent a scare through the drivers and viewers watching the race on television.

“I had to look again as I wasn’t sure if I had a problem with my eyesight and that I actually saw somebody crossing the track,” Vettel told reporters.

“The team said on the radio that someone was on the track, I think I saw him take a picture so I hope it was a good one at least… in focus.

“It was pretty crazy though, we approach that corner at around 280-290 clicks (km per hour) so I wouldn’t be crossing the track if I was him but it was good to see the safety car come out straight away.

“Maybe next season we need to block the grandstands a bit better and fortunately nothing happened to us and nothing happened to him. It was pretty odd, not what you expect to see when you come around to the next corner.”

Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo, who finished runner-up to Vettel, was not impressed by the intrusion, saying the introduction of the safety car might have cost him a chance of winning the race .

“Thanks to the guy on the track…appreciate it!” Vettel joked. “I was tempted to swerve – clip him!”

Similar invasions, while uncommon, have happened in the past, raising concerns about security at Formula One races.

An Irish former priest ran onto the track during the 2003 British Grand Prix while a disgruntled Mercedes Benz employee invaded the Hockenheim track during the 2001 German Grand Prix.

Earlier this year, a spectator ran across the track in front of cars travelling at 260km/h during practice for the Chinese Grand Prix.

Apprehended by security and handed over to police, he explained that he had wanted to drive one of the cars.

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VETTEL: WE CAN MAKE THE IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE

Sebastian Vettel scored one of his finest victories when he conquered the mean streets at the Singapore Grand Prix with a lights out to chequered flag win, his third of the season, his fourth at Marina Bay Circuit and thus closing the gap on both Mercedes drivers ahead of him in the championship. It also further entrenched the German in the hearts of the Ferrari team and of course the tifosi. He spoke after his 42nd grand prix triumph.

Was this you best ever race, or one of?

Sebastian Vettel: It must be one of; I think it was pretty intense. Obviously we had a bit of a breather with the safety car. Still, lots of pressure from behind. I think Daniel had a very good race, looking after his tyres very well, which made it a bit tactical towards the end with the stints. Second stint I was dictating the pace. Obviously around here it’s not so easy to overtake, so I was using that. And from then, at some point, chipping away, trying to control the gap. Fortunately that worked. It’s obviously a great day; we had a really great weekend, thanks to the team.

So, we want to know also, because on Friday a little bird told me you were quietly confident, you thought you had a lot left over, and then you did that magic qualifying lap yesterday; you kind of showboated a bit didn’t you, you just wanted to rub it in, to see how good you were?

SV: Not really. Friday was not perfect I would say but we improved the car overnight, which was very important and then we picked up so much pace. The car was fantastic yesterday with one lap. Amazing the feeling I got; so much adrenalin in qualifying. And the same today. I was able to look after my tyres, control the pace, so all in all a perfect weekend so very, very happy.

Are you going to party tonight?

SV: I think we will have some drinks, yes, definitely. My drinks bottle failed half-way through the race, so I’m quite thirsty. We need to make sure we….

What’s the plan now? Six races left. Can Ferrari really take it to Mercedes?

SV: If we have more weekend like this, yes. But all we have to do is look after ourselves, maximum attack and then what they do is not in our hands. We still have a small chance, maybe we can make the impossible possible; we’ll definitely go for it.

You controlled the race throughout, from your first Ferrari pole position. First stint you attacked from the outset; beginning of the second stint you did the opposite and were pacing yourself. How did you perceive the threat from Hamilton and Rosberg at that point of race? You then speeded up and how much did losing the lead, on the one hand, to the two safety cars balance out against the fact that in both cases you were able to stop under the safety car? How did that help you?

SV: First it was fairly simple: you drive a bit into the unknown, so I was trying to put a gap. I was surprised by the opening laps to put five seconds straight away. Then eased off; probably was pushing a bit hard at the beginning, which allowed Daniel to just be that two, three, four tenths quicker at the end. Obviously I had a bit of margin left but the safety car answered all the questions about the first stop. And the same for the second stop. I think it was pretty straightforward when to stop, because you obviously take the advantage of losing less time through the pit lane. I did pretty much the opposite on the second stint. I knew that it’s impossible for Daniel, for anyone, to go 40-odd laps on the prime tyre, it will just fall apart at the end, so I think some 35 or 36 laps to go, I knew we were approaching the pit stop window plus. I knew that one of the Mercedes was on the prime tyre, which obviously allows them to be on the option for the final stint, so I said, ‘OK a couple of laps to go’. When the pit stop window more of less opened for the final stint, allowing to finish on the prime, to go for it, open a gap, put some three or four seconds between me and Daniel, so that we can react in case he dives into the pits and he doesn’t get the undercut. So it worked pretty well. I was controlling the pace in the second stint for a while and then, as I said, went for it. In the last stint I knew that with the prime they were a bit more resilient – obviously the safety car answered all the questions, as I said, and I could maintain the gap. I wanted to put, fairly quickly, two or three seconds between us, to make sure that Daniel doesn’t get too excited, to try and attack in the end. And it worked. I new that the prime tyre would favour us probably a bit – and it did. At the end we faced some traffic but he never really got close, so I could control the end fairly well.

Just talk us through, from your perspective, what it was like when the man came on the track. What did you see? I guess that kind of thing is pretty worrying from your seat.

