Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Singapore

  • RND 16 – Singapore Grand Prix

    WHAT A RACE!!!!
    My lord we was treated with a blinder, and I can tell you Red Bull’s streak has now ended and we have a different winner this season!

    Carlos Sainz manages to hold off a McLaren and both Mercedes to win the Singapore Grand Prix!! Lando Norris comes home in P2! And Lewis Hamilton is back on the podium for Mercedes in P3!

    The full top 10 are- P1: Sainz, P2: Norris, P3: Hamilton, P4: Leclerc, P5: Verstappen, P6: Gasly, P7: Piastri, P8: Perez, P9: Lawson and P10: Magnussen.

    What a drive from Carlos! WOW, what a result for Ferrari aswell, and he had quite a bit of pressure put on him too, whilst also being very clever and keeping Norris in DRS at the end too.

    Verstappen done well to get in the top 5 obviously good points, but it doesn’t mean he get’s the championship just yet, the same with the team also!
    A good drive aswell for Perez, I do believe he is under investigation for causing a collision with Albon and I have a feeling it will be a penalty but I don’t think it’s going to affect the point scorers…

    A bit of a heartbreak for George, being P3 on the last lap and trying to push for the win, and he clipped the wall quite hard and it just meant he went straight on which saw him not score any points after having amazing pace!
    Obviously Lewis got on the podium due to that, but I think the team can be proud of that drive by both drivers due to strategy going for the second pit stop and the car has got faster!

    Now, Liam Lawson, what a drive from the New Zealander his first points in F1, got into Q3 yesterday… I believe this man is owed a seat, someone please…

    Our last point goes to Mr Kevin Magnussen. POINTS!! For Haas finally! A good drive for K-Mag he stayed out of trouble and just got his head down with some overtakes aswell.

    Ocon got unlucky, he was driving so well in the points, but he unfortunately suffered with a suspected gearbox problem and had to retire on track.
    Tsunoda was out on lap 1 due to being hit by Perez, so he went off into a run off area.

    Now, we don’t have long to wait till the next race, as it is infact next week! And we head to Japan for Round 17!
    Will Red Bull and Max come back fighting? Or could we see another entertaining race? Find out next week!

  • Singapore Grand Prix

    The Singapore Grand Prix is here where we are under the lights as we start another double header, is this another weekend where we see Max take another win?

    Most importantly, the track has changed, turns 16, 17, 18 and 19 have been removed from the final sector, so the track will no longer go under the grandstand towards the end of the lap.
    Instead there will be a straight from Turn 15 to the old Turn 20 and 21 chicane, which will now be the Turn 16 and 17 chicane. The approach to the new Turn 16 now offers up an additional overtaking opportunity as drivers now believe the races in Singapore will be enhanced.

    Who needs to shine?

    The rookies, Logan Sargeant, Oscar Piastri and Liam Lawson wouldn’t of driven on this track before, so they will be looking to impress, especially Logan and Liam, the former looking to re-sign with Williams and Liam looking to get into the sport on a full time basis.

    Alpine had a shocker last time out in Italy, Ocon with a DNF which no one knew about… And Gasly in P15. They need to get a wiggle on as McLaren have flown away in P5 and yes they have a gap to Williams in P7 but they won’t want to just stay in 6th.

    Stroll… oh my oh my, again last time out in Italy he got 16th, his had 8 races where his finished in the points this season, but there not big point finishes really compared to his teammate whose been a regular appearance on the podium and has scored points in every race weekend this season!

    Looking at the constructors, Mercedes is on 273 points in 2nd, Ferrari 228 in third, and Aston in fourth on 217, so the rest of the races, it will be interesting to see how many drivers score points as a team.

  • McLaren reveal livery for next two races

    McLaren will be using a new livery design at the upcoming back to back Grand Prix weekends in Singapore and Japan as the team continue to celebrate their 60th Birthday.

    Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will contest the two races with what has been described as ‘Stealth Mode’ Scheme, switching McLaren’s usual colourway and augmenting black against their classic papaya trim.

