The reasons for the advantages of the scuderia, but also of red bull on the narrow street circuit are, among other things, the design of this year’s mercedes. But the overall balance sheet does not speak for the silver arrows either.
What makes it so difficult for mercedes in singapore??
The many tight corners are one thing. Mercedes opted for a longer wheelbase on its car than the competition this season. The lack of long straights is the other. On the angled circuit with 23 directional changes in just over five kilometers, mercedes cannot really exploit the power of its turbo engine as it did recently in spa-francorchamps and monza. In monaco, a circuit comparable to marina bay street, hamilton and bottas did not get beyond seventh and fourth places. Vettel won there.
Who has the best singapore record??
Red bull. The austrian racing team has been on the podium ten times in the past nine races in singapore. Three consecutive top finishes – 2011, 2012 and 2013 – by vettel when he was still driving for red bull. Since 2010 at least one red bull driver has always finished in the top three. Ferrari drivers have been on the podium five times, with two wins for the scuderia by fernando alonso (2010) and vettel (2015). Mercedes – back as a factory team since 2010 – also has two victories to its name, hamilton in 2014 and nico rosberg in 2016, but only one other podium finish (hamilton 2016/3.).
What makes singapore so special?
Singapore pays among the toughest tasks on the racing calendar. On the one hand there are the rough conditions. Even in the evening, when the race at 20.00 local time starts, heat and high humidity prevail. Sauna conditions for the drivers, who are also in fireproof overalls. There are no recovery phases on the track due to their geometry. No run-off zones either. Mistakes are not forgiven as in monaco. 14 safety-car-phases in nine races are also a proof for that. The fact that the track is illuminated by more than 1500 light projectors does not make driving difficult – as long as it does not rain, which has not yet happened during the nine runs.
How often do drivers change gears??
In one round, the drivers have to change gears 70 times. Based on a lap time of around 1:42 minutes, with which rosberg made it to the pole a year ago, this corresponds to gear changes every 1.45 seconds. Mathematically, the next curve follows 220 meters along the 5056-meter-long course. The average speed is only 177 kilometers per hour.