SV: I don’t know. I had to look again because I wasn’t sure whether I had a problem with my eyesight or I saw somebody crossing the track. I went on the radio and said “some guy’s running across the track!” I think I saw him taking a picture. I don’t know. I hope it was a good one at least. I hope it was in focus! Yeah, pretty crazy, we approach that corner at around 280-290klicks so, I don’t know, I wouldn’t cross the track if I was him. It was crazy, obviously, and we had a Safety Car straight away. Maybe in the next year we need to block the grandstands a bit better. Fortunately nothing happened to us and nothing happened to him – as far as I know. The other guys didn’t see him, so I was the first one to come around.

Does it feel any different to be first time as team-mates in the podium compared to previous times?

SV: Honest answer: no. I’ve always liked Kimi because from the very first day I joined Formula One he was one of the guys who showed me most respect. There were other guys who lost a little bit the ground under their feet but Kimi was definitely not one of them. At that time I was nobody in F1 and he was a great champion already. It was great to see that he pays that much respect. And since that day he hasn’t changed. I think people love him for the fact that there’s no bullshit – as he often quotes – he’s here for the racing bit and that’s ultimately why we’re all here: we love racing. So, I don’t know, I think we get along well. Obviously I had a better day, compared to him today – but if it’s the other way around I think it’s only fair to be as fair as him today.

This is your third win in your first season with Ferrari as Michael had in 1996 and one more than Senna. Does it mean something special for you?

SV: One more than? Was Senna ever with Ferrari? No. Ah, overall you mean. I think I could consider myself the luckiest racing driver in the world if there were as many race wins to come as there was with Michael. I don’t think you can really draw that comparison. In all fairness, I think the car he had in 1996 was a lot worse than what we have this year which shows again what a great racing driver he was. I don’t know. I think looking back it has been incredible. You know the way I was growing up, I just enjoyed racing and then to find myself nowadays having a teammate that I looked up to when I was young, racing him and seeing what he does, racing on a similar level to him and racing other guys that are really great like Daniel, like Lewis, like Nico. I can consider myself very very lucky that I got in a position always to have a great team around me, the last couple of years, and keep going that way. As Kimi described in his answer before, I think looking at our current situation with Ferrari, things are definitely improving. I think the spirit is very high in the team. I haven’t been with the team in the last couple of years but as far as I have learned, it’s a lot better so I think the direction is the right one and obviously we are very happy with today’s result, very happy with the car this year in general but not yet where we want to be. We know that there’s still a lot of work to do so expectations are already fairly high but I think they are always, especially in Italy, when you talk about Ferrari. So we have to keep our feet on the ground because there’s still a lot of homework to do.

Just adding to that, Sebastian, 42 wins, you’re third now in the all-time list behind Alain Prost and Michael Schumacher. Do you think you will stay around long enough to obviously surpass Prost’s record but what about Schumacher’s record? Is that in your sights or do you not think about it?

SV: Well, I think, to be honest, Prost’s is in sight somehow. I’m 28 so I’m not the youngest any more especially if the kids start racing at 17 now. But Michael’s is just ridiculous: number of wins, number of poles, number of fastest laps. I think all the statistics you can go for you compare yourself to him or anyone to him, so I think that’s far away. So if you have 23 corners in Singapore, I consider myself being in turn one and Michael in turn 23. I’m not really looking at that. As I said, I’m having a great time. I think I can consider myself very lucky and blessed the way things have turned out. I’ve always had a more or less competitive car, competitive team, so if it keeps going that way then I can consider myself very lucky.

Damon Hill was 35 when he won the championship so you’ve got plenty of time.

SV: Yeah, and Michael still kept racing some years ago when he was 43. I think Kimi is now 33, 34, 35, 36! OK. I think it’s impossible to predict the future. I think we are now on a good track with the team, Kimi and myself, so I think we’ve got some years ahead of us which we can enjoy. In a way you can forget the statistics, I think the most important thing is the sheer fun in life and get paid for it, that’s a great thing.

Do you think that the fact that there is no Mercedes driver on the podium this weekend is only track-related or is it the fact that Ferrari and Red Bull are progressing?

SV: Big surprise… I guess they should be back in Suzuka. If they’re not, in all honesty we don’t mind.

[MIKA27]

RICCIARDO: I’M LEARNING ALL THE TIME BUT ENJOYING IT

It is always good to see big smiling Daniel Ricciardo on the podium as he clearly enjoys the occasion and this time around thoroughly deserved second place in the Singapore Grand Prix after a fine weekend where he made the most of the Red Bull RB11 which proved around the twists of Marina Bay Circuit, The Australian spoke after the race.

Looks like you’re a bit of a local boy here? There are a lot of Aussie flags here. You have a lot of support. I know [Vettel] is your old team-mate but he did back you up didn’t he? He did try to stumble you. He wanted you to let go, so that Kimi could pass you?

Daniel Ricciardo: I think Seb experimented a bit today. The start of the race he just went, but realised towards the end of the stint I was coming. I think if wasn’t for the safety car it would have got pretty close in terms of the pit stop – maybe an undercut was possible. But, yeah, then the second stint seemed like he had learned for the first, backed us up and then just went after that. I think both safety cars came out at a pretty crucial time. Nonetheless, his pace was good and it was quite representative of qualifying, you know. We seemed to be the two quickest cars today.

You talk about being the quickest car: were you surprised, because you targeted this race didn’t you? You always thought that Red Bull would be strong here.

DR: Yeah, it’s really good to back it up. We came in here pretty confident. I’m always careful not to be overconfident but yeah I think the pace we showed all weekend was strong. The race pace was good; I think we matched Seb, so we’ve got to be pretty happy with this weekend. It’s nice again to capitalise; Budapest we had a chance and we’ve done it again here.