    The livery has been co-designed by McLaren and OKX, a Web3 technology company and official partner of the Woking squad, representing how both brands “strive for excellence, while embracing change and innovation”.

    Alongside the livery, a limited edition t-shirt will be made available through the McLaren store, and a limited giveaway for attendees of Token2049, the Web3 conference taking place in Singapore prior to the race.

    OKX will also host a McLaren themed fan zone, OKX Race Club at Chijmes, Singapore from Thursday 14th September to Sunday 17th September, featuring a Stealth Mode show car, racing simulators, giveaways and special guests over the weekend.

    Our partnership with OKX goes from strength to strength, and it’s fantastic to celebrate it with this incredible livery. Stealth Mode flips our race car’s colours, bringing something exciting and different to these two great races in Singapore and Japan. We hope fans will love it as much as we do and get a chance to enjoy the fan zone to connect with our team.

    McLaren CEO, Zak Brown.
    https://www.instagram.com/p/CxIDuZNorv8/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

  • Singapore Tyre Selection

    We are back racing this weekend after a little break and we have a double header upon us, but our first stop is the Singapore Grand Prix!

    The tyres have been chosen for this weekend, which are the softest of all the compounds C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium) and C5 (Soft).

    The Singapore Grand Prix takes place at night, where it starts at 8pm local time. There are a number of aspects which make this a physically demanding race for the drivers which include, the intense humidity, high temperature and head retention due to the walls lining the track.

    The layout has been modified this year, with the section of the track between turn 16 and 19 now becoming a straight that is around 397 metres long. That means that the number of corners goes down from 23 to 10, while the total lap length is 4.940 kilometres.

    A one-stop strategy is the clear way to go, also because the pit stop loss time of around 28 seconds is the highest of the season, together with Imola.

    As with other street tracks, grid position is always crucial to get a good finish, given the limited overtaking opportunities.

    Last year, the race start was postponed by an hour due to a storm that hit Marina Bay just a few minutes before the grid formed.
    The cats began the race on intermediate tyres and then switched to Medium and Soft – with a Virtual Safety Car also influencing strategy.

    The closing stages of this long season, taking Formula 1 to three continents and 16 different time zones, kicks off in Singapore this weekend. This was the first race to take place under artificial light: an idea that was later followed, in varying degrees, by other venues. From a technical point of view, Marina Bay is a typical street circuit: very twisty (with 19 corners, many of them 90-degree) and little run off. As a result, even a small mistake can be costly, while the track layout also means that the cars run a high level of downforce. This year, the lap takes on a new look due to some building work in the Marina Bay area: the part of the track that was previously turns 16 to 19 is now just a single straight, which is nearly 400 metres long. This change will make the track faster; firstly because the total lap length is now less than five kilometres and secondly because the layout has become a lot more flowing. We’ll wait to see if this change has an effect on strategies, because in theory at least it could create an overtaking opportunity – with passing notoriously difficult unless you have a much faster car.

    This track doesn’t place particular stress on the tyres in terms of loading, but the rear tyres need to be carefully managed during the traction phase when exiting slow corners. Temperatures are usually consistently high, as Singapore is only about 150 kilometres from the equator. This increases the risk of overheating: not just for tyres but also everything else, including the mechanicals and of course the driver!

    Mario Isola, Pirelli Head of Motorsport.

    https://x.com/pirellisport/status/1701516298419589158?s=46&t=aXLQ2Py0qaT52rhG6u6Lig

  • Singapore track changes

    Singapore’s Formula 1 track layout is being changed temporarily for 2023 to help accommodate the construction of a new events venue.

    Work on redevelopment of the float area at Marina Bay into a new entertainments and stage area means the previous section of the circuit from Turns 16 to 19 cannot be used next season. This section of the circuit is most famously known as the scene of Nelson Piquet Jr’s deliberate crash in 2008 that helped teammate Fernando Alonso win that years grand prix.

