2015 Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore GP

Suzuka is Vettels favorite track IIRC

 

Compared to other tracks on the calender, where does Suzuka stack up in the importance of motor vs chassis department?


Overall, Singapore was an enjoyable race to watch. I wish every race had that much going on

Glad to see Ferrari take another one. Not a fan, I just like variety.

Massa vs Humkenburg was...strange. Seems like both guys could have prevented the contact. The grid penalty for Hulk seems a bit harsh to me.

I'm quickly becoming a fan of Max, I love his effort. I was crushed at the start, but loved the resulting comeback. Not sure what the end was all about. If Sainz let him through earlier, then ok, I maybe understand the call from STR. If it was because STR thought Sainz had a better shot at Perez, then hell no, I completely agree with Max. Want a shot at Perez, get through Max on your own first. If it were much earlier in the race, maybe I understand that too...but last lap? C'mon man!

 

If you could mesh Monaco and Canada together, that's my guess.

 

Suzuka has quite a few more medium and high speed corners than those two tracks though, no?

 

Downforce levels are generally high for Suzuka due to all sweeping fast corners. Obviously it slows them a tad on the fast back section of the circuit, but no where near as much as a low downforce setup would slow them in the bends.

 

So in other words, it's a circuit where Ferrari, possibly RB could run near or at the front again? Like I said earlier, I don't care who wins, I just like good racing

 

Singapore was a fluke for Mercedes; their car couldn't manage the tyres in the heat. Japan should still be hot, although not to the same extent Singapore was. So personally I don't reckon Mercedes will have any trouble in Suzuka. In which case the best Ferrari and Red Bull can realistically hope for is a podium.

 

If anything, it's like Silverstone.

 

But with more elevation change.

 

I think Silverstone had its only undulation taken out when they bypassed Bridge!

 

Length of Canada but some of the slow (and fast corners) of both Suzuka and Canada... Can't really name a track like it other than Austin, but that's too long.

And hopefully this year no rain.

 

Watching a replay of the Super GT race right now....commentators are saying they're calling for rain over the next few weeks in Japan...

 

@NOVOCAINE put it best, the Merc thing is a fluke, and really Mercedes have done this to the general F1 fan or the Ferrari and RBR fan 3 times this year. "What? We're an F1 team but how do we do our job?" Then it all comes back. This time they used a bad setup on the drivers and probably thought their setups last year would probably be comparable to this year and then the tire pressure change reared its head (it seems). Not to count the fact FP1 isn't run at the dead of night like the Race and other parts of the weekend, so the characteristics of the track change quite a bit. I'd say in the day time any track that isn't a blip like Malaysia...Mercedes are in another dimension.

The next track I'd expect to see Merc have competition is Russia. COTA, Japan, Mexico and Brazil...seem like they'll be covered but we'll see soon enough.

 

@mustafur Which sauce would you like with your hat?

 

This time it was clear they were not the fastest, I doubt it will happen again this season though unless weather gets involved.

 

You didn't specify that it had to be over multiple races. Quit squirming, start marinating!

 

I do believe that's called "moving the goal posts" - changing the minimum standard of evidence after the fact when somebody has successfully refuted the point with the original standard of evidence.

 

Maybe because they try so hard to emulate him but they can't be him.

 

There is a typhoon that could potentially get involved in the sessions. Hopefully they manage things better this time.

 

Im not changing anything lol.

I'll do it by Abu Dhabi then haha.

 

Just what we need, a dark reminder of last season.

 

I would love another wet race at Suzuka, if you put aside the horrible ending (which is no longer repeatable thanks to the introduction of VSC and to a lesser extent the race being run earlier) there was some great battling behind the Mercedes', both Red Bull's were making great moves around the outside of corners where overtaking is not possible and Jenson Button was flying in the underdog car.

 

On the topic of Suzuka, Button is expected to announce his retirement this weekend.

I don't see it happening. He talks too highly of this 'light at the end of the tunnel' to quit now. Unless Singapore changed his mind about it. Big loss for F1 if it is to be the case...

 

Or the light to be the end of the tunnel, rather than an oncoming train.

 

If I were him I would give it one more year to see of McLaren can turn it around, if not then go.

 

This. I think he's still capable of another year or two, but for his own sake, it needs to be in a competitive car. Honda is essentially at where everyone else was a year ago (minus reliability issues), and it can only grow from there.

 

I think that's where a lot of the comparisons end. While both Ferrari squads were against stiff competition, and not expected to win championships right off the bat, there's several key differences to make a straight comparison.

The regulations in cockpit dimensions and the shelving the V12 meant the F310 was a completely all-new design. There were more staff changes at the team. That car was far more unreliable than the 2015 as well, making the team's chances a drunken moonshot. There were three races where the F310 was a mobile hand grenade within the first five laps (one a DNS at Magny-Cours).

Schumacher also had four full prior seasons under his belt, while Vettel had seven full years.

That said, Spa and Spain were a rather dominant wins and Monza came about due to a mistake from Hill in the early-going. (Have those county-fair tire barriers ever been used again? They placed them just millimeters from the chicane's track limits in a way I've not seen in F1 since hay bales were used in the 1950s.)

Thus, I think the comparisons end at the red paint and German flag.

 

He's better off out of it. McLaren have given him rubbish to drive for three years now. What makes anyone think they won't make it four?

He's a World Champion, he gave as good as he got when teamed up with Hamilton. He's not been owned by Alonso either - although given the car - you can't really assess either driver.

He'd be better off in WEC. No question.

 

Well these new Rumors linking Redbull to VW are likely to end swiftly now, with VW looking at a 18Billion dollar fine for falsifying emissions this might be costly.