Formula 1 enthusiasts enjoy racing in the rain. In fact, they lost in Belgium when the race was cancelled in 2021. But, in principle, the weather tends to make racing more exciting and less predictable. Water has the effect of mitigating the functionality benefits enjoyed through groups such as Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull in dry conditions. The outcome of the race, therefore, depends on the skills of the driving force and the strategy of the team. Who is more able to find grip on the track?Who takes so many dangers, but not too much?Which team makes the right selection at the right time for the right tires?Singapore 2022 turned out to be an exception to this rule.
With purpose-built tracks in Hungary, France and Germany, there are plenty of escape areas. Therefore, drivers have enough margin of error in rainy conditions. They can go off the track without crashing. Singapore is an incredibly narrow track with no room for error. That’s what makes it such an exciting and challenging race. . . in dry conditions. However, when you introduce the weather, a small mistake will end a race. And that’s what contributed to six retirements and a handful of protective cars and virtual protection cars.
As I mentioned in my race overview, overtaking in Singapore is very difficult, and bigger cars make it even harder. It’s wet, it’s too risky. We have noticed that Verstappen takes a look and fails miserably. That’s why the beginning was so critical. Leclerc had a poor start on pole. Perez got off to a smart start from the position of the moment and led the race from turn one to victory just because he and the team didn’t make a mistake.
Otherwise, it seemed that there were no suitable tyres for the track at any point in the race. The intermissions didn’t have enough grip, but it wasn’t raining enough for it to rain completely. Russell took a chance and switched to medium slicks on the lap. 22 and had problems. Most of the others didn’t move on to slicks until lap 35. As a result, the race expanded with drivers looking not to crash. . . instead of competing against each other.
The big winner at Sinholeore was McLaren. Norris and Riccardo finished fourth and fifth, respectively, 21 moments and 53 Perez moments. It’s a massive double opposite to Alpine, where either car had mechanical failures. finished) were suspended in the end. McLaren now leads Alpine through 4 points in the constructors’ championship. And Ferrari improved its current position with Mercedes (up to 66 points) with Leclerc and Sainz completing the moment and third respectively.
The great controversies were placed under the protection of automobiles. Perez had several infractions for not following the protective car within 10 car lengths. So we didn’t know how the race actually ended until about two hours later, when the stewards made a decision and Perez deserved a reprimand for the first and a five-second penalty for the second. Given his 7. 6-second gap over Leclerc, he held on to victory. Obviously, if I had gained five-second consequences for each of them, I would have lost. If Leclerc had kept the hole under five seconds, he would have won. But would he? Why could the stewards only make a decision on the penalty after the race?It is that the stewards let the result of the race and the time difference influence the consequences. . . as if they did not need the consequences to affect the outcome. To be clear, I don’t think that happened. However, the FIA must make a greater effort not to question those decisions.
This week, head to Suzuka for the Japanese Grand Prix. Many drivers, including Valtteri Bottas, consider this track to be their favourite of the season. It is fast and very different from Singapore. Even if it rains a lot at this time of year.