Your best result of the season so far. After the first stint your engineer said that your pace and degradation were both very good, so was there any optimism at any point that you might get the win today or did both stops coming under the safety car put paid to chance of doing something with strategy that might have helped you?

DR: I think that sort of dictated the race really. I’m not saying there were any guarantees but I think in the first stint we were coming on quite strong. It was obvious Seb pushed pretty hard at the beginning to break let’s say the DRS and all of that, but then as the laps were ticking down we were starting to come alive, I was able lean on the tyres a bit more and I could see it was working in my hands. So when I saw the safety car come out I was a bit frustrated, but I knew there was one more stop in the race, so I knew there was one more chance to do the same thing, replicate the same, let’s say, procedure. Seb learned a little bit from the first stint – started off a little bit easier in the second stint, then broke away. Then I think again as the laps ticked down I was probably able to make the tyres last a bit better on the option and close in, but then safety car again. So, thanks to the guy on the track, appreciate it. I was tempted to swerve, clip him! That was that and then with the prime, as Seb said, that was pretty much it. It’s hard to overtake here but we tried to do what we could. We just got the fastest lap at the end, so we proved our pace all weekend. I’m proud of that. Good to get another podium. Really happy for the team. As I said yesterday they’ve done a really good job, particularly the last couple of races I think the chassis has really come alive, so thank you to them for that. So, yeah, congrats to Seb, it was a good race.

Despite a good race you had today, at the moment your team doesn’t have an engine for next year and it doesn’t look like there’s a solution tomorrow on the table. Are you worried? And then, obviously to Seb, what would you say if Red Bull would drive similar engines, the same engines as you next year?

DR: I think it’s… now I’m not worried. I think we’ve still got time. It’s not December yet, so if we’re in this position in December then, maybe I’m a bit worried. Maybe I’m facing a year of getting paid to do nothing.

You renewed your contract?

DR: Yeah! I don’t know how that would feel but for sure I want to be here, want to be racing. Obviously I’m at a bit of a peak of my career, I’m learning all the time but enjoying it and want to keep racing definitely and keep racing at the front. So, firstly it’s great to be back on the podium and fighting where I want to be fighting. For next year, in time it will get solved. Obviously the sooner the better for everyone to start working and preparing the car for next year. Obviously it depends on what engine you have: you design the car around that, the set of geometry of the engine – but yeah, we’ll see how we go in the next few weeks, hopefully we’ll get an answer.

Looking at the shorter term, as you say, the chassis has really come alive. On which of the upcoming tracks do you think you will be able to really exploit that and get a good result?

DR: I think this was our best chance, so we got close. I think we can still be proud of what we did this weekend. As I said on the podium, I think it’s good that we – in a way – capitalise or make the most of our opportunities. This year, I believe we have had two: Budapest and here and we’ve got podiums in those races. A bit like last year, when we had the chance to win we did. I still think we’re maximising everything we’ve got at the moment. Moving forward, Suzuka is normally a good track for us. I don’t think we can expect as strong a performance as here but we can still look at the top five and maybe better. Then after that, I’m not sure. Mexico is new for everyone, so we will see how that goes but I was there already and they’ve got a pretty long straight, so I’m not sure how that will play in our hands. Yeah, looking forward to the last part of the season. Austin’s pretty good so yes, see how we get on.

Do you think that the fact that there is no Mercedes driver on the podium this weekend is only track-related or is it the fact that Ferrari and Red Bull are progressing?

DR: I think for us it’s very much track-related. With all that being said, we expected to be strong here. I think we’re all surprised that Mercedes – or at least one of them – isn’t up here or not even… OK, I think Rosberg was fourth but we never really saw them all race in the mirrors or in qualifying so definitely an off weekend for them. I expect them to be back in Suzuka but for whatever reason, if it is that we’ve made so much progress – Ferrari and us – then obviously hopefully you will see us up here a few more times this year.

[MIKA27]

RAIKKONEN: I AM HAPPY TO BE IN THIRD PLACE

Kimi Raikkonen finished third in the Singapore Grand Prix and his demeanour post race was sullen and clearly not that of one satisfied with the night shift he did for Ferrari at Marina Bay Circuit.

Perhaps the fact that he was thoroughly trounced by his Ferrari teammate and race winner Sebastian Vettel explains the traditional long face. He mumbled after the race about his night at Marina Bay Circuit.

Hot race. Last time you were on the podium it was in Bahrain and this is the first time this year we’ve seen the two Ferrari drivers on the podium. Is this the sign of the future?

Kimi Raikkonen: Obviously we hope that. I must say Friday was fine for me and yesterday we struggled for whatever reason and I didn’t expect much better today. I was a bit surprised to finish third yesterday with how difficult the car felt and today was a struggle again but obviously we had enough speed to be in third place but I had no chance to do anything about the first two. I could follow them at the beginning but once my tyres dropped off that just went. It wasn’t that nice to have that kind of difficulties but you know we still finished third and when you have a bad few days and you finish third it’s pretty good and for the team nice and hopefully we can repeat them.

I just ask you one tiny question: how many starts did you do on the simulator after Monza?

KR: Two.

Your 79th career podium. On the radio you were getting messages about the tyres being out of range and bringing them back into range. Is that what prevented you from doing more today?

