#F1 Singapore Airlines #SingaporeGP 2022 Preview. #Formula1

2022 Singapore GP Preview – After Max Verstappen recovered once again from a grid-starting penalty to win the Italian Grand Prix to edge ever closer to his second consecutive World Driver’s title, round 17 of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship returns to the streets of Marina Bay in Singapore under the lights this weekend for the Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2022. This will be the thirteenth running of the Singapore Grand Prix as part of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship and the first time the sport returns to Singapore after a three-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.

 

 

2022 Singapore GP Preview – A look at the Marina Bay Street Circuit

 

 

The Marina Bay Street Circuit is a street circuit around Singapore’s Marina Bay in a harbour-side similar in style to the Circuit de Monaco (Monaco Grand Prix). The circuit is designed by KBR.inc, a modification of the original one first proposed by Hermann Tilke.

 

It is a twisty circuit that is the slowest in Formula 1 running at normal race distance above 305 kilometres (190 miles) which features walls leading to frequent safety cars, regularly nudging the race distance above two hours. The bumpiness, heavy braking zones, lack of daylight and humidity makes the 61-lap race very demanding for both man and machine. It has some 90-degree turns, but is pretty variable, featuring technical sections and quick direction changes. Overtaking is mostly done at the end of the first sector, where top speeds are at their highest. Runoff areas exist at the end of the long straights but are very short by Formula 1 standards. At most parts of the circuit, cars run very close to the walls.

 

The Marina Bay Street Circuit has undergone a couple of changes since being part of the Formula 1 Calendar since 2008 including a slight re-profiling of the circuit in 2009 where turns 1, 2 and 3 were modified to aid overtaking and also turn 10 (formerly Singapore Sling) where high kerbs caused many accidents. In 2013, a configuration change of the “Singapore Sling” turn 10 with a single apex left hand bend which has seen corner entry speeds up to 40km/h faster. This year it has undergone minor changes ahead of this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, the modifications run from turn 11 to 13; drivers will still turn right at turn 11 but it will now kink to the left slightly on entry with the track shifting to the left-hand side of Fullerton Road. This will change the profile of turn 12, as drivers will now use the other side of Anderson Bridge while the turn 13 hairpin has been widened by a metre to increase overtaking opportunities.

 

While in Monza the cars ran in a low downforce configuration, Singapore requires a high downforce configuration. The cars run at 46% full throttle over a lap and the circuit is one the least fuel-efficient races of the year due to its stop-start nature. Marina Bay is also very tough on brakes, with about a quarter of the lap spent braking and while wear is not a major difficulty, problems are caused by the temperatures the brakes reach due to a lack of opportunities for cooling. After the power and speed circuits of Spa and Monza, Singapore will require different attributes which could pay in the favour of both Ferrari and Red Bull and bring them a lot closer to Mercedes.

 

The Marina Bay Street Circuit is 5.063km (3.147mi) in length with 23 corners and runs in an anti-clockwise direction.

 

Race distance is 308.828km (191.897mi) in length with 61 laps in total.

 

Kevin Magnussen holds the fastest lap record with a 1:41.905 set at last year’s event in his Ferrari-powered Haas F1 Team VF-18.

 

Sebastian Vettel holds the record for most victories at the Singapore Grand Prix with five to his name.

 

Scuderia Ferrari and Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport are the most successful constructors at the Singapore Grand Prix with four victories each to their respective names.

---

2022 Singapore GP Preview – A Lap of The Marina Bay Street Circuit

 

 

Here is the onboard pole position lap of the Marina Bay Street Circuit from the 2019 event, set by Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque-driver posted a solid 1:36.217. You can watch the onboard right here at the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQOott2hdcs

---

2022 Singapore GP Preview – The Last Five Winners

 

 

2021-20: Not Held. 2019: Sebastian Vettel, Scuderia Ferrari. 2018: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1. 2017: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1. 2016: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG F1. 2015: Sebastian Vettel, Scuderia Ferrari.

