Sky F1's Martin Brundle reviews the Singapore GP and looks ahead to Japan and an answer to the 'Mercedes Mystery'
Thursday 24 September 2015 10:48, UK
Sorry for Mercedes Benz but I must say I found it refreshing to be talking about other teams and drivers for much of the race in Singapore.
It was a slow burn affair which built in suspense and drama as the 61 laps and two hours unfolded.
With 23 turns, the vast majority of them being similar 90-degree left and right hand 'block change' corners, it's no surprise that if you get the set up and tyre management wrong then you can be a mile off lap-time wise.
Suzuka will provide the answer as to whether the post-Spa mandatory increase in minimum tyre pressures has hurt Mercedes more. The Japanese classic has a dramatically different layout and much harder compound tyres.
I read the Singapore weekend like this. Ferrari have consistently improved their car and motor, and their drivers have dialled right into the improved combination with confidence. New parts introduced in Singapore worked particularly well and should be good for Suzuka too. Red Bull were always going to be strong around a corner-dominated circuit, and they've improved their car over the past few races as well. Mercedes never got on top of the incredibly peaky tyres which totally smothered their normal strengths.
Mercedes were closer in the race but there was never a point where it appeared they might win except for the tease when Sebastian Vettel was babysitting his tyres after the first Safety Car.
The two Safety Car periods fell within the pit-stop windows and so were routine for many but hurt the likes of Daniil Kvyat, who had pitted just before each one. The reason we have the tedious wait while allowing cars to unlap themselves before the Safety Car pits and racing resumes is to allow out-of-position cars back into the race. On balance I'm still of the opinion that it makes the whole procedure too long, but on this occasion it did bring the sensational Max Verstappen back on to the lead lap.
His rapid lap times and overtaking skills would eventually see him placed eighth. As as a former driver and driver manager - just like his dad Jos Verstappen - I would always take the position of being extremely reluctant to hand places over to team-mates, as Max was repeatedly asked to do with the following and equally impressive Carlos Sainz on potentially better tyres. Team bosses can moan and threaten but the result is in the bag and secretly they will admire you rather than see you as an easy touch. And after all that Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost sided with Verstappen.
My first ever race as a driver manager was Melbourne 1998 when 'my' driver David Coulthard was given misinformation after his team-mate Mika Hakkinen had mistakenly pitted, and unfairly forced to yield victory. He never fully recovered from that reputation-wise in my personal view. I can remember well the brutal shouting match I had with Ron Dennis.
I thought it was harsh that the Singapore stewards summarily punished Nico Hulkenberg for the contact with Felipe Massa without even interviewing him. The geography of the pit exit there makes visibility and feed-in quite difficult although different camera angles made it clearer that Hulkenberg very much knew Massa was in town. I spoke to one driver back at the hotel who was absolutely adamant that it was 100 per cent the fault of the German and that he should have left some space.
Former team-mates Vettel and Ricciardo were outstanding in the race. A Ferrari engine in the Red Bull might have made it closer but Vettel is the master of that circuit. His performance in the humid darkness and through this season tells me that there is championship number five waiting for him sooner than later, dressed in red.
I know well from when I walk the circuits during second free practice on Friday afternoons that even with the right tabard and pass it's difficult to get fully alongside the track. But, especially with street circuits, I guess it will never be impossible to block out everybody while leaving access for marshals and service/emergency vehicles. The clown who got on the track could have killed himself and a driver.
In a way Lewis Hamilton was lucky that he had a reliability issue when the team were having a bad weekend because it limited the damage to his championship lead over his team-mate. With Ferrari's pace and six tough races remaining he's still got to look over his shoulder. The early laps in Suzuka will be fascinating. This kind of relentless development race in Formula 1 never fails to impress me.
MB