KR: No, not really. I think for whatever reason yesterday morning already in the practice we had difficult handling with the car and then through qualifying it was not exactly what we wanted and was a bit surprised to still be third. Obviously it was good, with all the difficulties I felt. It kept happening in the race. Obviously when you have new tyres the car’s more or less OK and then Sebastian was not pushing on the second set and the last set, the stints, it was quite easy but once we started to push I started to struggle straight way with the same issues with the rear end. It obviously was a bit tricky race but in the end with the difficulties we’ve had in the last few days we still finished third. It’s OK. It’s not ideal but I’ll take it and, for the team, it’s a great result. Hopefully we can improve on this and all the areas and try to keep it going for longer and longer and build on this one again. I think we’ve done an amazing job as a team and we keep doing the same things, I’m sure we’re going as a team the right direction and we get where we want to be in the end, for the future. So I think it was OK. Not ideal but I’ll take it.

Does it feel any different to you to be team-mates for the first time on the podium?

KR: Maybe a little bit. Obviously you try to beat your team-mates. Sometimes you lose, sometimes you win but I think in the end you are happy the team did well. So, I’d rather be with him in the same team and he wins and I’m in a third place than he’s in another team other than Ferrari. So obviously it’s a win-win situation. I didn’t have the best few days but I mean, fair enough, he was faster and I can take the third place and we try next weekend again and I’m sure we will have other good battles in the future and I think, as a team, we work well. And that’s the most important thing. If there would ever come a day when we have issues, then we can talk about it and sort it out. Not a big deal about it but we’re working well. I’m happy for him and for the team first of all that we can have a good result. Obviously we want always better but it’s going in the right direction for all of us.

After Bahrain it took eight races for you to get a podium. Does it feel any better now after that kind of long wait?

KR: No, not really. I have mixed feelings, you know. I am happy to be in third place after how difficult it’s felt in the last two days with some issues that we had. But it’s disappointing in that on Friday we knew that we were faring pretty well and then to get third place is fine but it’s not what we are here for. It’s a bit mixed feelings but I think I take the third place. We’ve had some other chances to be on the podium quite a few times but either I made a mistake or something else happened. It’s been a bit of an up and down year but hopefully we keep building, we learn a lot and obviously we are still some way to go to be exactly where we want to be. It’s getting there and to be happy as a team in what we’re doing I think the team should get a big big thanks from everyone, from us, for what a great job they are doing for us. Obviously the things that we are doing are definitely going in the right direction. For the future it is the good way. We just have to have some patience to build on this.

Do you think that the fact that there is no Mercedes driver on the podium this weekend is only track-related or is it the fact that Ferrari and Red Bull are progressing?

KR: It’s hard to say obviously. I feel as a team Ferrari did the same thing that we do going into every race weekend. I don’t feel that we really made something magic, it’s not like that we did something really different to other race weekends. We are there. I think we were more surprised at the last race in Monza to be that close to the Mercedes and maybe that shows us that we made a step there and maybe we just kept doing the same things here. But it’s very hard to say what they did. I think everybody’s surprised where they’ve been all weekend and who knows what happens in the next race. We can see from the last race to this race has been completely different. I think it’s better to wait and see what happens in Suzuka.

[MIKA27]

HULKENBERG PAYS PENALTY FOR SINGAPORE COLLISION

Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg had a Singapore Grand Prix to forget on Sunday when the German crashed out after 12 laps following a collision with Felipe Massa’s Williams and was immediately given a grid penalty for the next race.

Hulkenberg started in 11th place and had made his first pit stop at the Marina Bay Street Circuit but was broadsided by the Brazilian, who was exiting the pitlane at high speed after making his first tyre change.

The German’s car was briefly airborne before it slammed into the barriers at Turn Three while Massa was able to continue despite suffering damage to his bodywork and front wing but was later forced to retire on the 31st lap.

“I saw him coming out of the pitlane but afterwards I knew I was in front. And then I got hit in the back,” Hulkenberg told reporters.

Hulkenberg, 11th in the standings on 30 points going into the race, was unable to continue and stewards investigated the incident as the German made his way back to the paddock on foot.

He was deemed to be at fault for the collision with stewards saying he “should have left Massa racing room” and given a three-grid-position penalty for next week’s Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka.

“I was on the racing line ahead going into Turn Three and he’s (Massa) coming out of the pits and touches me on the back,” Hulkenberg said, explaining how he saw the incident.

“A bit strange also and I don’t understand why the penalty’s given right away and why they didn’t listen to what the different views were. I’ll go back and speak to the team.”

Massa, for his part, felt the penalty was justified, “Well, I think honestly the penalty is correct,” the Brazilian said. “I was inside. He just turned the car over my car… I couldn’t do anything. For sure, what he did was not correct.”

MIKA: Silly penalty IMO, Hulkenberg had right of way, don't know why Massa got away with that when Hulkenberg had the line.

[MIKA27]

FERRARI: THIS IS A FANTASTIC WIN!

Sebastian Vettel led from lights out to chequered flag, in a splendid performance at the floodlit Marina Bay street circuit, alongside Singapore harbour. The German started from pole and led all 61 laps, managing the race perfectly through two appearances from the Safety Car.

Vettel held a slender lead over Ricciardo’s Red Bull right to the flag, crossing the line just 1.4s ahead of the Australian. Kimi Raikkonen also made it to the podium, having been third from start to finish, making it a significant team result for Scuderia Ferrari.

Maurizio Arrivabene: “This is a fantastic win! It’s fantastic for Seb, who yesterday put in an awesome qualifying lap, something which reminded me of the great champions of the past. But this result is also fantastic for the whole team, for all the guys here in the Singapore garage, and also for those who work back at Maranello. Kimi’s third place today clearly shows how important and effective was the development work we carried out on our car. Today we have both drivers on the podium and we’re happy with that. And yet, I was not sure that we could make it until we crossed the finish line. A race win is something you build step by step, from the start onwards: and on a track like this, full of unpredictables, and with two safety car periods, the real problem was keeping concentration. Now I don’t want to make predictions for the championship: there are still may points at stake, and obviously we’ll do all that’s in our power to stay in front. But always with great humility and a huge respect for other contenders.”

