Formula 1 - 2017


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Massa doesn't want to be last resort for Williams

Massa doesn't want to be last resort for Williams

Felipe Massa says he would be happy to stay on at Williams in 2018 – but only if the Grove team shows that it really wants him.

The Brazilian has made it clear that he doesn't want to be seen as a last resort when no other suitable drivers are still available.

The Williams driver's decision is complicated by the fact that its Martini sponsorship means that the team prefers to have one older driver of at least 25.

At one stage Fernando Alonso was in the frame, but the Spaniard's deal to stay at McLaren is expected to be confirmed soon.

"Definitely I'm looking to see what's going to happen," said Massa. "For sure I'm interested to stay if I think everything around is correct for me to stay – what is the plan for the team, what are the ideas for next year, what is around, everything.

"And the team needs to show that they want to have me. If I see that, maybe I stay. If I don't see that, I don't stay.

"I need to carry on the position I always try to have, and I always have, to be honest.

"And I think that's what I'm looking forward for next year. If I find a way to stay in the position that I want for myself, everything around the team, then I stay. Otherwise I don't stay."

Massa agreed that there appeared to be few alternative candidates still on the market.

"I feel exactly the same position. But it's not just because of that, as I said I want to have everything I want in a way that is correct for me."

Asked if the team had to show that it wanted him he said: "Yes. This is up to the relationship I have with them, and everything. I think sooner is better for everyone."

Massa believes that he has been driving well this year, and that he should have scored a lot more points than he has.

"The most important thing is how I feel in the car. I feel really good in the car, quite competitive in the way I'm driving, many races I did I did really great races.

"I'm happy with the way I'm driving, I'm happy with the way I'm working, I'm happy with the way I'm understanding the car. And this is what gives you more motivation."

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Free-to-air F1 TV: What lesson for Sky after French move?

Free-to-air F1 TV: What lesson for Sky after French move?

Viewers in France without subscriptions to pay TV are to have the curtains opened to them again next season under a deal just announced. Top F1 broadcaster James Allen investigates…

An agreement between F1 Group and leading French free to air station TF1 begins with the 2018 Championship, and TF1 will show four Formula 1 Grand Prix races in exclusivity on free-to-air in their entirety, including the Monaco GP and the newly-restored French GP at Paul Ricard in July.

Two additional races that have yet to be confirmed will also form part of the live race coverage. Meanwhile, TF1 will also have the rights to show highlights of all rounds.

This deal is interesting because it rows against the tide of recent years which have become increasingly pay TV-focused. While pay TV undoubtedly pays far more for the live race rights than free-to-air broadcasters can, it also takes the sport out of the minds of the people of that country.

In France, F1 has been behind a paywall since 2013 and audiences have fallen from around four to five million on TF1 to 750,000 on Canal Plus, which renewed its contract in May to 2020.

France was an early and extreme example. The UK is heading the same way in 2019 with a five-year exclusive deal for Sky, which now charges for individual sports channels. 

The UK, like another key market, Italy, has managed to hold onto a split rights deal until now, whereby the terrestrial broadcaster has half the races live and the highlights of the rest. This works quite well in Italy, which scored high ratings for the recent Italian Grand Prix on both the free to air RAI and the pay TV Sky Italia.

What the TF1 deal shows is that the new management of F1, under Liberty Media, realise the value of what is known in the business as ‘barker content’ – content on the big platforms that lets fans see the sport and have some access to it, so they can then pay for full access if they are so minded.

TF1’s CEO Gilles Pelisson said: “The whole group will mobilise to ensure that Formula 1 gets the biggest exposure. We are also very happy to offer the sport to the widest audience possible at a time when France will once again play host to a Grand Prix race on the legendary Le Castellet [Paul Ricard] circuit.”

The problem with the Sky deal from 2019 is that it is not only exclusively behind a paywall, but also the highlights rights are not in F1 Group’s gift, but in Sky’s gift. And their obligation under that package is only to show a single live race, the British GP plus highlights of the others, on free to air TV.

So theoretically they can put that secondary package on one of their own channels which qualifies as ‘free to air’ by the end of 2018 and F1 will disappear from mass market view.

Mark Webber, Channel 4 Presenter Ted Kravitz, Sky TV

One could argue that on the minority FTA Channel 4 it is half way there already, with audiences of just over a million and a half, compared to the mass audiences on BBC and before that ITV, which had exclusive live rights from 1997 to 2008, where race audiences were between four million and 12 million depending on time of day.

However, Channel 4 has struck notable success this month with the revamped “Great British Bake Off”, which it poached from BBC and which has pulled in audiences of over 7 million, proving that people can find that button with the right incentive.

So the TF1 deal clearly gives pause for thought and attention turns to Sky now to see what their intentions are. The Sky deal is worth around £170m a year to F1, more than double what the combined Sky/Channel 4 deal nets and it was clever of CVC and the previous F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone to do the deal in time for it to inflate the F1 sale price to Liberty Media.

For Liberty, it is a double headache as not only did it mean that F1 cost more to buy, but it also has a potential backlash on its hands in the UK when F1 disappears from view behind a paywall, without them having any real levers to do a deal like the new TF1 arrangement in France.

In a perfect world Sky would do a deal with the BBC to give affordable access to F1 highlights and the British GP; this would be the most common sense approach as the BBC is a non-commercial entity, would not cannibalise Sky’s ability to sell packages to F1 sponsors, unlike ITV or Channel 4.

But BBC Sport fell out of love with F1 in 2015 and, today, has very different priorities in sport, including balancing out the gender gap, with widespread coverage of women’s sport, which satisfies political pressures from outside and is also very cost efficient.

Simon Lazenby, Sky TV, Damon Hill, Sky TV and Ross Brawn, Formula One Managing Director of Motorsports

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SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX BIG MOMENTS IN A SHORT TIME

Considering that the nature of the track layout puts overtaking  at a premium, it’s safe to say the Singapore Grand Prix has had its fair share of memorable moments in the relatively short time that the Marina Bay Circuit has been on the Formula 1 calendar.

Celebrating its tenth edition this year, here is a selection of the biggest moments from the past nine races.

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2008 – “Crash Gate”

What list such as this would be complete without, the original – and still the biggest – incident in Singapore GP history? Taking place just 14 laps into the inaugural race, Renault’s Nelson Piquet crashed into the barriers at turn 17, necessitating a safety car which allowed his freshly-pitted teammate Fernando Alonso to leapfrog most of the field and eventually seal his only win of the season. Only after Piquet was let go from the team in 2009 did rumours of a fix start to circulate, which quickly escalated when the Brazilian admitted managing director Flavio Briatore and executive director of engineering Pat Symonds had ordered him to crash. Soon after Symonds and Briatore departed the team, the former with a five year ban from F1, the latter suspended indefinitely.

