Singapore: post-race analysis

A somewhat frustrating race, and very much so from a betting perspective. Not only did the main bet not come off (more below on whether that was ill-judged or unfortunate) but the 3.75 dead cert on Merhi not to be classified was actually settled as a loss. I immediately sent off an e-mail to Ladbrokes about this and will report back on the result.

Off the line it was formation flying at the front. Verstappen, starting 8^th, found his car wouldn’t start. He was pushed back to the pit lane and managed to get going but was a full lap down on everybody else.

Vettel immediately pulled out a massive gap (about 3s after lap 1). He probably overcooked it, because later on he was a bit more delicate with the tyres. Ricciardo could outpace Raikkonen, but found it difficult to match Vettel’s times. However, the Red Bull was easier on its tyres, which raised the prospect of Ferrari either shifting to a 3 stop (and gifting victory to Ricciardo) or seeing if they could make 2 work and risking the tyres degrading, or even falling off the cliff.

There were two safety cars. The first was due to debris on the track (I forget whose) near the end of the first stint. This harmed Kvyat, who had pitted just before and slumped from 4^th to 6^th, where he remained. The top three all pitted at once.

The second occasion was due to some fool sauntering on the track, and meant degradation and strategy didn’t play a role whatsoever in the race. This was Red Bull’s best hope (they were easier on the tyres than the Ferraris). So, the bet might have come off had the two safety cars, one of which only occurred due to an idiot, made an appearance. That said, F1 is a sport where this kind of thing happens. Sometimes it’s helpful. Today it was not.

Anyway, the top three trundled to the podium, with Rosberg claiming 4^th, Bottas 5^th and Kvyat a lacklustre 6^th (though he was very unlucky with the first safety car). Perez scored a good 7^th for Force India, and was followed by Verstappen and Sainz. Nasr got the last point.

Late on, Verstappen was ordered to let Sainz past (his team mate had, it seems, let him through earlier). The young Dutchman refused, twice, and finished 8^th, Sainz 9^th. A proper bollocking is in order. We’ll see whether the Toro Rosso boss (Franz Tost, I think) is more Ross Brawn or Christian Horner when it comes to laying down the law.

Alonso was in the points when his car stopped working. Dire for McLaren, who also retired Button.

Hamilton had to retire for the first time since Belgium last year when his engine lost massive power. Others suffered engines shifting to neutral (possibly due to electronic/metro interference).

On the Merhi bet: I’d imagined this would be voided, but, if not, it was a dead cert winner. As you can imagine I was not pleased when it was counted as a loss by Ladbrokes, and sent the firm an e-mail. Didn’t get a reply but the next day it seems to have been voided. Pleased by the prompt action, displeased the bet counted when it meant me losing out but got voided rather than counted as a win. However, I did always think it would be made void [so, a shot to nothing], so I’m not too irked.

Mercedes’ form falling off a cliff is quite perplexing. This didn’t happen at the very similar circuit of Monaco. Conspiracy theorists are talking about them being given duff tyres, but I think that a bit much.

Anyway, Hamilton’s retirement means things have tightened up a little, but he still has a comfortable cushion.

Hamilton 252

Rosberg 211

Vettel 203

If Hamilton doesn’t turn up to the next two races (and there’s only six left) and Vettel wins both, the German will have a lead of 1 point. The concern for Hamilton will be that the engine problem he suffered was not the weird neutral issue which seems confined to Singapore, but a proper problem with the engine. He should still walk to the title, though.

The good result for Red Bull also means that the Constructors (3^rd and 4^th) had tightened a bit:

Williams 198

Red Bull 139

Williams need to have some good races or that gap could yet be closed.

The next race is this coming weekend, in Japan, on a proper circuit.

Morris Dancer