Kimi Raikkonen: “I have mixed feelings: I’m happy to be third, considering how difficult it was yesterday, struggling with the grip and the handling of the car, but I’m a bit disappointed for not having been able to fight for a better position. Today I knew it was not going to be easy: it was a tricky race, on new tires I was able to follow Daniel easily, but then I was starting to have the same problems as yesterday, and I did not have enough speed for trying to catch him. First and third is a great result for the whole team, but of course it could have been better. It’s hard to predict how is going to be in the next races , but I don’t think we should get carried away. Obviously some tracks fit you better that others: we’ll do our best as usual. Hopefully we’ll find out that we can be competitive again fighting at the front. We have done an amazing job as a team so far, we keep improving, building and learning a lot in all areas, we are going in the right direction.”

Sebastian Vettel: “It was an incredible race today, in fact all in all an incredible weekend and it is difficult for me now to sum it up. The race was intense and long, I had some pressure from Daniel behind me, we were the quickest two cars out there today, but I was able to control the pace and look after the tyres, which ran ok for the whole weeekend. The car felt fantastic, I could control the gap until the end. Today we are in paradise, but we know we’re still a long way to go. It has been a surprise that Mercedes hasn’t been on the pace this weekend, we don’t know why, but to be honest we don’t really care. I am very happy for the team today, there has been a lot of work going in since the day I joined in. For the next races we will keep pushing 100 percent, we’ll give our maximum, like always. As long as there is a chance we have to go for it, we have to do everything we can. Mercedes are the ones to beat, the best way to do it is looking after ourselves and doing the best we can.”

[MIKA27]

MCLAREN: OUR CARS SHOWED ENCOURAGING RACE PACE

McLaren-Honda report from the Singapore Grand Prix, Round 13 of the 2015 Formula 1 World Championship, at Marina Bay Circuit.

Fernando Alonso, MP4-30-03: “Today’s race was definitely disappointing for us because both Jenson and I could have been in the points today and we missed that opportunity. Gearbox problems caused the failure of both cars.

“Before retiring, though, we were running in the top 10, and our performance on the Supersoft [tyre] was quite good, so I think we could have kept that position until the end. But to score points you have to finish, and we didn’t today, so today was a reminder that we need to work harder than ever. We still lack performance and reliability, and fixing those two things represent a lot of work and we need to do that.”

Jenson Button, MP4-30-04: “We should have scored points today, and we would have scored points if I hadn’t had contact with Pastor [Maldonado] and we hadn’t had gearbox problems. There’s lots of ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’, but the car felt alright to drive, which is a positive. We went very long on our stops, and I was able to look after the tyres well, which is always helpful, and the second Safety Car helped us. But it’s been a tough season. Everyone is feeling it, but it’s not slowing us down in terms of how much effort everyone is putting in, both in Woking and Sakura. So the team will now get their heads down and focus on the next race, in Japan. It’s Honda’s home circuit, but it’ll be another tough weekend. We’ll do our best.”

Eric Boullier, Racing director, McLaren-Honda: “Our cars showed encouraging race pace today, Fernando’s best lap only 1.1s slower than Daniel’s [Ricciardo] fastest lap of the race, despite Fernando’s lap-time having been set with quite a lot of fuel still on board. However, today is of course a disappointing day for all at McLaren-Honda, since we were forced to retire both our cars before the finish with gearbox issues. We’ll investigate the cause or causes of those issues, in an effort to make sure they never recur. From here we’ll travel to Suzuka, one of the greatest racetracks on the Formula 1 calendar, the home Grand Prix of our engine partner Honda, whose power units performed with admirable reliability throughout the past three days here in Singapore.””

Yasuhisa Arai, Honda R&D senior managing officer – chief officer of motorsport: “At the beginning of the race, our pace was good, and we had hopes for a double points score. However, both cars had to retire due to gearbox issues. It was a disappointing result, because our set-up became better as the weekend progressed. As today’s race was a back-to-back race with Suzuka, we don’t have much time, but we’ll gather whatever data possible from today, fix the problems, and prepare for our home Grand Prix.”

[MIKA27]

Rosberg: Lack of pace at Singapore "very worrying"

Despite taking 12 points out of teammate Lewis Hamilton's championship lead, Nico Rosberg admits he is perturbed by his Mercedes team's lack of pace in the Singapore Grand Prix.

The German salvaged a fourth-place finish on a difficult day for Mercedes, with Hamilton exiting the race early with a mechanical issue.

"There's the small positive of closing the gap [to Lewis], but it's been such a disappointing weekend for all of us," said Rosberg, who is now 41 points behind his teammate and just eight ahead of race winner Sebastian Vettel.

"To be so far off the pace all of a sudden and to not understand it, it's really bad, because then how are we going to improve it?"

Rosberg admitted the race worked "very well" for himself and noted the good timing of the second Safety Car period, caused by a fan invading the circuit, but that failed to overshadow the questions raised by Mercedes' struggles.

"We just hope at the next track it will come towards us again, and the chances are extremely good because at all other tracks we've been so fast," he said.

"But today is very worrying, because we don't know why it's like that and so who knows if it will continue at the next race."

[MIKA27]

WILLIAMS: HAPPY DAY BUT TINGED WITH DISAPPOINTMENT

Williams report from the Singapore Grand Prix, Round 13 of the 2015 Formula 1 World Championship, at Marina Bay Circuit.