---

2022 Singapore GP Preview – Tyres

 

 

Pirelli will be bringing with them to Marina Bay, the softest compounds in its range; the white-side walled P Zero C3 Hards, the yellow-branded P Zero C4 Mediums and the red-marked P Zero C5 Soft tyre along with the green-marked Intermediate and blue-branded full wet tyre in case of rain.

 

Drivers will have eight sets of the C5 softs, three sets of the C4 mediums and two sets of the C3 hards.

---

ICYMI: Italian GP Rewind – Verstappen takes Italian GP victory as race ends under safety car

 

 

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen made another recovery drive to overcome a grid penalty and jumped Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to claim the Italian GP victory and denied the Scuderia a win on home soil as Mercedes’ George Russell completes the top three.

 

Pole-sitter Leclerc went onto a two-stop strategy to defy expectation, but his late charge on fresher rubber failed to produce enough pace to hunt down the World Driver’s Championship leader as Verstappen pushed from seventh.

 

Leclerc had his hoped boosted by a late safety car intervention that had the potential to change the complexion of the closing stages, but it was to slow to pick up the race leaders and denied an exciting dash to the end and hampered any Ferrari comeback.

 

This allowed Verstappen to clinch his 31^st-career victory, fifth in a row and 11^th of the season to close within two more wins of the record for the most successful Formula 1 season.

 

After changing his internal combustion engine after advice from engine-supplier Honda, Verstappen started seventh due to a five-grid penalty following his flyer for second in qualifying.

 

When the 53 lap Italian GP began, Verstappen’s RB18 racer began the race on the C4 red side-walled softer compound to get a great run off the line to take fifth rapidly following an anti-stall trigger for third-placed starting McLaren of Lando Norris and an overtake on Alpine’s Fernando Alonso.

 

Verstappen kept charging in the early proceedings of the 100^th anniversary race at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza. The Dutchman demoted AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly for fourth place at the end of the opening tour before passing last year’s Italian Grand Prix winner Daniel Ricciardo under-braking into the Variante Del Rettifilo Chicane for a provisional podium.

 

This only left Leclerc and second-place starter Russell up in-front, the Mercedes held strong after missing the first chicane whilst battling the Ferrari for the lead.

 

Despite the F1 W13 racer separating the duo, Leclerc and Verstappen kept setting early fastest laps as a 2.5 net split the opponents.

 

Then the Red Bull took second place with a solid run out of Ascari before using DRS and the slipstream to overtake Russell down the main-straight to set up the fight for the win.

 

With Verstappen a couple of tenths quicker per tour, Ferrari attempted to use the virtual safety car as a strategy twist – which was deployed when Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel pulled off with a smoky engine – to give Leclerc a cheap pit-stop.

 

The Monegasque driver came in on lap 13 for a set of C3 yellow-marked mediums with a fast 2.2 stop just as the green flags were waved for the Grand Prix to resume and dented the effectiveness of the undercut and Leclerc was released into third and 18 seconds behind.

 

Despite his older softs, Verstappen managed to hold onto a decent pace – only lapping 0.5 seconds slower than Leclerc whilst holding a 10.2 second gap to Russell as Leclerc was a further 4.1 adrift.

 

As the Ferrari F1-75 entry began to make gains, Verstappen came in for mediums on the 26^th tour and with a 2.4 second stop, he emerged a touch over ten seconds behind the race leader.

 

Verstappen’s fresher tyres allowed the Red Bull driver to cut the gap to 5.4 seconds when Ferrari brought Leclerc in again on the 34^th lap for softs for a straight run to the chequered flag, the Red Bull returned in second place over Russell.

 

Leclerc’s initial stint was gloomy, but he managed to increase his speed to lap 0.4 seconds quicker than Verstappen as the gap sat at 18 seconds with ten laps remaining.

 

But a lifeline came on the 47^th tour as Ricciardo parked his Mercedes-powered MCL36 racer out of Ascari with an engine failure to deploy the safety car, which came out late, but Verstappen stopped next time round for fresh softs and Leclerc went onto a scrub set of C4’s along with Russell in third.