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2008 – Massa drives off with the fuel hose

In F1, every tenth matters, but sometimes that can be taken a little too far, as when Massa was mistakenly signalled to leave his pit-stop with the fuel hose still attached. Unsurprisingly, chaos ensued, with several Ferrari mechanics taking spills and the Brazilian forced to pull-over at the pit exit and wait for it to be removed. The most notable in a series of incidents that night, his P13 finish arguably cost-him the 2008 title.

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2010 – Vettel and Alonso duel with title in the balance

In what is one of the greatest performances of Fernando Alonso’s career, the Spaniard bested Red Bull’s Vettel by just 0.293s, despite having a car that was widely considered inferior. Both firmly ensconced in the 2010 title fight, the two were locked in an epic chess match from the first lap, and managed to stay together throughout the traffic and safety cars. Ending somewhat controversially, Vettel was denied an attempt to pass Alonso into the final corner, as the smouldering wreck of Heikki Kovalainen’s Lotus had brought out the yellow flags.

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2011 – Massa v Hamilton beef

They may have duked it out for the 2008 title, but the Massa-Hamilton rivalry didn’t really heat-up until 2011, when the pair collided no less than five times. The third of their clashes, Hamilton managed to puncture Massa’s right-rear tyre as the two battled for fourth, with the Brit being handed a drive-through penalty. However the real flare-up was post-race, as Massa got handsy with Hamilton during a TV interview to express his displeasure.

Kamui Kobayashi, Airborneng_For_The_2011_Singapore_Grand_Prix

2011 – Kobayashi gets airborne

Well-known for his seat-of-the-pants, “Leeroy Jenkins” approach to driving, Kamui Kobayashi took things a little too far in 2011 qualifying. Going through the notorious “Singapore Sling” chicane at turn 10, the Japanese managed to catch air as he ran over the kerbs, and while the move certainly earned him some style points, he immediately lost them as his Sauber plowed uncontrollably into the wall. Widely considered the “worst corner in F1”, the corner was altered in time for the 2013 race.

SINGAPORE - SEPTEMBER 23: Michael Schumacher of Germany and Mercedes GP crashes with Jean-Eric Vergne of France and Scuderia Toro Rosso during the Formula One Grand Prix of Singapore at Marina Bay Street Circuit on September 23, 2012 in Singapore. (Photo by Vladimir Rys/Getty Images)

2012 – Schumi’s strange swansong

With Michael Schumacher’s second stint in F1 coming to an end, everyone was hoping for as much classic Schumi as possible. Unfortunately Singapore delivered the opposite, as the seven-time world champion bowed-out of his final race in the country under embarrassing circumstances, clumsily locking-up and running right into the rear of Jean-Eric Vergne’s Toro Rosso. It was a move as unbecoming of Schumacher as any in his storied career, and signalled to his legions of fans that it was indeed the right time to hang up the boots.

Alonso lifts Webber

2013 – Webber hitches a ride

Following in the footsteps of Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell at Silverstone, 2013 also gave us the endearing scene of Mark Webber getting a ride back to the pits from Fernando Alonso. Having broken down on the last lap of the race, Webber managed to catch Alonso on the cool-down lap, giving us a scene that was well-received by everyone… except the stewards, with both drivers receiving reprimands – the Aussie got an additional ten place grid penalty for the next race.

SINGAPORE - SEPTEMBER 22: Sebastian Vettel of Germany and Infiniti Red Bull racing celebrates following his victory during the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix at Marina Bay Street Circuit on September 22, 2013 in Singapore, Singapore. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Sebastian Vettel

2013 – Vettel makes it a hat-trick

The most successful driver in Singapore with four victories, none were better than his one in 2013. So dominant was the Red Bull driver that he didn’t even need to do a second lap to take pole, and he finished the race 32.627s up on his closest competitor, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso. No, such a performance didn’t make for the most scintillating racing, but it stands out as the apex of one of the most successful driver-team partnerships.

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2014 – Magnussen feels the heat

With averages of 30 degree heat and 80% humidity, Singapore is inhospitable to an F1 driver at the best of times. That made Magnussen’s 2014 outing all the more impressive, as the then-McLaren driver managed a P10 finish despite a broken radiator seal having caused his seat and drinks bottle to overheat. Treated after the race for minor burns, it was about as gutsy a performance as you’ll see in any sport.

Singapore man on track2

2015 – Man interprets “street” circuit a little too literally

Look, we get it, not every race is an absolute corker. Sometimes you want a bit more excitement, but taking matters into your own hands as one fan did in 2015 is bound to end badly. The man, seen taking a casual stroll down turn 13 as the cars whizzed by, was eventually given sixth weeks in prison.

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2015 – Mercedes have a shocker

Having been essentially all-conquering since the start of the V6 era in 2014, Mercedes started every race knowing the result was in that hands – except that year at Marina Bay. A strong but finicky beast, the W06 was never at home in the conditions, qualifying well off the pace, and only managing a single-car finish, with Nico Rosberg down 24.720s on winner Sebastian Vettel. Back to their dominant ways next race at Suzuka, it was a strange blip on the inexorable march to the 2015 constructor’s title.

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SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX TECHNICAL PREVIEW

Marina Bay Circuit, Marina Bay, Singapore. Friday 16 September 2016. The team work on the car of Valtteri Bottas, Williams FW38 Mercedes, in the garage. Photo: Glenn Dunbar/Williams ref: Digital Image _31I2662

The Marina Bay street circuit in Singapore provides as stark a contrast with Monza as any track on the calendar, with the key performance differentiator being the chassis as opposed to the power unit. This means that the order will almost certainly bear no significant resemblance to that of the last race, something that is enhanced by the fact that this race meeting usually sees the next batch of performance upgrades arrive on the cars.

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Downforce vs Drag

  • The circuit favours running the highest downforce level available, but this will only be the case if there is a good balance between the front and rear of the car.
  • If, for instance, the maximum aero level is lower at the rear relative to at the front of a particular car, then actually reducing front load will be more beneficial to laptime, decreasing oversteer.

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Car Strengths Needed

  • The requirement of high downforce is often highlighted as the key factor at Singapore, but mechanical grip also plays a significant role, given the number of slow speed corners.
  • As mentioned above, a good car balance is critical, giving the driver the confidence to push and use the maximum width of the track, right up to the walls.
  • Strong drive-ability – this comes from traction (and therefore rearward aero and mechanical grip) as well as from the power unit. Much work would have gone into PU mapping for Singapore to maximise performance in the multitude of acceleration zones.