Race Notes:

• Valtteri Bottas finished the Singapore Grand Prix in fifth place, while team mate Felipe Massa was forced to retire.
• Valtteri moved ahead of Kvyat during the final round of pitstops and comfortably held fifth position to the finish.
• Felipe had to make an extra pit stop due to a slow puncture following contact from Hulkenberg’s Force India. He later retired with a gearbox problem.

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: “It was an excellent race for Valtteri today. He showed great pace and the gap from qualifying disappeared, so we were fighting with Kvyat and Rosberg throughout the race. We made good strategic calls, when Kvyat pitted we stayed out knowing a safety car could come at any time, and we got ahead of him. Felipe getting tangled up with Hulkenberg, who subsequently received a penalty, was unfortunate and put us on the back foot with that car. His retirement was a gearbox problem, the car was jumping out of gear so we need to investigate that. I’m happy with the day but it’s tinged with disappointment because we’ve lost some points with Felipe’s car.”

Valtteri Bottas: “It was a good race for me. The start was good, the pace was a little bit better than we expected. I could put a bit of pressure on the guys in front and undercut some people. The pit crew did an amazing job today under pressure. We did what we had to, got our heads down and took our opportunities. This was the maximum result today so I’m pleased.”

Felipe Massa: “It was a very unlucky race for me. My problems started with the collision I had with Hulkenberg after my first stop. I was braking for the corner and he turned his car in on mine, leaving me with nowhere to go, so we hit. This caused a slow puncture on my front-right tyre and the extra pitstop put me back many positions. I then had a gearbox problem. I was changing gears from 2nd to 3rd and was getting neutral. It seemed to resolve itself but it happened again and I had to retire the car. It was one of those races where things just weren’t going my way. We need to concentrate on recovering some of our lost points at the next race.”

[MIKA27]

Maldonado keeps Lotus seat for 2016

Lotus F1 has announced it will retain Pastor Maldonado for next season amid uncertainty surrounding the team's F1 future.

The Enstone-based squad, which is close to being taken over by Renault, has officially confirmed it will keep Maldonado on the books on the evening after a Singapore Grand Prix where the Venezuelan finished 12th.

Maldonado already had a contract in place for next year, with backers PDVSA promising more than £20 million in sponsorship for him.

However, the possibility of a Renault takeover and a change of plans meant there had been some uncertainty about the situation in recent weeks. That has now ended.

“It’s a positive for the future of Lotus F1 Team that we are able to confirm publically that Pastor remains with us for next season," said team boss Gerard Lopez.

"Everyone at Enstone will testify that Pastor is a terrific person to work with and we all know the performances he is capable of on track.

"Pastor joined us with a multi-year deal so this confirmation is a reiteration of our belief in him. We hope to be able to make further positive announcements regarding the team in the near future."

Maldonado raced with Williams from 2011 to 2013, scoring the team's only win of the past decade in the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix.

He joined Lotus in 2014, finished 16th in the standings in his first year with the squad and currently sits 14th in this year's drivers' championship.

"It’s great that the team can confirm my position as race driver for 2016," the Venezuelan said. "Obviously, there has been a lot of speculation about the future and, whilst I have remained focused on my job on track, it is also positive to know that my future is confirmed

"This season has presented us with some challenges but the quality of the squad at Enstone is clear to see. I really feel part of the family at Enstone and I’m looking forward to building on the work done this year to deliver better results in 2016."

Renault is pushing hard to complete a deal to takeover Lotus and resurrect a works outfit. However, there remain some final hurdles before the plan is complete - the main one of which is that the French car manufacturer wants increased commercial rights income from FOM.

While Maldonado's future is secure, it is looking increasingly likely that Romain Grosjean will be leaving the outfit for Haas - with the Frenchman set to make a final decision about his plans next week.

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RED BULL: OUR MOST COMPETITIVE WEEKEND OF THE YEAR

Red Bull report from the Singapore Grand Prix, Round 13 of the 2015 Formula 1 World Championship, at Marina Bay Circuit.

Daniel Ricciardo: “I think this was our best chance of a win and we got close, so we can be proud of what we did. We have made the most of our opportunities here. At the start Seb just went away and then I was coming back to him and if it hadn’t been for the Safety Car, we’d have got pretty close and maybe an undercut would have been possible at the pit stop. Making both stops under the safety car affected our chances and I think that dictated the race really. In the first stint we were coming on quite strong, with Seb pushing hard to break the DRS gap. But as the laps were ticking down, we were starting to come alive and I was able to lean on the tyres a bit more. Then I was frustrated to see the Safety Car come out, but I knew I still had to make one more stop so I had one more chance. But Seb seemed to have learned from the first stint and started easier than in the first one and was able to pull away later. I was able to close on him again, before we had another Safety Car. That was that really because it’s hard to overtake here. We got the fastest lap right at the end and we can be proud of that. Moving forward, Suzuka is usually a good track for us, although I don’t expect to do as well as there, but we can aim for the top five. It’s good to get another podium, I’m really happy for the team. The last few races the chassis has really come alive so thanks to the guys for that.”

Daniil Kvyat: “I was unlucky with the timing of the Safety Car as I pitted a lap before it came out. It seemed the Safety Cars didn’t like me at all today, it must be something personal! But that’s life. That worked against us and it wasn’t a good race for me, but we couldn’t have done anything else. I lost two places to Mercedes after the first stop and a place to Bottas after the second one. After that, I was always in traffic behind cars that were a tiny bit faster down the straights, which was just enough for me to be unable to pass. On the plus side, we kept it on the track and scored some points. The team did a very good job this weekend and the car worked very well. 8 points is the maximum we could have got with all that bad luck. My time will come. Our car has always worked well in the corners, so our team’s result here is not so surprising.”

