Ferrari might have cracked it but F1 gimmicks get short shrift | Giles Richards

Ferrari step forward

The Scuderia’s one-two in Singapore suggested they may finally have brought the SF90 up to speed. Struggling through slow corners all season, the car at Marina Bay, with a swatch of upgrades, had the grip on turn-in and balance that allowed Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel really to attack the corners. Leclerc’s qualifying lap was a stunning piece of driving but he was able to do it because the car was where he wanted it. Though they looked resurgent, chicken counting is premature. As Lewis Hamilton pointed out, you do not find 30 points of downforce from nowhere. The car was once more in its window but it clearly works well on the C5 compound of tyre – the softest rubber Pirelli can offer. It was last used in Canada where Vettel also found the sweet spot. They have without doubt made a major improvement but performances in Sochi and Suzuka will prove just how far they have come. If Ferrari do maintain this form, they will be at the front of the field.

Right call not conspiracy

Leclerc was aggrieved at the pitstop strategy where Vettel passed him for track position and ultimately the win. However, after being debriefed by the team the Monegasque accepted their decision to pit Vettel first made sense. Theories that Ferrari were favouring Vettel after Leclerc failed to give him a tow in qualifying at Monza simply do not hold up. Instead Ferrari made another well-judged strategy call, reflecting a team operationally on form. In first and third on track, they pitted Vettel to cover Max Verstappen and with hope that he might undercut Hamilton. They, as with every other team, had not anticipated the huge undercut that the hard tyres offered – a 3.9-second advantage. Vettel flew on his out lap while Leclerc, despite the pedestrian pace of the first 19 laps, discovered that, when asked to push, his soft tyres had gone. Both were circumstances the team had not expected, rather than conspiracy. Their call was undeniably right. They had a one-two on track and had forced Mercedes into an alternate strategy that failed.

Mercedes wrong-footed

Not only did Ferrari find outstanding pace but Mercedes were not at their usual level of flawless execution. Ferrari went all out for a qualifying setup, which proved to be vital. With Ferrari’s weakness through slow corners Mercedes, understandably perhaps, expected to have an advantage and had consequently concentrated on a strong race setup. They were clearly quicker on the long runs in practice but come Saturday morning, when the Ferraris came alive, the Mercedes’ single-lap pace looked under threat and so it was. With track position so important Ferrari’s qualifying allowed them to dictate the race, hence the slow pace at the start to back up the midfield to prevent an aggressive undercut from behind. Mercedes then rejected Hamilton’s request to try an undercut and their gamble to send him long failed. Their chief strategist, James Vowles, admitted responsibility. Mercedes, however, will doubtless learn their lessons. Similar miscalculations in Germany were immediately followed by a strategic masterclass in Hungary.

Lewis Hamilton had to settle for fourth place



Lewis Hamilton had to settle for fourth place. Photograph: Pixathlon/REX/Shutterstock

Short shrift for reverse grids

F1’s sporting director, Ross Brawn, has long been considering the format of race weekends as part of his process of reinventing the sport for 2021. He has said they are to try some new ideas in 2020, especially for Friday and Saturday – including the possibility of a sprint race and changes to qualifying. Ferrari’s team principal, Mattia Binotto, has said these have, in principle, already been agreed for three races in 2020.

One of the ideas that has been mooted, however, was dismissed by drivers in Singapore – that of replacing qualifying with a sprint race started in reverse championship order. Hamilton sighed with frustration at the concept. “The people who proposed that don’t really know what they are talking about,” he said. Vettel described it as: “Complete bullshit. I don’t know which genius came up with that.” Other series such as F2 do use reverse grids but, much as F1 can adapt, this would be a gimmick beneath the sport. The drivers’ reactions suggest it will not be part of the three race test weekends next season.

Singapore needs a revamp

Much as Marina Bay at night sells its rich visual spectacle, on track the race was again less than gripping. Indeed , for all that broadcasters eulogise over how it looks, with grandiose helicopter shots of pleasure palace hotels looming over the circuit, it is simply window dressing for a race where out at the front it was a procession decided by strategy. Had it taken place in daylight, this would have been eerily similar to some of the least enlivening meetings at Valencia.

There was overtaking and there were battles lower in the field but largely because of drivers being out of position. Hamilton asked the media if they had been “bored” and described it as “worse than Monaco almost”. It is a tough mental and physical test but that does not translate well into entertainment for fans. Nor does the near impossibility of overtaking in similarly matched cars, as proved by the top six. Hamilton at least had a suggestion that the organisers might think on: if the final corner were a tight hairpin, drivers could close properly on one another before the straight.

source: theguardian.com