Key Corners

  • Turn 5 – this corner rewards a responsive front end, followed by good traction, and will be crucial to any potential overtaking manoeuvres on the following DRS straight.
  • Turns 13/16 – these both feature blind entries, where drivers must be both on the brakes and turning, making front locking a distinct possibility.
  • Turns 22/23 – the only non-flat-out high-speed corners on the circuit place greater emphasis on aerodynamic grip, and will be a key performance differentiator between teams.

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Pirelli Tyre Compounds Singapore

  • Pirelli is bringing the softest trio of compounds in its range, as was the case last year.
  • In 2016, a mixture of two and three stop strategies were preferred, although in theory a SS-S one-stop was a possibility.
  • With the more durable compounds for this year, a one or two stop is the likely outcome on strategy. With the possibility of overtaking, together with the vast time spent in the corners, the undercut is very powerful here, favouring two visits to the pits.
  • The Soft compound will not feature greatly, being too hard for the circuit, and as such, the maximum number of sets chosen by any driver is only two.

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Overtaking & DRS

  • Overtaking opportunities are slightly limited, but unlike Monaco, the track layout does feature a couple of decent DRS zones.
  • The most popular passing place is into Turn 7, with the series of slow corners preceding this area allowing cars to follow each other closely.
  • With a high tyre delta between drivers, close racing is almost guaranteed here, allowing drivers to gamble with a late extra stop and attack their opposition at the end of the race.
    Weather
  • There is always a possibility of rain in Singapore, but any precipitation is usually prior to the session timings.
  • Teams and drivers will hope for a completely dry weekend, allowing the track to rubber in and improving the general grip level, the result of which is a more accurate set-up refinement environment for qualifying and the race.

Form Guide

  • The Hungaroring order provides the most recent indication of what to expect this weekend.
  • Therefore, Ferrari are predicted to be out in front, with Mercedes and Red Bull going for the final podium place – the latter’s race pace is likely to be especially strong, with any qualifying engine mode disadvantage being non-existent.
  • Behind the top three, a tight battle between Renault and McLaren should round out the top ten.
  • Williams and Force India will experience a much more difficult weekend than in Italy, where points were guaranteed, thanks to the lack of power dependency at the Marina Bay circuit.
  • Key Questions
  • Will Mercedes take a further step forward on their high downforce set-up, as they did from Monaco to Hungary, allowing the Silver Arrows to fight for pole and the win?
  • With further upgrades expected, how will the pecking order have changed from Hungary?
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BIG BLOW FOR FERRARI AS THEY CRASH WITH VERSTAPPEN

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Ferrari suffered a crushing blow to their title aspirations at the Singapore Grand Prix as Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen collided heavily with the Red Bull of Max Verstappen as the field powered towards Turn 1.

Vettel managed a good start, but from fourth on the grid it was Raikkonen that found traction on the damp track and lunged between the wall and Verstappen as Vettel drifted to the inside.

Verstappen was squeezed with nowhere to go and was the meat in the Ferrari sandwich, inevitably there was contact.

Raikkonen flew across the track, out of control and a helpless passenger, rammed Vettel before bouncing onto the pit exit at speed he then collected Verstappen on the outside of Turn 1, who in turn tagged Fernando Alonso’s McLaren.

Vettel resumed in the lead but there was clear damage on the left side-pod of his Ferrari and a few corners later it snapped out of control and smacked the wall, the car rolling in reverse for a hundred metres before it came to a halt. The incident triggering a yellow flag period as the debris was cleared.

When the dust settled Vettel, Raikkonen and Verstappen were out. Alonso recovered retired on lap nine no doubt as a result of the mayhem in which he was the innocent victim.

Vettel told reporters afterwards, “Not ideal is it. I didn’t see that much. I saw Max and then next thing I see is Kimi hitting the side of me and Max somewhere there.”

As for his world title bid, he said, “It’s how this business is. It doesn’t change much. We’re not in the race now and can’t show the pace that we had. I’m sure there will be more opportunities.”

The FIA race stewards summoned the three drivers for a chat after the race and later deemed that no driver was predominantly responsible for the cause of the pile-up.

Big winner was Mercedes driver and championship leader Lewis Hamilton who inherited the lead and stayed there until the end. His narrow three points lead in the championship over Vettel extended to a healthy 28 points advantage.

A bad day for Vettel and Ferrari, their title ambitions now very much in the hands of fate.

 

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RAIKKONEN: I COULDN’T HAVE DONE ANYTHING DIFFERENTLY

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Kimi Raikkonen made a fantastic getaway when the red light turned dark to start the Singapore Grand Prix, but that’s as good as it got for the Ferrari driver as he was entangled in a three-way pile-up involving teammate Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen as the trio hurtled towards Turn 1.

Raikkonen and Verstappen got out of their damaged cars which came to halt in the Turn 1 complex, while Vettel managed to drive a couple hundred metres more but the damage to his car caused him to spin out. The three podium contenders were out of the race, seconds after it began.

It was the first time in Ferrari’s history that both their cars were eliminated on the first lap of a grand prix.

Raikkonen told reporters, “I made a good start and I got hit and obviously there was nothing I could do after that. That was the end of the race so now we see what happens.”

“I don’t know about Max, you have to ask him. It was one of those things and you pay a big price for it. But I don’t think I could have done anything different from what I did to avoid it. It’s a shame but that’s it. I had a good first 100 metres but then the race ended there. We’re out and it’s far from ideal.”

When asked who he thought was to blame, Raikkonen responded, “Blame? Today the end result is the same whichever way you look at it. That’s really the only thing that matters now and whatever comes after that it still doesn’t make any difference.”

“The fact is we cannot change it that we’re no longer in the race – that’s really the bad part. The painful part for us is that both our cars were out of the race after the first few hundred metres – it’s far from what we would have hoped for.”

“It was one of those things and it was obviously bad for our race. Far from ideal, but it is what it is. You probably saw it better than me, but we got hit and taken out; that was the end of our race.”

“The are always different views from the people watching it, but I don’t know. All I know is that I couldn’t have done anything differently to avoid it,” insisted Raikkonen.

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SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX: CRUISE FOR HAMILTON AFTER VETTEL CRASHES

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton cruised to an easy victory in the Singapore Grand Prix after a chaotic start to the race saw both Ferrari drivers Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen as well as Max Verstappen eliminated after a spectacular start line collision.

From then on what promised to be an enthralling contest became a tense procession once the debris was cleared, in the aftermath of the Ferrari duo turning the Red Bull into the meat in their sandwich. 

The race started with a drizzle over rain Marina Bay Circuit and as a result a damp track which prompted most of the field to bolt on Pirelli intermediate tyres. 

Vettel managed a good start, but from fourth on the grid it was Raikkonen that found traction on the damp track and lunged between the wall and Verstappen as Vettel drifted to the inside.

Verstappen was squeezed with nowhere to go and was the meat in the Ferrari sandwich, inevitably there was contact. Raikkonen flew across the track, out of control, rammed Vettel before bouncing across the track and again collecting Verstappen in Turn 1, who in turn tagged Fernando Alonso’s McLaren.