Christian Horner, Team Principal: “A great performance by Daniel today in what was our most competitive weekend of the year. He pushed all the way from start to finish, but he was a bit unlucky with the Safety Cars. Our pace was better during the last part of the stints than the Ferrari, and the Safety Cars came at the right time to give Ferrari and Sebastian a bit of a breather. But nonetheless, a fantastic performance to finish second. Dany was unlucky with the timing of both the Virtual Safety Car and the Safety Car itself, which cost him places to both Rosberg and Bottas through no fault of his own. But a good collection of points for the team as we head into Japan. Congratulations to Sebastian, both he and Daniel were in a league of their own today.”

Matthieu Dubois, Renault: “After a very long two hours, we are all glad to see four Renault cars in the points. It was a great second place for Daniel, who kept everything under control as the race took different turns. Unfortunately for Daniil we pitted twice just seconds before the safety cars and lost out to Mercedes and Bottas in the operation. It is nice to see our hard work is starting to bear fruit from both reliability and performance perspectives and we are very much looking

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Verstappen not in trouble with Toro Rosso over team orders

Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost says that he was happy for Max Verstappen to keep his position ahead of teammate Carlos Sainz even after being asked by the team to move aside.

Verstappen and Sainz were running eighth and ninth in the closing stages of the race, at which point the latter, running on newer tyres, requested over team radio to be let through to have a chance at passing seventh place man Sergio Perez.

But after Verstappen said “no!” to the instruction when asked to move by, Tost said in retrospect that it was the right for the Dutchman to be allowed to keep the place because Sainz lacked the pace to overhaul Perez.

“Carlos had new tyres, [and asked] therefore [if the drivers] can switch positions,” explained the Austrian.

“But Carlos was too slow, he was too far behind – and then we said no, Max is right, because Carlos was too slow and could not have caught Perez.

“Therefore we said no, it doesn’t make sense. Carlos was also three to five tenths behind [Verstappen]; he had to be closer for us to switch positions."

Explaining his side of the story, Sainz said: “I saw what Red Bull did in Monaco [where Ricciardo and Kvyat swapped positions] and said ‘this is the best thing you can do’ – play the team game and let the guy on a newer tyre, that was me, try, at least have one shot."

“If I can’t [pass Perez], Max finishes P8 and me P9, not a problem. I just wanted one shot, he never gave it to me.

“It’s not an issue for me, but sometimes you have to think about the team and not just yourself.”

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TORO ROSSO: WE REALLY HAVE A COMPETITIVE CAR

Toro Rosso report from the Singapore Grand Prix, Round 13 of the 2015 Formula 1 World Championship, at Marina Bay Circuit.

Max Verstappen: “It was an amazing race, I enjoyed it a lot! After stalling at the start I thought it was over, as I was pushed to the pit-lane and then re-joined the race one lap behind… But I just kept on pushing and to finish P8 is just fantastic! My pace was great and once again I really enjoyed all the overtaking! I don’t think there was any reason for me to give up my position after going from being one lap behind to being back in the points, I think I deserved that P8.”

Carlos Sainz: “It was certainly an eventful race! I had a good start, some very good pace at the beginning and the strategy was looking great. Suddenly, during the restart of the race after the first Safety Car, my gearbox went into neutral and I found myself at the back of the field. Then I started to overtake and have a lot of fun, climbing back up to P9, behind Max, who was pushing Perez. After seeing him try to overtake him for 10 laps, I just thought maybe I could try during one lap, and if I hadn’t been able to I would’ve given the position back to Max. I just wanted my chance, but he decided not to give it to me. It’s something we need to talk about as a team, but overall I have to say that I’m very happy to have finished in the points again! Let’s keep on pushing, the next race in Japan is only seven days away!”

Franz Tost (Team Principal): “The beginning of the race was quite a big shock, as Max stalled the engine and could not start the race from his well-deserved P8 on the grid. We have to find out what happened, because the anti-stall should have prevented this from happening. We were lucky with the Safety Car, and Max was able to catch-up after being a lap down. He drove a fantastically, with his lap times within the top five throughout the whole race. Towards the end he was fighting with Perez for P7, but unfortunately he wasn’t able to overtake him. Nevertheless, his eight position, under the circumstances of his race, is a success. Carlos struggled a bit at the beginning because after yesterday’s crash in qualifying, he was forced to start from P14. After the Safety Car, he had a short technical issue, going into neutral, which we also need to investigate to understand why it happened. He lost a lot of positions because of this. At the end of the race, we thought that Carlos would catch Max faster, because he had new Option tyres on, while Max had fitted used Options. Therefore, we calculated that Carlos could’ve had a better chance to attack Perez, but he didn’t close the gap to Max well enough to really demonstrate that he could do this, so there was no reason to end up swapping their positions. I must say that the performance from the car and the drivers was really fantastic and the new upgrades worked well. I’d like to congratulate the Aero department for their great job back at the factory, because here at the track we’ve confirmed that all their calculations were actually valid. The Vehicle Performance group has also worked very well, because we really have a competitive car, which makes me confident we can also do a good job next week in Suzuka – I look forward to it!”

Cedrik Staudohar (Renault Sport F1 track support leader) “Overall it was a very good race and weekend, although we could have achieved a better result without the stall on the grid from Max. The engines worked perfectly all weekend and the crew did a great job trackside to ensure we had no issues. Let’s continue in this form to ensure more good results for the team in the forthcoming races.”

