First day
The European part of the Formula 1 calendar came to an end, and after two consecutive victories of Charles Lecler in Belgium and Italy, the “royal races” moved to Singapore for the first night Grand Prix in history. Since 2008, pilots have the opportunity to compete after sunset on the narrow streets of a tiny state, essentially spending the second of the Monaco Grand Prix for the season, only at slightly higher speeds and with unusual landscapes in the background.
Comparison of the Singapore race with the most glamorous stage is not accidental - motor power is also not so important here, and therefore the chances of all teams to succeed become more equal. In addition, Mercedes is not as much dominant in the championship as at the beginning of the season, and this created an additional intrigue before the start. Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas have not long increased their lead in the championship. Although they are still far from the pursuers, Lecler wins back a few points with each race, and Max Verstappen, who went third, lost three points already before arriving in Singapore.
But Friday’s free rides on the Marina Bay, the most progressive racer failed. In the morning, when there was a slight haze over the track from forest fires in Indonesia, Leclair had a gearbox failure that prevented the completion of the first session. Problems also plagued Bottas, who first bent the rim and then completely crashed the car. Ferstappen on Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel on Ferrari burst forward, and Hamilton lost to them for half a second, which was not critical for such a long track.
A dramatic first session in Singapore 👀 Check out FP1 Highlights 🎥 # F1 # SingaporeGPpic.twitter.com / JExFYIGp0E
- Formula 1 (@ F1) September 20, 2019The second attempt, close to the combat conditions that awaited the pilots in the qualification and race, changed everything but one. Leclair was still far from the leaders of the peloton and could not even exceed the best time of Alexander Albon. Hamilton broke into first place, and Vettel fell behind him and Verstappen by several tenths of a second.
Sun down, lights out ... front wing off 😬
Alex Albon had an early setback in FP2 - but he bounced back to claim fifth-fastest time of the session # F1 # SingaporeGPpic.twitter.com / 8XNqcklD7X
Daniil Kvyat brought the first day in Singapore positive emotions. He showed seconds at the level of the first ten, and in the second training session he could not re-climb into it only because of the touch of the side.
Second day
But Saturday was for the Russian pilot a complete disappointment. At first, he learned that he would not go to Red Bull next season. Team sports consultant Marco Helmut said Quat will spend another year in their system, but Verstappen's partner will be chosen between Albon and Pierre Gasly, who has already experienced a drop this year.
This news was announced right before the third training session, at which Quata’s setbacks continued. After three laps, his car was smoking, and he had to return to the pits. Due to an oil leak, it was decided to replace the power plant. Fortunately, the Russian driver was not ordered to pay a fine - he got the already used motor.
Busy evening for Toro Rosso after this oil leak in FP3
Kvyat's car will be getting a new power unit (free of penalty) # F1 # SingaporeGPpic.twitter.com / pHSZvIfusi
In qualification, Kvyata no longer had the same speed. He did not make his way even into the second segment, showing the 16th time. One would have thought that the choice of the leadership of Red Bull was correct, but it is still unknown what his performance would have been if he had been informed about the permutations in the team later, and the old engine would continue to work as it should.
In turn, Leclair immediately cheered up the fans of the Italian stables, winning the final training, and then defeated Hamilton in qualifying. Things went sharply up in scuderia, and before the last attempt in the final segment, she even occupied the first starting row, but the British pilot removed Vettel to third position, but could not cope with Monegasque. Verstappen became Hamilton's neighbor in a row, while Bottas and Albon booked their next starting position.
A frustrating Friday turns into a super Saturday for @Charles_Leclerc and @ScuderiaFerrari 👀 🙌 # F1 # SingaporeGPpic.twitter.com / HjKpbkVCCr
- Formula 1 (@ F1) September 21, 2019Race
The start of the night race in Singapore turned out to be extremely calm - the entire first six retained their positions. However, behind the passion still raged. The last to start, Daniel Riccardo, clashed with Georger Russell, and Carlos Sainz earned a puncture in a clash with Nico Hulkenberg. All this turmoil allowed Kvyat to temporarily rise to 11th place.
However, the Russian quickly began to lose ground and opened a series of pit stops, although the leaders were not the middle ones on the softest tires. Pilot Toro Rosso chose the strongest rubber, hoping to get it to the finish line, but his team did not take into account the high accident rate of Marina Bay, and she still had to make herself felt.
LAP 10/61
The Daniel Ricciardo Grand Prix is really hotting up 🔥
He now squeezes past Kvyat for P12! # F1 # SingaporeGPpic.twitter.com / 3C91LTu3iD
After entering the pits, the leader six completely rebuilt. Leclair was behind Vettel, Verstappen took virtual third place, Bottas and Albon were behind. Hamilton for a long time squeezed the last juice out of the tires, hoping for Vettel getting into the traffic. However, the World Cup leader returned to the track behind both Ferrari and Verstappen cars. The leading three by that time turned out to be quite unusual - Antonio Giovinazzi, Pierre Gasli and Daniel Riccardo led the peloton for some time due to late pit stops.
LAP 21/61
Leclerc pits ... and rejoins BEHIND team mate Vettel! 😱 # F1 # SingaporeGPpic.twitter.com / UYNoRDlWrv
Gradually, everyone who needed to change tires parted in front of the favorites, and they took their rightful places. Lecler drove the circles faster than anyone and tried to overtake Vettel, but his plans were not destined to come true. The race began to break the constant trips of the safety car, either due to accidents, or due to a simple stop Sergio Perez. Quat took the moment to dump the slowest tires and take the fastest. After the second restart, the Russian’s chances for points were quite high, yet he was 12th and had the optimal rubber composition for attacks.
However, 14 laps before the finish, Kvyat faced Raikkonen, who did not expect a late attack by the pilot Toro Rosso. The incident was absolutely racing, but the Finn did not recover from it, and the Russian lost several positions. Interestingly, after that he owned the best lap in the race for a while, but Kevin Magnussen showed even faster seconds.
⚠️ SAFETY CAR DEPLOYED (LAP 50/61) ⚠️
Kvyat and Raikkonen crash at Turn 1!
The Iceman retires 😕 # F1 # SingaporeGPpic.twitter.com / n1OoNCSoSu
Meanwhile, the leaders of the race tried their best to drive the entire distance to the end - there was a danger that it would not work to meet the two-hour limit. Ferrari was no longer worried about its winning double, and Verstappen had to worry, fighting off Hamilton's attacks. As a result, the leading three remained unchanged. Vettel won his first victory in 2018, Lecler remained in second place. At the Russian Grand Prix, where the Formula 1 pilots will perform next time, the Monegasque will take third place in the standings of the World Cup.
Career victory number 53 for Seb 👊
And that's 5⃣ under the lights of Singapore! # F1 # SingaporeGPpic.twitter.com / E0MRSAxqlG