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Vettel resumed in the lead but there was clear damage on the left side-pod of his Ferrari and a few corners later it snapped out of control and smacked the wall, the car rolling in reverse for a hundred metres before it came to a halt.

The trio were summoned to the FIA race stewards office for a conversation after the race.

Thus Hamilton inherited the lead where he stayed for the rest of the night despite the safety car periods which on each occasion reduced his nine or so seconds lead to nothing. But each time, Hamilton made a great start and simply roared into the distance.

Hamilton said afterwards, “I want to congratulate the team. It’s amazing points. Yesterday we struggled and had no idea what was going to happen today. It was very fortunate with the Ferraris at the beginning. I’m really thankful.”

“God blessed me today for sure. I capitalised on the incident. Who would’ve known that would happy. It’s really unfortunate for Ferrari but great for the team. Daniel put up a great fight. I hoped I would be fighting Sebastian. It’s better the way it is and I’m glad we got it home,” added Hamilton.

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The man tailing him all race long was Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bull, but he simply had no answer to the Mercedes driver and did well to finish second after fending off a hard charging Valtteri Bottas late in the race. 

Ricciardo was in fighting mood after qualifying third, but he simply had no answer to Hamilton and in the end it was an uneventful drive to second place for the Aussie, the Bottas attack was well covered.

After scoring his seventh podium of the season, Ricciardo said, “I can’t win the bloody thing. We didn’t have the Friday pace to have the pace on Mercedes. A little bit disappointed to miss out on a win but I’m grateful for another podium. I watched the chaos in front of me. It was probably a good thing I had a poor start as I’d have been caught up in it. It looked like three going into one but I don’t know who’s fault it was. It was just too close.”

Third place was more than Bottas would have been realistically expecting as he struggled to find the sweet spot in his Mercedes all weekend. He to kept out of trouble, made a go of it in the end but will be satisfied with his night shift.

Bottas summed up, “It was very good damage limitation today. We got lucky but the car was working much better today. There are still plenty of races to come and plenty of opportunities [in the championship]. Sebastian is the next target.”

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In the end, defying all predictions and on a track not suited to their car, the night belonged to Hamilton who bagged maximum points and saw his world championship lead extend from three points before the start to 28 when the chequered flag waved.

His seventh victory of the season may well be the turning point of this season and with six races remaining in the championship, a fourth world title is now his to lose. The hunter will now be the hunted.

Carlos Sainz was delighted to finish fourth in the Toro Rosso, his best result in Formula 1 thus far, while his teammate Daniil Kvyat crashed out in Turn 7 on lap 11.

Om the day he was confirmed by Force India as their driver for 2018 Sergio Perez delivered a solid performance to claim fifth place, with his teammate securing a double points finish for the Pinks in tenth.

On the weekend he came to know he will not be with Renault next year, Jolyon Palmer scored his first points of the season by bagging sixth place. His second points finish in 35 starts with the French team.

Stoffel Vandoorne claimed seventh place for McLaren, ahead of Williams driver Lance Stroll who turned 18th on the grid into eighth place at the end of the race. Romain Grosjean finished ninth in the Haas.

Mercedes chairman Niki Lauda summed up the situation, “The first corner was incredible and the end was fantastic. Where we came from and where we ended, the signs are the right direction. Lewis did an incredible race.”

“It was amazing how the Mercedes car performed in difficult conditions. Lewis drove fantastically. Now 28 points ahead, not bad. It is never won but this step forwards, with both Ferraris out, was not a bad result,” added Lauda.

F1+Grand+Prix+of+Singapore+5ekBIGkx0Kmx

Blow-By-Blow

Rain began to fall across the circuit in the hour before the race and though it stopped as the drivers steered their cars towards the grid, it began again 15 minutes before the formation lap, during which a number of drivers reported that visibility was poor.

A regulations start was undertaken, however, and almost as soon as the lights went out there was an incident. Polesitter Vettel and front-row rival Verstappen got away gingerly, allowing a fast-starting Räikkonen to pull alongside from fourth on the grid. Vettel moved across but Verstappen seemed to overcompensate and he collided with Räikkonen.

In a shower of carbon debris both spun off track, with Alonso also being collected along the way. Amazingly, the Spaniard was able to continue. His race only last until lap eight, however, when the damage sustained eventually became too debilitating.

Up ahead Vettel was also in trouble. The German spun later in the lap and smashed into the wall, losing the front of his car. He limped onwards but there was too much damage and he too retired from the race.

The safety car was immediately deployed and behind it Hamilton now led from Ricciardo, Hulkenberg, and Perez.

Racing resumed at the end of lap four, with Hamilton holding his lead ahead of Ricciardo. The Briton quickly opened up a five-second gap to the Australian.

On lap 11 the safety car was deployed once again, Kvyat having slid his Toro Rosso into the barriers after locking up.

Ricciardo was one of the first to react, pitting for a new set of intermediate tyres. Hamilton, though, stayed out on track, as a slew of drivers, including the Renault’s of Hulkenberg and team-mate Palmer, also headed for the pit lane for new tyres.

Bottas and Sainz opted to follow Hamilton’s lead, however, and they climbed to third and fourth respectively. The order now was, Hamilton, Ricciardo, Bottas, Sainz and Hulkenberg, with Perez sixth ahead of Palmer, Stroll, Vandoorne and Massa.

The safety car departed at the end of lap 14 and Hamilton once again held his advantage over Ricciardo. Now the track was beginning to dry, though in some sections the surface was still treacherous, as Hulkenberg found out on the next lap as he almost lost control trying to stay ahead of Perez.

Hamilton, though, was prospering on his ageing intermediates. Following the SC’s departure he began posting race fastest laps and by the start of lap 19 he had built a 3.0s gap to Ricciardo.

That gap continued to grow and by lap 26, Hamilton had a comfortable 6.8s seconds in hand over the Red Bull driver.

Further back, Massa and Magnussen had decided the crossover point to slicks had been made and they both pitted for ultrasoft tyres. On lap 28 Magnussen set the quickest first sector of all and the field began to pit for slicks, with Sainz taking supersoft and Vandoorne and Ocon stopping for ultrasofts.

Ricciardo, too reacted, pitting at the end of lap 28 for ultarsoft tyres in a 2.4s stop. Hamilton waited a lap longer but then he too made his way into pit lane for a set of purple-banded tyres, taking 2.5s to get them onboard.

There followed a spell in which the top three drivers traded fastest laps, though the end result of the tussle was that the gaps remained the same until lap 38 when Ericcson dumped his Sauber into the wall.