 

With the field all spread out, the safety car picked up Russell instead and then the lapped cars of Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas and AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda split the lead pairing, plus the McLaren took time to be cleared by the crane, the Grand Prix was not restarted to deny a dash to the flag.

 

Thus, Verstappen secured the Italian GP victory over Leclerc to extend his championship lead to 116 points and could secure his back-to-back title in Singapore should the Dutchman win, and the Ferrari driver retire.

 

Russell rounded out the top three for Mercedes.

 

The other Ferrari F1-75 entry of Carlos Sainz put in a fast-opening stint after starting at the back-of-the-pack due to his grid penalty and recovered to finish fourth.

 

Mercedes’ Sir Lewis Hamilton done similar notably holding onto his ragged Silver Arrow whilst hunting former McLaren team-mate Alonso plus performing a solid double overtake on Norris and Gasly to snag fifth in the classification.

 

The other Red Bull RB18 entry of Sergio Perez was able to reach the end despite a persistent brake-fire at his opening stop for C2 white-branded harder compounds as Norris claimed seventh place over Gasly.

 

Reigning Formula E World Champion Nyck De Vries equalled Williams Racing’s best result of the 2022 campaign in ninth for his impressive debut appearance filling in for appendicitis side-line Alexander Albon.

 

Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN’s Zhou Guanyu, rounded out the top ten and in-front of Alpine F1 Team’s Esteban Ocon who was 11^th and Haas F1 Team’s Mick Schumacher who placed 12^th.

 

Behind Bottas and Tsunoda who were 13^th and 14^th respectively, Williams Racing’s Nicholas Latifi and Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen (hit with a five-second timed penalty for missing the Variante Del Rettifilo Chicane) completing the running drivers.

 

Alongside Ricciardo and Vettel, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Alonso (suspected water pump problem) were forced to retire early.

---

2022 Singapore GP Preview – The Situation

 

 

Max Verstappen returns to Marina Bay sitting on top of the World Driver’s Championship with 335 points and a 116 point-advantage over Charles Leclerc who is second on 219 points whilst Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez is a further 125 behind the Dutchman in third on 210 points.

 

Verstappen can wrap up his second consecutive World Drivers’ Championship crown. He needs to outscore rival Leclerc by 22 points, team-mate Perez by 13 and Mercedes’ George Russell by six. Verstappen will secure the title if he wins the race with the bonus fastest lap bonus point with Leclerc outside the top seven and Perez outside the top three. If Verstappen wins the Grand Prix, without securing the fastest lap bonus point, he can secure his back-to-back title if Leclerc finishes outside the top eight, and Perez finishes outside the top four with the fastest lap, or the top three without it.

 

Oracle Red Bull Racing come to Singapore comfortably at the top of the Constructors Championship with 575 points and a 169 point-lead over nearest rival Scuderia Ferrari who are second on 406 points while Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team are third and a further 204 behind the Milton Keynes based-outfit on 371 points.

---

2022 Singapore GP Preview – F1 Driver Market News

 

 

• Williams Racing on Friday announced that it has parted ways with Nicholas Latifi at the end of the 2022 season and the conclusion of the Canadian’s current contract. Latifi made his debut with the Grove based-squad at the 2020 season-opening Austrian Grand Prix and has so far made 55 Grand Prix starts, scored seven world driver’s championship points. After confirming that Alexander Albon will continue next campaign and beyond, Williams will announce it’s 2023 full driver line-up in due course. Latifi stated: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at Williams Racing – all the people back at the factory and those I work with trackside – for the last three years. My initial F1 debut was postponed due to the pandemic but we eventually got going in Austria and, although we have not achieved the results together, we hoped we would, it’s still been a fantastic journey. Getting those first points in Hungary last year was a moment I’ll never forget, and I will move onto the next chapter of my career with special memories of my time with this dedicated team. I know none of us will stop putting in every effort until the end of the season.” Latifi concluded. Credit to Williams Racing for the quote.

