2012 Singapore F1 Grand Prix

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Centura
Vettel is mighty at Singapore.

It will be between Alonso, Vettel and Hamilton.
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Remember last year when Button had preserved his tyres? all of a sudden he started gaining rapidly on Vettel in the last few laps and finished just behind him, Button may well have a good chance to.
 
Peasantslayer
Remember last year when Button had preserved his tyres? all of a sudden he started gaining rapidly on Vettel in the last few laps and finished just behind him, Button may well have a good chance to.
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Vettel was cruising. Vettel repeatedly asked his team if he could set the fastest lap, but the team told hold him to just bring the car home.
 
Peasantslayer
I don't believe Vettel's weaker at street circuits, his performance at Valencia this year was incredible before his alternator failed. If the Mclaren is still the fastest car then I don't think Fernando will stand a chance of winning unless of course Massa crashes at the right time to bring out the safety car.
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Well, I think Vettel is stronger at the more open tracks. He has a knack for widening the corner more so than the other guys, which is not only faster, but easier on the tyres too. At street circuits though, drivers like Alonso and Hamilton are perhaps a little stronger, partly due to their aggressive styles and partly because they can deal with a more extreme setup. We'll see anyway, I may be proved wrong. Vettel doesn't have the dominant car that he had last year so if he can win it i'll be quite surprised.

Mclaren don't seem to be as good in the slow corners, or at least they weren't earlier in the year.

Centura
Vettel was cruising. Vettel repeatedly asked his team if he could set the fastest lap, but the team told hold him to just bring the car home.
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Button did lose 7-8 seconds after the restart last year because Kobayashi wouldn't get out of his way despite being a lap down. Vettel wouldn't have maintained the lead if Button wasn't held up in my opinion. But on the other hand, Button would've been 20+ seconds down if the safety car hadn't come out. Vettel wasn't quite cruising though, he was fuel saving; he pulled out a huge lead and then the safety car ruined his strategy by closing the gap.

I think Button will have to surpass himself this weekend if he wants to be at the front. The race pace of the Mclaren isn't particularly dominant, and this doesn't at first sight seem like the track where the car excells.
 
Seismica
I think Button will have to surpass himself this weekend if he wants to be at the front. The race pace of the Mclaren isn't particularly dominant, and this doesn't at first sight seem like the track where the car excells.
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IIRC those new sidepod attachments on the Mclaren reduce rear tyre wear significantly to help with the race pace. I can't wait to see Hamilton in qualifying, I'm hoping for another lap where he destroys everyone.
 
Hamilton may just be very strong here. But it's still anyone's race. The weather forecasts for qualifying and race day remain dreary, which opens up the possibilities of some midfielder lucking into pole or winning the race. I doubt it will rain on race night, but it's an uncomfortable possibility.
 
Judging by their pace in the last few races, of course McLaren should do wonderfully here. I expect RB to be quite strong, but by no means dominant, so their performance will really be down to how well the drivers can perform under the intense pressure this weekend. 'cause there's a lot of it if you look at it form the perspective of a RB driver. Two retirements in Monza, not as much confidence in their abilities, McLaren catching them quickly in the standings with the MP4-27 being excellent at most tracks as long as the team's on point, Alonso being a big threat at one of his best tracks and his quote about, "being on the attack," Mercedes bringing new upgrades which could be substantial (you never know on what weekends they're going to be a threat), then the ever increasing performance of Kimi and Lotus. I expect qualifying to have drivers ALL over the place and be a pretty random field. Pit strategy's going to be a real dice throw for most of the teams considering the other worldliness that is Singapore's climate relative to previous races recently, I think that every one has equal chances of getting this race very wrong, so it really is anyone's race, although McLaren should be the favorites if everything was ideal.
 
Can we really, honestly, and fairly say that Lotus IS improving? I remember them finishing second at Bahrain. :scared: Is this not the case?
 
Yeah but back then Williams took a win, at that time, it was less about the cars and more about the raw brilliance of the drivers and team and a little luck too, since every one was scrambling to figure out the tires. After things settles down more the teams could really get their heads down and start doing their classic thing of planning out every detail of their raace before hand, which lead to dominant wins. But talking Lotus it's about their performance over a string of races which is becoming better, so yes they're improving more and catching up to the ever improving frontrunners, quicker it seems.you can tell the team's working together better at this point for sure. So no, they were never really front runners till a couple of races ago.
 
MrMelancholy15
Can we really, honestly, and fairly say that Lotus IS improving? I remember them finishing second at Bahrain. :scared: Is this not the case?
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At least they haven't dropped off as drastically as Mercedes... Unlike Lotus, who has been able to sustain their strong form throughout most races.

I'd certainly opt for consistent podium finishes over a one off win.
 
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I feel the double-DRS Merc is really too specialized. Ferrari has a similar end-of-race-pace problem, but not quite as serious as Mercedes, who fade quite early into the session.
 