When the green flag was shown again at the start of lap 42, Hamilton once again held his lead from Ricciardo. The Australian though, quickly came under pressure from Bottas who had proifited from the Ericsson incident by seeing his 16s deficit to Ricciardo erased under the SC.

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The Red Bull driver was alive to the threat, however, and by the end of the lap he had pulled out a 1.5s gap to the Finn and eventually would stretch that to five seconds.

Ahead, Hamilton was powering towards the flag, and on lap 43 he was a full two seconds quicker than Ricciardo, thus establishing a 4.0s lead within two laps of the SC departing. A mistake soon after saw that advantage halved, but that was as close as Ricciardo got. As the clock counted down, the gap stabilised at just under three seconds and as the two-hour mark arrived, at the end of lap 57, Hamilton swept past the chequered flag to claim his 60th career win and his third in Singapore.

Ricciardo took a solid second ahead of Bottas while Sainz took a career-best fourth place on the weekend it was announced that in 2018 he will drive for Renault. Pérez was fifth for Force India, while Jolyon Palmer took his first points of the season with sixth place on the weekend it was announced that he would lose his Renault seat to Sainz.

Vandoorne was seventh for McLaren, while Lance Stroll delivered an excellent performance to take eighth, ten places ahead of his grid slot. Grosjean took two points for Haas and the last point on offer went to Ocon in the second Force India.

Lewis Hamilton. winner

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VERSTAPPEN: I THINK MAINLY SEBASTIAN IS TO BLAME

Max Verstappen, crash, collision

Max Verstappen started the Singapore Grand Prix from the front row and although he was keen to reverse a slew of bad results, his race only lasted until the first corner complex as his Red Bull was embroiled in a Ferrari sandwich which resulted in a spectacular race ending collision – three podium contenders retired before a lap was completed.

Since then the FIA race stewards at Marina Bay Circuit have deemed that neither Verstappen or Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel were predominantly at fault, but the young Dutchman thinks otherwise.

After the race Verstappen was asked by reporters who was to blame, he replied, “I think mainly Sebastian. He started squeezing me. Maybe he didn’t see Kimi on the left but that’s not an excuse I think if you are fighting for the world championship, you shouldn’t take those risks and really like squeeze someone that much.”

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“You can see what happens, Lewis is leading the race and the three of us are out. I tried to back out of it because I could see it coming but the rear tyres are wider than the front so I couldn’t back out of it. Suspension damage. Into the first corner those things can happen because Kimi had only two tyres left.”

Verstappen was immediately blamed by Ferrari on Twitter for ‘taking out’ Raikkonen and Vettel:

But the Dutchman countered, “I don’t think it was a racing incident. At the end of the day they take a total of three cars and I was in the middle without doing anything wrong. I was just trying to have a clean start. At the end of the day, not only I retired, but all three of us have a bit of pain.”

Red Bull chief Christian Horner was incensed when he was told Ferrari was blaming his driver, “How the hell you can work that out from watching that I’ve got no idea.”

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“You can see Sebastian comes quite aggressively left, Kimi goes to the right and Max can’t disappear. He held a straight line and just desperately unlucky to be collected like that. He’s focussed on Sebastian but he held a straight a line.”

“You see Seb moving over to the left, squeezing, squeezing and you can’t just disappear. It’s racing, it’s one of those things when you have got three cars going into a corner like that, but Max certainly couldn’t just disappear,” added Horner.

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Max’s father Jos Verstappen said of the incident, “To what I could see is that Kimi headed towards Max, so he had nowhere to go. Max was sandwiched. That’s a shame. Kimi forces him towards Vettel and Max runs into Vettel. That was not an ideal move from Kimi. This ruins the entire weekend, especially for Max. He just needs one good result.”

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ALONSO: I WAS 100 PERCENT SURE OF A PODIUM

Fernando Alonso, Kimi raikkonen, crash

Fernando Alonso made a rocket start from eight on the grid with the lead in sight before his McLaren was T-boned by the out of control Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen.

Alonso recovered but the damage to his car forced the team to retire him on lap 8 of the race, but the Spaniard was adamant that a podium was on the cards, and perhaps even a victory, on the night.

Afterwards Alonso told reporters, “I was 100 percent sure of a podium. The question is whether we could have fought for a victory.”

As for the incident, he said, “I didn’t see much unfortunately. Everything happened in the inside and I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Unfortunately this race we had a lot of hopes.”

“In wet conditions I think we are very strong as well and arguably we could be leading the race. It was an amazing start from the car, the launch was very good today. We missed this opportunity and we need to hope for better luck in Malaysia,” added Alonso.

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Carlos Sainz Jr. revels in career-best fourth place

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Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz Jr. revelled in the best result of his Formula 1 career as he netted fourth position at a wet/dry Singapore Grand Prix.

Sainz Jr. made a sub-par getaway from the line but profited from the drama further up the grid to hold a place inside the top 10, and made further gains throughout the remainder of the 58-lap race.

Toro Rosso opted to place Sainz Jr. on the Supersoft tyres, as opposed to Ultrasofts, once the circuit dried, and he ultimately came home in fourth place.

“I lost a lot of positions,” Sainz Jr. said, referring to his start.

"[But] then the team told me even if I lost a lot of positions I was still P9, so from that point onwards it was head down, overtaking people on the Intermediates.

“Once I saw Lewis [Hamilton] was on the same strategy as me, I said, 'OK, we might have some good chances here', just doing a one-stop and going to the end.

“We chose exactly the right strategy again, like in China, and we made it to the end with not an easy last stint with the Super Softs, struggling a lot with grip, but managing to keep Checo [Pérez] behind."

Renault announced earlier in the weekend that Sainz Jr. will race for the team in 2018, while rumours persist that he could switch squads for the next round in Malaysia.

“I'm still not thinking it's going to be my last race," said Sainz Jr. on the situation.

“I told my team, my group of engineers, my mechanics, let's go for this weekend, let's do a perfect weekend, and not care about what happens next.

"They showed a big amount of support, telling me they were extremely happy for me, for my future.”

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Daniel Ricciardo says his bad start was 'probably a good thing'

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Daniel Ricciardo says he is thankful that he made a bad start during the Singapore Grand Prix, believing it probably saved him from getting caught up in the chaos that ensued.

Ricciardo was slow off the line, which saw him drop behind Lewis Hamilton, whilst Fernando Alonso got a great start, leaping the pair. Just moments later the leading trio of Max Verstappen, Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel collided, taking Alonso out in the process.

Ricciardo believes his start probably saved him, allowing him to finish second behind eventual winner Hamilton.

"I can’t win the bloody thing! I’m trying. I’m trying," said Ricciardo, after taking his third-consecutive runner-up finish at Singapore. "I like it around here.

"Today we didn’t have that Friday pace we showed in practice to have the pace over Mercedes.