    Work on what is to be ‘NS Square’ will begin in March next year and it means for next year’s Singapore GP, the track will be missing the entire section. Instead, the circuit will now feature a flat-out section from the right hander at Turn 14, which will incorporate a new 379.3 metre long straight from Turn 15 to the new tight Turn 16.

    Early simulations of the changes to the track estimate that the lap time will drop dramatically down to 1m 27.7 seconds. This year’s Singapore GP, Charles Leclerc took pole position with a lap time of 1m 49.412s.

    As the result of the revisions, which will reduce the track length to 4.928 kilometres, the number of laps will be increased to 63 from its current 61.

    Whilst the changes have been sorted with local architects and approved in principle by F1, they are still subject for formal approval from the FIA’s world motorsport council. It is anticipated that the track will revert back to its traditional layout for 2024 once the new NS Square is complete.

  • Singapore Grand Prix

    We are back racing once again this week and we have a double header ahead of us, but most importantly we are returning to Asia for the Singapore Grand Prix and for the first time in three years!

    Will Max clinch the title this weekend, or will Leclerc and Ferrari come back fighting? But what can Mercedes do? 6 races left, can they finally get that win, their hoping for?

    Who needs a good weekend?

    Charles and Ferrari will be wanting a good weekend, especially if they want to continue fighting for the championship, as Max can grab the title this weekend. But even if Ferrari weren’t going for the Drivers title anymore, the Italian team have a battle with Mercedes in the Constructors.

    Lewis is closing in on Carlos in the drivers title, so both drivers will be wanting a good weekend and we know how Lewis does around the Marina Bay Circuit.

    Alpha Tauri and Haas will be hoping for a good weekend and score some points, Haas are on 34 and AT are on 33, it will be interesting to see who scores the points and can be consistent for this weekend.

    Predictions-

    My top five for qualifying are- P1: Verstappen, P2: Leclerc, P3: Hamilton, P4: Sainz and P5: Russell.

    I think we will be in for a few surprises on Sunday, given the fact we haven’t raced here in 3 years and some of the drivers who have joined in those three years will be racing here for the first time.

    Times for the weekend-

    Saturday-

    • FP3- 11:00am – 12:00pm (BST)
    • Qualifying- 14:00pm – 15:00pm

    Sunday-

    • Race- 13:00pm (BST)
  • Singapore GP renewed

    Singapore GP renewed

    The Singapore Grand Prix will continue to be held at the Marina Bay Street Circuit after they managed to agree a new contract for 7 years, F1 will continue travelling to Singapore from 2022 to 2028.

    The last time we was at Singapore was back in 2019 where we saw Sebastian Vettel be victorious for the Italian team! But we finally are returning this year.

    Sustainability is set to feature prominently in future races. Meanwhile Singapore GP Pte (SGP) and the Singapore Tourism board (STB) are working together to reduce the carbon footprint of the Singapore race as a part of the transition to more sustainable business models and to be in line with Formula One’s sustainability goals.

    “I am delighted that Formula 1 will continue to race in Singapore for another seven years,” said Formula 1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali. The Marina Bay Street Circuit hosted the first night race in F1 history in 2008, and Singapore has continued to thrill fans, teams, and drivers ever since. Singapore holds a special place on the F1 calendar, and this extension is part of our long-term commitment to continue to grow the sport in Asia.”

    Singapore GP’s Chairman Mr Ong Beng Seng added: “We are very pleased that the night race will continue for seven more years. After more than a decade of celebrating this spectacular event on the racing calendar, we are looking forward to building on its success and working with Formula 1 as well as its partners to take the night race to greater heights. We are delighted that this marquee event will demonstrate how Singapore is open for business. We look forward to welcoming both local and overseas fans and visitors to the Marina Bay Street Circuit once again.”

    My Opinion-

    I am personally happy for this track to stay on the calendar, I think it’s been missed the past couple of years due to covid and now it’s returning this year (hopefully) it will allow new drivers/fans understand the hype about the track.

    I also think it’s good that the track and country want to help with carbon footprint and for F1 to become a more sustainable sport.