 

• Last Thursday, Scuderia AlphaTauri revealed that Yuki Tsunoda has extended his contract for another season, following his first successful two campaigns in Formula One. The Japanese driver, who was 38 Grand Prix appearances so far under his belt – had a rapid path towards the pinnacle of motorsport, rising quickly through the lower formulae and proved during his rookie season in the sport that he was a promising talent, finishing the final race in the 2021 season in the top four. After a move to the outfit’s base in Faenza, Tsunoda is fully engaged with the team, continuing to work hard both on and off the track. Team Principal Franz Tost said: “As we’ve seen since he joined us last year, Yuki is a very talented driver and has improved a lot this season. The pace he has shown recently is clear evidence of a steep learning curve, which proves he deserves a seat in F1, and I still expect some strong results from him in the last six races of 2022. As I always say, a driver needs at least three years to fully get to grips with Formula 1, so I’m pleased he’s been given the time to show his full potential. In addition, it’s a testament to Dr. Marko and his driver programme that we’re able to bring these young talents up from the junior categories and develop them. I’d like to join Yuki in thanking Red Bull, AlphaTauri as well as Honda, for their continuous support and for allowing him to stay with us for another year.” Tost concluded. Credit to AlphaTauri for the quote.

 

• Yesterday, it was announced that Zhou Guanyu will remain an Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN driver in 2023. During a successful rookie campaign so far, the Chinese driver has demonstrated levels of maturity and race-craft that distort his young age, assisting with the team development of the car as it makes its way on course to potentially holding sixth place in the Constructors Championship. Zhou announced himself in the pinnacle of motorsport scoring points on debut in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, impressing the Hinwil-based outfit with his attitude and commitment, forming a strong partnership with team-mate, Valtteri Bottas and showing promising progress in his performance, in both qualifying and race-trim. Amongst Zhou’s qualities, his hard-working approach has been instrumental in earning the admiration of everyone at Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN; with the Chinese driver contributing to advancing the team’s driver simulator programme and has pushed hard to extract the maximum of the Ferrari-powered C42. With a successful debut season under his belt and the experience he has gained, Zhou will be aiming high to take the next step in his progression as a driver. Zhou stated: “I am happy and grateful to Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN for the opportunity to be part of the team for another season. Making it to Formula One was a dream come true and the feeling of competing for the first time in a race will live with me forever: the team has been incredibly supportive, welcoming me from day one and helping me adapt to the most complex series in motorsport. There is more that I want to achieve in this sport and with the team, and the hard work we have put together since the start of the year is just the first step towards where we want to be next season. There is still a lot to learn, a lot to develop but I am confident in our work: I am looking forward to the next chapter of our story together.”

---

F1 Sprint News – F1 Sprint Format to be held at six events in 2023

 

 

Formula One have increased the F1 Sprint events from three to six for the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship season and beyond.

 

The Sprint format was introduced in 2021 in addition to the usual race weekend format, with qualifying shifting to Friday and an extra 100-kilometre race slotting into Saturday’s schedule to se the grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix.

 

Yesterday, the World Motor Sport Council gave the green light for six Sprint events, with the confirmation of venues that will host them to be announced in due course.

 

Silverstone, Monza and Interlagos were the first trio to host the Sprint format in 2021, whilst Imola, the Red Bull Ring and Interlagos were selected for the current season.

 

“I am pleased that we can confirm six Sprints will be part of the Championship from 2023 onwards, building on the success of the new format introduced for the first time in 2021,” explained Formula 1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali.

 

“The Sprint provides action across three days with the drivers all fighting for something right from the start on Friday through to the main event on Sunday, adding more drama and excitement to the weekend,”

 

“The feedback from the fans, teams, promoters, and partners has been very positive and the format is adding a new dimension to Formula 1, and we all want to ensure its success in the future.” Domenicali concluded. Credit to F1 for the quote.

 

Click here for Formula 1 2022 World Driver’s (Top 10) and Constructors Championship Standings

 

The Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2022 weekend begins Friday September 30 with Free Practice 1 and 2, followed by Free Practice 3 and Qualifying Saturday October 1 and the 61 lap Race Sunday October 2.