"I’m a little bit disappointed to miss out on the win but I’ve still got to be grateful and happy with another podium."

He added: "I just kind of just watched the chaos unfold in front of me. It was probably a good thing that I had a bad start, otherwise I probably would have got caught up in it.

"It just looked like three were trying to go into one. I don’t know whose fault it was, it was just too close."

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Valtteri Bottas targeting Sebastian Vettel in Drivers' Championship

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Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas has said that Sebastian Vettel is his next target in the Drivers' Championship as the Finn tries to keep his title hopes alive.

Bottas, who joined Mercedes at the start of this season, finished third in Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix, struggling in terms of performance when compared to team-mate Lewis Hamilton who went on to take a dominant win.

"Of course, it was good for us, very good damage limitation today," said Bottas, surprised at the result Mercedes secured with the race in Singapore set to be a difficult one. "We definitely got lucky.

"But I have to say the car was working better than expected today. I was really waiting for the opportunities. I struggled in the wet with the pace but in the dry it was pretty good.

Through a third place finish in Singapore and with Sebastian Vettel crashing out on the first lap, Bottas is now only 23 points behind the Ferrari driver in the standings, although he is 51 points adrift from his team-mate.

"There are still plenty of races to come and plenty of opportunities," said Bottas when asked about his championship chances with six races remaining. "Definitely Sebastian is the next target.

Bottas also took the time to thank Mercedes for his surprising podium result after he started in sixth place, praising his team for a near perfect weekend: "I think we take it, although it’s not a 1-2, but at a difficult track for us 1-3 is nearly perfect, so thank you team."

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Red Bull feared Ricciardo would suffer gearbox failure

Red Bull feared Ricciardo would suffer gearbox failure

Red Bull principal Christian Horner has revealed the team was seriously concerned that Daniel Ricciardo's gearbox could have expired midway through the Singapore Grand Prix.

Ricciardo avoided the first corner carnage that claimed teammate Max Verstappen and both Ferrari drivers to slot into second behind Lewis Hamilton.

While the Red Bull RB13 had looked considerably the quicker car compared to the Mercedes W08 for most of the Singapore weekend, Ricciardo couldn't mount a victory challenge.

Horner revealed after the race that the Australian driver was held back by having to manage a gearbox issue the team had discovered early on.

“Even before the first safety car, we could see were losing an awful lot of oil pressure in the gearbox," Horner told Sky Sports F1. "So we were thinking, ‘crikey, this is only going to go to half-distance'.

“So Daniel had instructions to start managing that, and he had to sacrifice laptime from doing that. He did that incredibly well, and managed to nurse the car home for almost another hour and a half.”

Asked whether Ricciardo could have won the race if not for the gearbox problem, Horner said: “We certainly could have been closer and put a bit more pressure on, but I think it’s very different conditions today - with the rain, the rubber being gone, it’s cooler than Friday, they were all factors.

“Mercedes, particularly Lewis – we had Valtteri [Bottas] covered, but Lewis had a really strong day.”

For his part, Ricciardo insisted having to manage the gearbox did not play a major role in the outcome.

“Ultimately it didn’t change shape of race," he said. "That wasn’t reason we were second and not first.”

Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing RB13

Ricciardo rues “most frustrating” result

Having targeted a “dominant weekend” after sweeping both Friday practice sessions, Ricciardo remained optimistic about his chances of a race win despite missing out on pole.

Instead, he had to settle for a third consecutive runner-up finish in Singapore, a result he admitted was hard to take given the RB13's earlier pace.

“That was the most frustrating thing, frustrating not to get that first win here,” Ricciardo said.

“But more, we didn't have the pace we showed on Friday, we struggled to look after the tyres – when able to punch out a good laptime, I couldn’t maintain it, whereas Lewis could answer and answer again.”

Ricciardo felt his car was not set up perfectly for the wet-dry race, saying: “If we were to do race again and set up the car differently, something we did on car would have helped us if we went the other way to what the conditions were.”

While his driver was frustrated by the outcome, the threat of a mechanical failure, paired with an early retirement for Verstappen, meant team boss Horner was satisfied with Ricciardo's second place.

Asked if this was a win that got away from Red Bull, Horner answered: “You could say that, but on lap 15 we were staring down the barrel of both cars being eliminated.

“We came away with a second place here, so we’ll take that.”

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Palmer adamant he has ‘six races left’

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Jolyon Palmer has reiterated that he intends to see the season out with Renault after claiming only his second points finish of his Formula 1 career.

Palmer's Renault fate was sealed when the Enstone team announced that on Friday that Carlos Sainz would be replacing him for the 2018 season.

Both drivers in question subsequently scored the best finishes of their career in a crazy race at Singapore. Sainz came home in P4, with Palmer taking P6.

“It’s immensely satisfying," Palmer told Sky F1.

The race was really enjoyable from the word go. When it rains you don’t know what to expect. We made a good start and we were really strong in the wet.

“You never know what to expect. I really enjoyed the conditions today. Made a nice pass on Bottas and I just went with the guys ahead. A very smooth race.

“You want to show every weekend the best that you can do. The result this weekend is finally a bit of good luck. This result could have come earlier in Baku, Silverstone or Spa. I hope we can build from this in the next six races.

Palmer was then quizzed about his future and he stated that his desire to remain in Formula 1.

He added: “At the moment the news about Renault is quite fresh. From my side I want to go out with six of the best races. I want to stay in F1 and there are other options. I want to do myself proud in these six races.

“It’s Renault’s prerogative, they can decide who’s in the car next season. I’ve had a tough year, we’ve had reliability issues but I’ve made mistakes as well.

"The media were always questioning about my future. It’s made it’s a bit harder but I’ve learnt to switch off and just focus on the driving.

Palmer then reiterated he still has six races left with Renault, amid reports he has been offered a substantial pay-off to leave early.

He said: “I have a good relationship with the team and still do. Six more races with them. I’ve been with Renault for two years and three years at Enstone. Hopefully I can finish with the team on a good note."

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YAMAMOTO: MCLAREN FIND IT HARD TO ADAPT TO CHANGE

Masashi Yamamoto,

Honda’s motorsport chief has portrayed former champions McLaren as too ‘systematic’ and set in their ways as the Formula 1 partners prepare to separate at the end of the season. a partnership that endured three years of misery.

McLaren are ninth of 10 teams in the constructors’ championship and have directed much of the blame at Honda, whose engine has suffered embarrassing failures and is no match for rivals.

“Working with McLaren, I’ve realised that they are a very big company which is very systematic,” Masashi Yamamoto said in an interview published on the Honda website.

“It’s obviously very strong because of that but at the same time they can find it hard to adapt to change,” he added without giving specific examples.

Similar comments have been made in the past about Honda, who announced with McLaren last Friday that their partnership was ending.

