Come September, the F1 circus returns to Asia in style. The only night race on F1 calender is packed with some extra action and glamour compared to any other race. The grand prix is filled with history of safety cars and is on time limit of two hours. Redbull's Sebastian Vettel has taken last two wins. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso won back in 2008 and 2010 with Mercedes Lewis Hamilton in 2009 (Mclaren).
Lets take a look at qualifying and race positions of former race winners from last four years.
Year Driver Qualifying position(Row) Race position
2009 Lewis Hamilton 1(1) 1
Sebastian Vettel 2(1) 4
Fernando Alonso 6(3) 2
2010 Lewis Hamilton 3(2) Ret
Sebastian Vettel 2(1) 2
Fernando Alonso 1(1) 1
2011 Lewis Hamilton 4(2) 5
Sebastian Vettel 1(1) 1
Fernando Alonso 5(3) 4
2012 Lewis Hamilton 1(1) Ret
Sebastian Vettel 3(2) 1
Fernando Alonso 5(3) 3
It is clearly evident that the race has always been won from front two rows with exception of 2008. In fact the lowest position from which the race was won is third. Singapore being a street circuit, is high on tyre degradation. Some of the teams like Mclaren, Lotus may try to do one stop less than others. Pirelli is bringing in medium and supersoft tyre compounds. The last time we saw supersoft being used was in Canada. Vettel, Alonso and Hamilton did a two stopper, got rid to supersoft tyres in first stint and depended on mediums for the rest of the race. This time around also we should be expecting very similar strategy. Driver's starting especially in top ten will be looking to prolong the first stint a bit longer hoping that towards the end they have fresher tyres and make up some more places. Redbull, Mercedes and Ferrari will be trying to cover off each other as usual.
The track is ultimate test of driver's concentration and skills as they are pushed to limit. Scything through traffic is very crucial here if you are trying to undercut or maintain position.Should Vettel and Redbull take an other victory here, it would be completely demoralising to their championship and constructor rivals.
Sebastian Vettel has a 53 point cushion in championship standings over Fernando Alonso. Last time around Vettel cut the point deficit to Alonso to just 29 points after winning the grand prix and managed to win the Driver's championship in the end.
Lets take a look at qualifying and race positions of former race winners from last four years.
Year Driver Qualifying position(Row) Race position
2009 Lewis Hamilton 1(1) 1
Sebastian Vettel 2(1) 4
Fernando Alonso 6(3) 2
2010 Lewis Hamilton 3(2) Ret
Sebastian Vettel 2(1) 2
Fernando Alonso 1(1) 1
2011 Lewis Hamilton 4(2) 5
Sebastian Vettel 1(1) 1
Fernando Alonso 5(3) 4
2012 Lewis Hamilton 1(1) Ret
Sebastian Vettel 3(2) 1
Fernando Alonso 5(3) 3
It is clearly evident that the race has always been won from front two rows with exception of 2008. In fact the lowest position from which the race was won is third. Singapore being a street circuit, is high on tyre degradation. Some of the teams like Mclaren, Lotus may try to do one stop less than others. Pirelli is bringing in medium and supersoft tyre compounds. The last time we saw supersoft being used was in Canada. Vettel, Alonso and Hamilton did a two stopper, got rid to supersoft tyres in first stint and depended on mediums for the rest of the race. This time around also we should be expecting very similar strategy. Driver's starting especially in top ten will be looking to prolong the first stint a bit longer hoping that towards the end they have fresher tyres and make up some more places. Redbull, Mercedes and Ferrari will be trying to cover off each other as usual.
The track is ultimate test of driver's concentration and skills as they are pushed to limit. Scything through traffic is very crucial here if you are trying to undercut or maintain position.Should Vettel and Redbull take an other victory here, it would be completely demoralising to their championship and constructor rivals.
