Four talking points from a tight‑run Singapore GP

The win ended a 13-month, 22-race drought for Vettel since the Belgian GP last year, as he noses ahead of Lewis Hamilton as the driver with the most wins in Singapore – five since the first race in Marina Bay back in 2008. 

And with Charles Leclerc finishing a disgruntled second, it also marks Ferrari’s first one-two since the 2017 Hungarian GP. So a good day for the reds, all in all – even if the team faced some awkward questions afterwards and had to ‘manage’ the disappointment of Leclerc.

Ferrari’s strategy conundrum

The race around the spectacular street circuit had plenty of action, especially in the midfield, but it was also a prime example of how Formula 1 can frustrate both its drivers and fans in its current state. And the conundrum it created directly led to Leclerc losing this race.

Vettel hadn’t performed badly in qualifying, but the fact remained he was beaten on Saturday for the eighth consecutive race by his team-mate who took pole position. Seb lined up third behind Hamilton. But in the race, despite where he qualified, it was Vettel who made the vital single stop first rather than Leclerc. Unusual when a team’s leading car is usually given the priority.

What happened here? Was this underhand on Ferrari’s part? Actually, that’s highly unlikely.

The team recognised Vettel was under threat from Max Verstappen in fourth, spotted a chance to undercut Hamilton for second and also feared dropping Vettel into the packed midfield, which was particularly tightly bunched because of the artificially slow pace.

Why artificially? Because drivers were forced to lap off their ultimate speed to ensure their Pirelli tyres lasted long enough to stick to the optimum one-stop strategy that is the only realistic way to run this race competitively. The drivers don’t enjoy it and no one wants to see it, but in Singapore that was how the teams had to approach it. Tyres too often undermine this era and on Sunday they did so once again.

Leclerc pitted only a lap later than his team-mate, but such was Vettel’s pace on his new hard-compound tyres he was surprised to find himself looking at his team-mate’s gearbox when resuming. To be fair, so was the team – genuinely. 

Given how Leclerc lost the lead through no fault of his own, should the team have swapped the red cars around? Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto said not. “He lost on strategy, but Sebastian drove very well,” he said. The main thing from the team’s point of view was it claimed an unexpected one-two – and the order of its drivers didn’t really matter.

It sure did for Vettel and Leclerc, of course – although the 21-year-old showed his maturity once again by not allowing his anger to spill over into an unsettling rant. As for Vettel, he drove with the commitment that we’ve come to expect from him, although his aggressive dive inside Daniil Kvyat while battling back to the front after his stop could have ended in embarrassment. Had Kvyat not given him room, the four-time champ could easily have extended his list of season errors. Small margins.

A poor day for Mercedes

So no Mercedes on the podium – and on a circuit where the team usually excels. What on earth happened?

With Leclerc ahead of him, Hamilton and his team were caught in a tricky spot that was made tougher by Vettel’s early-stop gamble paying off. On the backfoot, the team calculated the only choice was for Lewis to go long, then hand the five-time champ a tyre advantage for the second half of the race.

But the strategy dropped Hamilton behind Verstappen and with three safety car periods allowing the leading trio to nurse their tyres, he never had a hope of making up what he had lost.

Hamilton even had to rely on his team-mate Valtteri Bottas’s help to keep fourth, the Finn being ordered to lap even slower to thwart a threat from Alexander Albon’s Red Bull. That stung for Bottas, but it’s clear the fizz is completely flat when it comes to their title battle. The main priority on Sunday was to nudge Lewis a little closer to his sixth title. And that’s all the team could do.

Albon and Norris shine again

Both Albon and Lando Norris admitted the race had been dull and uneventful for them, especially because of its pacemaker/tyre management complexion. Nevertheless, a second consecutive sixth place – and a third in five races – highlights just how accomplished Albon is proving to be. No wonder Red Bull promoted him in favour of Pierre Gasly over the summer break. Will he hold on to this plum drive for 2020? He’s certainly building a convincing case for Helmut Marko and Christian Horner to consider.

As for Norris, his best-of-the-rest seventh place was all anyone could possibly expect from him here – and arguably more given the experienced drivers who finished behind him. The result also consolidated McLaren’s fourth place in the constructors’ table and the young Brit continues to impress everyone with his maturity and nerveless ability to deliver.

Top drivers dismiss reverse-grid idea

Away from the race itself, it was also notable to hear how dismissive Vettel, Leclerc, Hamilton and Verstappen were after qualifying about an idea floating around Singapore that F1 will experiment with reverse-grid Saturday races in 2020.

The suggestion is a popular one on fan forums and among some members of the media, too – but as always, it’s not a bad idea to ask the drivers what they think. Those admittedly with the most to lose gave it short shrift.

“The people that proposed that don't really know what they are talking about,” was Hamilton’s response (before adding a rude word). But even a driver with more to gain, such as Daniil Kvyat, branded the idea as nothing more than a “band aid”.

Rather than adding another layer of fakery to what’s supposed to be the pinnacle of motorsport, time would be better spent looking closer at the sources of discontent. It’s hardly news, but Pirelli’s tyres would be a great place to start.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.