MrMelancholy15
Can we really, honestly, and fairly say that Lotus IS improving? I remember them finishing second at Bahrain. :scared: Is this not the case?
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I dunno about improving, but it's certainly keeping pace. Kimi's a great driver and all, but you don't end up third in the drivers standings without a fairly strong car underneath you. They remain one strong upgrade away from dominating a weekend.
 
I don't think Lotus is being hampered by a lack of pace. Their real problem is their race management. They're going for overly-conservative strategies, and they're being too defensive. They haven't really taken a chance on anything radical for fear that they have more to lose than they do to gain. As a result, they're just sort of ... there.
 
Hamilton's using a white helmet! The camera seemed to focus on the front wing, that looks different to the last time I saw it.
 
Peasantslayer
Hamilton's using a white helmet! The camera seemed to focus on the front wing, that looks different to the last time I saw it.
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They are using special new wings for this GP, aero is like in Monaco but with new pieces so yeah new wings.
 
RX-7_FD3S
They are using special new wings for this GP, aero is like in Monaco but with new pieces so yeah new wings.
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Makes sense, first practice spoiler below.

Vettel fastest after the first session, Alonso was nearly a second slower and at a stage when the track was drier. Still the fastest cars should be going at least 5 seconds faster on Saturday (assuming it's dry) so the times are meaningless at the moment.
 
Im not watching the race as the football is on sky at the same time, im a big Man United fan so theres no way im missing the Liverpool-United game!! im taping the GP and watching it sunday night..im looking forward to it! ive always liked Singapore, it should be a good race..as for the winner..i think itll be between Vettel and Alonso..

..also i think that the championship will be between Alonso, Vettel and Hamilton..Button and Webber are out of it and no-one has ever won the world championship by picking up second and thirds like Raikkonen is doing! how many times have we said that Lotus will pick up a win but fail to do so...
 
prisonermonkeys
You don't need to use spoiler tags.
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Just incase someone wants to watch first practice later on in the day.

MUSC4EVER
Im not watching the race as the football is on sky at the same time, im a big Man United fan so theres no way im missing the Liverpool-United game!! im taping the GP and watching it sunday night..im looking forward to it! ive always liked Singapore, it should be a good race..as for the winner..i think itll be between Vettel and Alonso..

..also i think that the championship will be between Alonso, Vettel and Hamilton..Button and Webber are out of it and no-one has ever won the world championship by picking up second and thirds like Raikkonen is doing! how many times have we said that Lotus will pick up a win but fail to do so...
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I think Keke Rosberg won just one race in his championship winning year, Man United will steam roll Liverpool anyway watch the F1. :)
 
Hmmm...I might have to prepare myself a plate of crow for Sunday :lol: Things aren't looking too good for Alonso atm, and I'm starting to feel that achieving even a podium this weekend might be a long shot. The car just does not look composed at all over the bumps and curbing. Don't know why I even bother to make these prediction...especially when you consider that the teams barely seem to have a clue themselves. Still early in the weekend so we shall wait and see though.
 
I think Hamilton would be where Button is without that last corner moment, perhaps Red Bull have sacrificied there performances at Spa and Monza to create a car which is better at the slower circuits because they probably knew they didn't have much of a chance at those tracks.
 
Peasantslayer
Just incase someone wants to watch first practice later on in the day.
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Then they shouldn't be in the thread. This thread is only about the Grand Prix, so spoiler tags aren't required here.
 
The Outlaw
Hmmm...I might have to prepare myself a plate of crow for Sunday :lol: Things aren't looking too good for Alonso atm, and I'm starting to feel that achieving even a podium this weekend might be a long shot. The car just does not look composed at all over the bumps and curbing. Don't know why I even bother to make these prediction...especially when you consider that the teams barely seem to have a clue themselves. Still early in the weekend so we shall wait and see though.
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Why is that? If they start where they ran in fp2 he will be starting from a podium position. If anyone can overcome an ill handling or misbehaving car it's Alonso. There is alway hope for a good finish with Alonso behind the wheel of a Ferrari 👍
 
Practice 2 Times http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/9/13818.html


Vettel 1:48.340
Button 1:48.651
Alonso 1:48.896
Webber 1:48.964
Hamilton 1:49.086
di Resta 1:49.300
Hulkenberg 1:49.339
Rosberg 1:49.790
Massa 1:50.039
Grosjean 1:50.161s
Schumacher 1:50.263
Raikkonen 1:50.345
Maldonado 1:50.636
Ricciardo 1:50.791
Perez 1:51.122
Kobayashi 1:51.450
Senna 1:51.452s
Vergne 1:52.009
Glock 1:52.218
Kovalainen 1:52.576
Pic 1:52.863
Petrov 1:52.936
de la Rosa 1:54.448
Karthikeyan 1:54.514
 
I'm gonna assume the HRTs were running on heavy fuel loads do to such God awful lap times. :scared:
 

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