McLaren, the sport’s second most successful team in terms of race wins, will be teaming up with Renault in 2018 while Honda are joining Red Bull-owned Toro Rosso.

Yamamoto said Honda would have preferred to stay with McLaren but recognised they had not been able to reach performance and reliability targets set by the team.

The company was determined to succeed with its Formula One project, however, and still had three years with the current engine regulations to show what it could do.

Toro Rosso principal Franz Tost understood Japanese culture, said Yamamoto, and communication was good, “We have seen that they also have a young factory and are growing, which for Honda is very important because we can work with the same mentality and have the same approach.”

”If we compare both teams with different cuisines, let’s say McLaren is a very sophisticated French cuisine, that’s the way it is. Then Toro Rosso is more like a countryside, homemade delicious stew where you can add new ingredients. We’re excited to do that,” concluded Yamamoto.

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WEBBER: SOMETIMES SEB FORGETS WHERE THE BACK OF HIS CAR IS!

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Mark Webber knows a thing or two about Sebastian Vettel as the pair were teammates for several years at Red Bull and had their fair share of close encounters, now in the wake of the Singapore start collision the straight talking Aussie agrees that no one was to blame for the incident but also believes that the German tends to forget how long his car is.

Speaking on Channel 4, for whom he is a pundit, Webber gave his opinion on the crash that eliminated Vettel, his Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, “I think sometimes Seb forgets where the back of his car is! There’s a bit more he’s got to get through. There it is… straight across. And look there, again, who’s behind us! Lewis is watching it all unfold again.”

Webber took issue with the fact that the trio were summoned after the race for a meeting with the FIA stewards, “It’s a joke. It’s done. Seb’s leaving here in pieces. Ferrari’s got no points. Max’s has got no points. All of them have been wiped out.”

“I just get frustrated because we’ve had a car race, we’ve left the track, these boys are in the barriers, they’re massively frustrated, they’re burning inside. Then they’ve got to sit and listen to some guy say: well, you know, I’ve got a slo-mo, we’ve gotta do this, we’ve gotta do this. It’s not real,” fumed Webber.

He added, “There’s absolutely no way that Sebastian knew Kimi made such a fantastic start, so he’s now focusing on Max. Kimi’s made the best start out of all of them and then there’s an absolutely shocking timing of events where they just run into each other.”

“Max Verstappen, totally innocent, absolutely innocent. Seb did try to protect heavily to the left. Kimi got the biggest penalty ever for a great start. It just destroyed the race.”

In the end it was a mighty blow for Ferrari’s championship ambitions as Vettel leaves Singapore 28 points adrift of Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton in the title race with six rounds to go.

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ASTON MARTIN: WE WANT TO BE MORE INVOLVED IN THE SPORT

Andy Palmer, Christian Horner

British luxury sportscar maker Aston Martin is looking to get more engaged in Formula 1 , chief executive Andy Palmer confirmed during the Singapore Grand Prix weekend amid speculation of a title partnership with Red Bull and future engine involvement.

“We want to be more involved in the sport,” Palmer told Channel 4 television while attending the Singapore Grand Prix.

“We’re currently studying the 2021 engine. If we get a reasonable regulation that brings down the cost of the engine, Aston would like to be involved in the engine,” added the Briton.

“And then of course we’d like to be involved a little more next season and then join the dots. But it really depends on what happens with the engine regs.”

Red Bull and Aston Martin have an existing relationship, with the team’s race cars carrying branding for the marque since last year.

Top designer Adrian Newey, whose Renault-powered Red Bull race cars won four successive drivers’ and constructors’ titles between 2010-13, has worked with Aston Martin on the AM-RB 001 Valkyrie ‘hypercar’.

Media reports have suggested Aston could become Red Bull’s title sponsor next season.

Former Nissan executive Palmer was a key figure in negotiating just such a previous deal for the Japanese manufacturer’s Infiniti brand, which has now gone to the Renault works team, to partner Red Bull.

The British-based team currently use Renault engines, branded Tag Heuer.

Formula One, under new management since US-based Liberty Media took over in January, and the governing FIA are looking at what sort of unit will power the series once the current agreement expires in 2020.

The aim is to bring down costs and allow a cheaper and less complex engine than the current 1.6 litre V6 turbo hybrid power units, one that could also encourage new manufacturers into the sport.

Aston Martin, a 104-year-old firm whose road cars have become closely associated with fictional British secret agent James Bond, last competed in Formula One in 1960.

The company is now owned mainly by Kuwaiti and Italian investors and is seeking to boost its share of US markets.

Last month Aston reported its first half-yearly profit in almost a decade and it expects full-year volumes to rise by around a third to roughly 5 000 cars.

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Ericsson in talks with Sauber, Williams

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As rumours persist that Sauber could run Ferrari junior drivers in 2018, Marcus Ericsson says his team are talking to “a few other teams, including Williams.”

Ericsson is potentially facing the loss of his Formula 1 drive as reports claim Sauber could become a sort of junior team for engine supplier Ferrari, and the place where the Scuderia blood their young drivers.

As such Ericsson, who has yet to score a point this season, is keeping his options open with his management speaking with several teams.

He told Swedish publication Expressen: “There are many rumours right now.

“I know that my managers are in touch with Sauber and a few other teams, including Williams.

“We will see what will happen in the coming weeks, but it’s an exciting time.”

Pushed on his chances of remaining in F1, he replied: “You can never be sure, but that’s the goal, to drive in Formula 1 next season.”

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F1 moves closer to introducing 360-degree broadcasts

F1 moves closer to introducing 360-degree broadcasts

Formula 1 has moved a stepped closer to introducing live 360-degree footage from races, following successful tests that took place at the Singapore Grand Prix last weekend.

F1's technology partner Tata trialled two live 360º video cameras at the Marina Bay circuit to see if there was scope for them to be introduced as part of the regular television feed in the future.

One of the new cameras was placed in the paddock, while another was put next to the track at the famous Anderson Bridge.

Tata wanted to trial the cameras and check on its data transfer capabilities because live 360-degree feeds have proved a big challenge for sports to introduce due to a lengthy delay before the images can be processed.

That delay, which can be up to 30 seconds, is caused by the 360-degree footage requiring up to five times as much data for an image as a normal high definition camera.

Working with F1's commercial right holder, Tata hopes that soon the cameras can be used in the pitlane and trackside as the first step to them actually being fitted to cars.

John Morrison, F1's chief technical officer, said: "We've done this test to show how a fan could watch Lewis, or Sebastian or any other drivers drive coming into the pits on TV, grab their tablet and get a second, completely in sync 360º view of everything going on around him while he is there – not 30 seconds after he has driven off!"

Tata has often used the Singapore GP to trial new technology, including UHD feeds and OTT broadcasts in recent years.

