After a dramatic qualifying session for the Singapore Grand Prix, here are five key talking points from an exciting session.
Things we Learned from Singapore Qualifying
Vettel is very much a Singapore specialist
A 3-time winner and now a 3-time pole-sitter at Marina Bay, Vettel was in the form which he so often produced during the Saturday dominance of his Red Bull years – romping to his first pole since 2013.
He already had pole in the bag before he emphasised his superiority in the dying seconds of qualifying, and the margin was enough to make your eyes water. His half-second advantage over Daniel Ricciardo was one thing, but it was his gap of eight tenths to team-mate Kimi Raikkonen which truly raised eyebrows.
Much was made heading into this race weekend of the potential for Lewis Hamilton to equal Ayrton Senna’s record of eighth consecutive poles, yet Vettel was the one who resembled the Brazilian legend as he fiercely threw his Ferrari round the 23 bends to claim a dazzling pole position.
Even amid his comparative struggles in 2014, Vettel claimed a season-best second place in Singapore and today’s shock result is the ultimate clarification that the 4-time World Champion is the King of this extremely tough circuit. It was his breathtaking precision through the tight and twisty corners which set him apart on Saturday.
Red Bull have come on leaps and bounds
Red Bull, let’s not forget, were the fourth fastest team at the start of the season and despite persistent off-track talk of their fallout with Renault and their subsequent threats to quit the sport, they’ve made huge progress in recent races.
Second and fourth at Singapore represents their best qualifying result of the season and whilst the circuit may mitigate their horse-power deficit, they’ve been comfortably quicker than Mercedes all weekend.
The Bulls inherited their double podium-finish at Budapest in July, but could well earn the same result on pace alone in Sunday’s race and may even be eyeing a remarkable victory – particularly if they can nudge ahead of Vettel at the typically chaotic start.
The events this weekend prove that a Red Bull-Ferrari partnership would be a dangerous combination for the 2016 season, and may just persuade the bosses in Austria to relent in their continual threats to walk away.
Mercedes are far from unbeatable
You’d be foolish to assume that, on today’s evidence, Mercedes have been deposed from their F1 throne. In all likelihood, they will emphatically dismiss their doubters with a return to the top in Suzuka next weekend but the shock qualifying result shows that the Brackley outfit can indeed be beaten.
The vast majority of drivers, teams and indeed fans suspected that the Silver Arrows were ‘sandbagging’ throughout practice, despite the team insisting that they were keeping no pace in their pocket. Indeed, it transpired that they were simply off the pace in Singapore – suffering from tyre warm-up issues and a general lack of grip. Championship leader Hamilton was only a distant fifth, two tenths ahead of team-mate Nico Rosberg – both over 1.5 seconds off Vettel’s benchmark.
With overtaking notoriously difficult at Marina Bay and the team not necessarily, as Friday’s long runs would suggest, faster than their competitors, you would have to imagine that they won’t be adding an eleventh victory to their 2015 tally on Sunday. In fact, a podium would represent a ‘solid’ result for the uncharacteristically struggling team.
A much more competitive, and unpredictable, qualifying session was long overdue and perhaps that should be how it is at every race weekend. It was an encouraging potential advertisement for the 2016 season – when it is expected to be much closer at the top.
Verstappen is up to the Singapore test
For a driver of just 17, the prospect of facing the intense heat and humidity in Singapore must be a daunting one. Yet Max Verstappen, who qualified an impressive eighth, once again proved that he is an old head on young shoulders.
As Toro Rosso team-mate Carlos Sainz wilted under the pressure, sliding agonisingly into the wall in the dying stages of Q2, Verstappen kept his head to calmly navigate his way into the top-10 shoot-out.
The Dutchman then managed to split the two Williams drivers, putting him in an excellent position to add to his tally of 26 points in Sunday’s race. The 61-lap, 2-hour Grand Prix will no doubt prove gruelling for the rookie but he’ll likely be able to battle through – perhaps executing a few ambitious overtaking manoeuvres along the way.
As the hype surrounding the teenager’s debut season has cooled, he has settled in nicely to the top tier of racing. Now beginning to operate under the radar and build some consistency, he has staved off the tough test posed by opposite number and fellow rookie Sainz. Verstappen, remember, is approaching the one-year anniversary of his first FP1 outing; how perceptions of him have changed since then.
McLaren’s chassis may not be THAT good
After two excruciating weekends at Spa and Monza – two tracks which exposed their crippling lack of power, McLaren were much more confident heading to Singapore. The team have often boasted that their chassis is among the best on the grid, putting their 2015 woes down to Honda’s under-performing power unit.
Qualifying at Singapore provided the team with perhaps their best opportunity to make Q3 and they let it slip, albeit hampered by the aforementioned yellow flags following Sainz’s accident. The Woking outfit never really looked like they had the pace to trouble the top 10, and will be desperate to score on Sunday with opportunities to so limited before the season-end – given the dominance of ‘power circuits’ in the remaining six races.
The MP4-30 still seems to be suffering from the understeer which has plagued it ever since the season-opener, and it looks increasingly like there is no light at the end of the 2015 tunnel.
An ever-positive Jenson Button has faced, and expertly deflected, numerous questions about his future this weekend; it would certainly be sad to see such a great talent bow out with a whimper.
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