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Ferrari asked to apologise for parc ferme incident

Ferrari has been asked to apologise for an incident in parc ferme after the Singapore Grand Prix, but no further action will be taken.

The Italian team, which took its third win of the season at Marina Bay, was summoned to see the stewards for a breach of article 12.1.1.i of the International Sporting Code.

The FIA said some of Ferrari's team members had behaved "in an inappropriate manner" after the race.

Ferrari mechanics reportedly pushed track officials holding a barrier to join the celebrations.

It is also claimed that a number of team members aggressively pushed aside photographers who were in their usual place in the pit lane awaiting the return of Sebastian Vettel.

Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene has been asked to write an unconditional apology after the incident, but the team has escaped any other sanctions.

"The Stewards, having received a complaint from the Secretary of the Event on behalf of himself and the members of the security contingent at Post Race Parc Ferme, that some members of Scuderia Ferrari failed to obey instructions of relevant officials and behaved in an inappropriate manner, have heard from the Team Manager, the Secretary of the Event and the Head of the Security Contingent," said the FIA in a statement.

"The Team Representative has offered to have the Team Principal send a written unconditional apology to those who were affected and to give an assurance that there will not be a recurrence."

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SAUBER: POSITIVE END TO A WEEKEND IN WHICH WE MADE MISTAKES

The Sauber F1 Team scored another point in the Singapore Grand Prix – it was the fourth points-win in a row after the Grands Prix in Budapest, Spa-Francorchamps and Monza. During the night race on the equator, Felipe Nasr managed to clinch P10 and Marcus Ericsson took P11.

Also positive during this weekend was the analysis of the data collected from the new aerodynamic package on both Sauber C34-Ferrari. The Sauber F1 Team is very confident that it can show the full potential of this aero update at the coming race tracks.

Marcus Ericsson (car number 9) Sauber C34-Ferrari (Chassis 02/Ferrari)

• Start on supersoft tyres, after 10 laps change to soft tyres, after 28 laps change to supersoft tyres and after 36 laps change to soft tyres

“I was satisfied with my start, as well as my first lap. I managed to get Jenson (Button) with a good move. After that, I was pushing Felipe (Nasr) quite hard, but it is difficult to overtake on this track. However, after the first pit stop we unfortunately missed switching off the pit stop buttons on the steering wheel. I was then out on track with the brake balance for the pit stop procedure, which caused a massive lock up at the rear. That was unlucky. After that, I had quite a satisfying pace. Overall it is nice that Felipe scored one point, but for me it is a bit disappointing.”

Felipe Nasr (car number 12) Sauber C34-Ferrari (Chassis 03/Ferrari)

• Start on supersoft tyres, after 13 and 34 laps change to soft tyres

“It was a very challenging race for us today. We had planned a two-stopp-strategy, and we knew it would be difficult to make it into the points. It was going well as I was up in the top ten after the first safety car phase. Unfortunately, when the second safety car came in I lost front tyre temperatures. When the re-start happened my pace was not good enough. I lost a lot of ground and had to wait to let the tyres recover. However, in the end I am very happy for the team and also for myself to have scored one point. We did not have an easy weekend. It is good to have finished the race with some satisfaction.”

Monisha Kaltenborn, Team Principal: “Considering the results, it was a positive end to a race weekend during which we have made mistakes. Besides of that, we also had bad luck during the second safety car phase. The drivers did their best until the very end. The whole team showed a good performance in the heat of the Singapore night, and this point is well-deserved.”

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Button says Maldonado "won't ever change" after clash

McLaren's Jenson Button was critical of rival Pastor Maldonado after their incident during the Singapore Grand Prix, saying the Venezuelan "won't ever change" his "strange" driving.

Button lost part of his front wing after crashing into the back of Maldonado's Lotus while fighting for position near the end of the race.

The stewards investigated the incident, but deemed no further action was needed.

While Button said he did not believe he had been brake tested, the Briton felt Maldonado had been overly aggressive in their fight.

"I don't think he brake-tested me on the exit, but he didn't accelerate, so it was a bit of a surprise," said Button, who later retired from the race with car problems.

"It doesn't really matter anyway because we wouldn't have finished anyway.

"He was trying to block the inside line, so very strange.

"And the corner before that, he just drove me off the circuit. If there was a wall there I would have been in it. Very strange.

"He hasn't changed and he won't ever change."

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Hamilton thought win chance was on before loss of power

Lewis Hamilton believes he could have fought for victory in the Singapore Grand Prix until he was forced to retire when his Mercedes suffered a terminal loss of power.

The Briton was running in fourth position, one place higher than his grid slot of fifth, when he was suddenly caught and passed by teammate and title rival Nico Rosberg at mid-distance before sliding rapidly down the field.

Hamilton tried in vain to resolve the problem with help from the Mercedes pitwall, but opted to retire the car when it became clear that the issue would not be possible to cure, registering his first DNF of the season and reducing his title advantage over Rosberg to 41 points.

Speaking afterwards, Hamilton believes his pace on the soft tyre, while his rivals were on super-softs, could have put him contention to fight for victory until his misfortune struck.

“I was feeling good out there, so optimistic – I was on prime and guys in front of the option, and I felt I was easily keeping up with them and more pace in the car,” he said.

“I was getting excited for pit stops, in my mind I thought I might have the chance to win the race – but then I lost power.”

Asked if answers were needed about a sub-par weekend for the Mercedes team in general, Hamilton added: “Definitely. We should not have been in the position we were in anyway.

“You can say some of the others have a better car here, but maybe by a maximum of half a second, so not a second and a half.

“We definitely have to work out what it was and we will work hard to work out what it was.”