15. Singapore

[Bibs]

[Paul C]

Ok,

I'm going to beat Ramjet to it and get an early Lotus result prediction in, also if i do it now people will see i have not doctored it after the race:

"One car will not finish, the other will finish between 16th and 18th"

I know this would be a shock result, but based on every other race (apart from when they both did not finish) i think i stand a half good chance of being right.

Actually, thats too easy so i'll add:

"one red bull car will not finish"

There, that'll stuff it up for me.

[Iconic Ride]

I predict that there will be a track site power outage, and that the race will be conducted with hastily passed out night vision goggles. This will become so popular that future Singapore races will be held sans lighting as a concession to green energy fans worldwide.

Vettel will win by activating his rain lights whenever any driver tries to reel him in, having changed the bulbs from red to xenon white.

And Hulkenberg will find a way to transition directly from the Nicoll Hwy onto Raffles Ave, thereby completely eliminating the need to transit the entire western loop. The stewards will penalize him with 3 drivethroughs.

[Bibs]

Click for news

[ramjet]

After conferring with the spirits, I predict the following:

24 cars will start, one from pit lane

Both lotuses will finish though no-one better then 17th

One of the drivers that could win the championship will go out in the first lap (though I really don't know who the drivers are that are in contention)

[Bibs]

News From Quali

[NedaSay]

As expected the Virgins are now faster in terms of pure speed! No surprise this is what you get for continuing development until the very end!

Lets hope the guys can catch them at the start and hang on till the end of the race. Lets also hope there's no car wreck during this race!

[Advantage]

Oh dear. That was flamin' bad luck. Up to 13th on merit with a lap and a half to go up to that point.

[Dave Eds]

Heikki wants bibs' job!

[NedaSay]

Great efforts from the teams ended in dust! Heikki's race has been ruined by a move that was vastly unnecessary! Buemi had the speed he would have passed Heikki on the main straight!

The Hydraulics are ridiculous! I don't know what to think of them! Jarno is having a season in hell I hope he'll have a better one next year!

[richardvg]

how to blow it at the last minute !

[IanQ]

He is a much braver man than me. Fire scares the hell out of me and to have the prescence of mind to grab an extinguisher and put the flames out takes some courage in my view.

Edited September 26, 2010 by IanQ

[Advantage]

[Petrol feet driven]

Shame that had to happen..

[Iconic Ride]

A fairly simple spin out, no contact of any sort that I could discern. So why the fire? It could initially be seen to be emanating from either the exhaust (logical), or the intake area (puzzling). Heikki, obviously a quick thinker, elected not to proceed into [a very tempting entry nearby the event] pit lane and endanger others. The man clearly has ice in his veins, calmly requesting the fire extinguisher through the fence and just as calmly putting out the fire. And did you notice, as the car began to melt beneath him, that he didn't toss the steering wheel away as a lesser man might, choosing instead to set it down gently on the wall ledge while awaiting the extinguisher? This is a man I would want on my side during battle! Still, it would have been nice to have seem him complete the race when so close to the finish.

And what to make of Webber and Hamilton's mutual attempt to violate the law of impenetrability of matter? Yes, Hamilton was slightly ahead of Webber entering the turn, but Webber was already hugging the kerb (not to mention the adjacent wall itself) with nowhere to go as Hamilton turned into him, even though he had sufficient space to pass on the outside. Danny Sullivan, whose intellect is argueably somewhat elevated above that of a quality Irish Setter, and was the Singapore "driver in residence input expert" so to speak, nonetheless made the correct decision (if he had any influence at all on the stewards' analysis of the contact) in a "no action" response by the officials. It was a "racing incident" IMO. A shame for Hamilton, as he was putting on a good show to the end.

[richardvg]

I have been tempted to say this for a while but I do believe that Hamilton is a bit of a spoilt brat - Whilst i am well aware of the competitiveness at this level , I am also seeing a pattern that is playing itself out for Hamilton.Every time the race does not go his way , something happens ....! A real champion as we know it , makes the best of a situation on the day .

What also surprises me is how Mcclaren allow such ill discipline from him( Hamilton) - there are tons of drivers out there that will be a lot calmer and less brattish .

Funny how the big teams can get away with that incident , should have had a 10 sec dt and 10 places for the next race in my mind .Anyway poetic justice.

Heike , hard luck old chap - you excelled today but it was not to be ....keep on trying and it will come .

[rogerch]

I would disagree, whilst I was highly critical of Hamilton's move on Massa, I do believe on this occasion he was entitled to believe he gave sufficient room to Webber. it was as the srewards deemed it a racing incident, the sort of thing that can happen when your "Racing".

The only thing missing from Singapore was a big tent to put it all in. It really has become a circus act.

[USAndretti42]

I don't remember seeing Hamilton near Massa but I was watching on SpeedTV. What move was that, Roger?

[rogerch]

Monza 2nd Chicane Ist lap.

[USAndretti42]

Ah! I saw that. I thought you meant something that happened today.

In today's incident I initially thought Webber just went in too hot and was at fault but, in the replay, You could see he had nowhere to go. He could have backed off sooner but he is racing for the championship. So the stewards rating it as a racing incident was the right thing to do. I can fully understand Hamilton's frustration immediately afterwards, By the way, I got told off by the wife for shouting out when they collided.

[ramjet]

Well try as I might, I fell asleep with 20 laps left to run. I do have the excuse that I had been working in the yard for a fair part of the day so I was pretty knackered. Missed Heiki's fire.

So of my predictions, I was wrong about someone starting from pit lane and about a contender going out in the first lap. Oh and about both the Lotus cars finishing. However, a contender did go out of the race (Hamilton), neither Lotus finished better than 17th and 24 cars did start.

Look out Paul C, here I come.

[Bibs]

News & Pics from Singapore

[ramjet]

Here's a thought and I'm quite sure someone will set me straight as to why it won't work. If a small piece of debris can cause a puncture fairly easily (it would seem) and with a suspension setup as hard as it is, why don't they develop run-flats (I think that's what they're called)? Or are we taking out another variable from an already fairly clinical sort of motorsport?

My thought on this is that it doesn't really matter who the driver is, a puncture basically puts the driver out of contention for whichever position he/she was in. (politically correct moment there)

Now on that, why are there not any women F1 drivers? (runs from room to find flame retardant gel)

[rogerch]

Lella Lombardi

[USAndretti42]

So of my predictions, I was wrong about someone starting from pit lane and about a contender going out in the first lap.

Don't be too hard on yourself. Alguersuari started from the pitlane.

I initially thought it was going to be a boring race early on but things certainly livened up a bit. I thought Heikki was trying to cross the finish line when his car was on fire to get an extra lap. I thought it may have been an engine blow-up but I read a report which said the fuel system was damaged in an earlier incident and eventually leaked onto something hot. Not Lotus' fault. Worrying for them that the Virgin of Glock was so quick, though.

Why no female F1 drivers? Because there aren't enough good female drivers in a position to advance through the ranks to F1. That's probably because there aren't enough women competing in the lower classes. Things are changing, though. IRL races often have 3, 4 or even 5 women competing and, despite the negative comments you read, Danica Patrick often is the highest finisher in her team.