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Fernando Alonso expects 'normality' in F1 2018 with Honda gone

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Fernando Alonso believes Formula 1 will be back to "normality" for him in 2018 when Renault powers McLaren rather than Honda.

The end of Honda's unsuccessful partnership with McLaren was finally announced ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, with the team switching to customer Renaults in a three-year deal.

Asked how it would feel if he was able to return to frontrunner status with McLaren-Renault, Alonso replied: "Normality! But I think it is just looking too much ahead, because I don't know even what I will do next year.

"But the aim is, as I always said, to be on the podium and fight for victories, to be thinking 'what we will do at the start?', looking at the videos for maybe attacking and maybe leading the race in the first stint.

"Those are all the things I did for 13 years of my career. So as I said, back to normality."

Alonso has not yet confirmed that he will be remaining with McLaren, but it is understood that a new contract is just a formality.

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When asked why he was still waiting to sort out the deal, Alonso suggested that "there were already too many announcements" in Singapore and he had preferred to focus entirely on a race that represented "one of the few chances remaining to score good points".

He hinted that a visit to the factory in Woking this week would be the perfect time to get things finalised.

"I will be in the simulator and that will be a better time to discuss about the future and other things that are happening," said Alonso.

"We need to put everything together."

Alonso retired from the Singapore GP due to damage sustained when collected by Max Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen in the startline accident.

He was on target to emerge from the first corners second between Lewis Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo prior to the impact.

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LEWIS HAMILTON CONSIDERING MICHAEL SCHUMACHER’S WIN RECORD AS HE HITS 60

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“I feel the most whole I’ve been as a driver and I’m enjoying driving more than at any stage of my career. I have a five year plan and at the end of every year I think about the future.

“I have no desire to chase Michael’s (Schumacher) seven world championships, but his win record could be something to chase.”

Lewis Hamilton drove well in a variety of conditions in Singapore as the track went slowly from went to dry, much as he did in Monaco 2008 and 2016, with a similar outcome.

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It was a suitable way to notch up his 60th career Grand Prix win. At an average of 10 wins a season, which he has managed the last few years, he will catch Michael Schumacher’s record 91 wins in 2020. With closer competition he may have to wait longer and that may exceed the number of years he has left. But it’s interesting to hear that he thinks it could be a target.

Hamilton couldn’t believe his luck after the start of the Singapore Grand Prix, where he found himself leading from fifth on the grid after the two Ferraris tangled with Max Verstappen’s Red Bull on the sprint to Turn 1.

What won the race for him, according to the engineers in the Mercedes garage, was Turn 1. It was the first time the F1 drivers had taken the start in wet conditions and the chaos going on added uncertainty.

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But Hamilton found the grip in Turn 1, committing to an outside line and that set up the track position advantage over Ricciardo, who started two places ahead of him and whom he had been following after the launch and avoiding Vettel’s damaged car.

It was a day on which it was easy to make mistakes. The first time that they had raced here in wet conditions, meant learning on the job where the grip was on the painted lines and on the racing line of this street track.

Hamilton admitted that “last year I made a lot of mistakes” and spoke about eliminating mistakes, using Ayrton Senna’s accident in Monaco 1988, where he hit the wall due to a loss of concentration when leading by almost a minute, as a reminder.

That’s interesting as he’s previously not beeb as open as that about errors in 2016; he previously suggested that he lost the championship mainly due to reliability issues, rather than mistakes and this marks a new shift.

It was damage limitation for Mercedes in Singapore, outpaced as they were in both qualifying and the long runs in practice. Instead they now have control of the Constructors’ championship and a points lead in the drivers which should be enough to see him across the line unless he has a technical retirement.

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Ricciardo lacks pace when it counts

Hamilton was lucky too that Daniel Ricciardo seemed to be struggling with an upshift problem on his gearbox, which took the edge off his challenge, but the Australian didn’t blame that for the lack of pace.

Rather he identified a set up change he would like to have made with hindsight. It was a missed opportunity for a number of people today.

Hamilton had to work for it at several points, such as when Red Bull pitted Ricciardo for new intermediates at the second Safety Car. Hamilton questioned why he hadn’t done that, but had he done so, Ricciardo would have done the opposite and Hamilton would have been in second place. But it was uncomfortable for the championship leader with a rival on 11 lap fresher intermediates at the restart.

Despite that he couldn’t get on Hamilton’s tail, as the intermediate tyres held on even though worn. There wasn’t much else Ricciardo could have done strategically. He rolled the dice, expecting a performance boost from new tyres but it didn’t come.

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Ferrari feeling low as both championships start to look difficult

For Ferrari this is a second body blow after the embarrassment of Monza; Singapore was a race that should have had 25 points pencilled against it on the schedule, even more so after Vettel’s sublime pole position.

Raikkonen’s launch was perfect and had the squeeze not happened from Vettel to the right, Raikkonen would probably have held the lead after Turn 1. He was penalised for doing a good start, as was Alonso, who was collected by Raikkonen and Verstappen on the second impact on the outside of Turn 1.

Verstappen this time appeared to have nowhere to go, as Vettel came across to cover him. Verstappen’s launch had been better than Vettel’s and he was minded to go for it.

The fact that Vettel was unaware Raikkonen was on the inside of Verstappen was reminiscent of the same trio tangling at the start in Spa last year, that time it was Verstappen trying to force the issue having got a poor launch and Vettel didn’t realise that Raikkonen had nowhere to go as the Dutchman was on his inside.

The stewards decided that there was no case to answer and chalked it up as a “racing incident.”

The 102 points in the Constructors is impossible to bridge now, the Drivers’ hangs by a thread and will need a retirement for Hamilton, like the engine failure in Malaysia last season, for Vettel to get back on terms.

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SINGAPORE F1 START ACCIDENT: WERE RAIKKONEN, VERSTAPPEN AND VETTEL ALL ENTITLED TO GO FOR IT?

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There has been huge interest in the three way startline accident in Singapore which eliminated Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen and Max Verstappen and handed victory and a handsome points lead to Lewis Hamilton.

So was anyone to blame? What is the case for each driver?

The FIA stewards heard from all three but decided that no single individual could be held responsible for the accident. That was a relief to Vettel, who has 7 penalty points on his licence and has had his fair share of warnings, especially after Baku. At 12 points a driver receives a one race ban?

All three are entitled to race. Vettel is entitled to make one covering move and he did. Kimi is entitled to try to capitalise on one of his best ever starts and Max is entitled to stay on his line, having got a better launch.

That’s why the stewards called it evens.

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The case against Raikkonen

Of the three Raikkonen got the best start. He powered off the line and the onboard shot from Verstappen’s car clearly shows how much more momentum the Finn had as he came past on the left like a missile.

Raikkonen had about a metre and a half to the pit wall to play with on the left. The problem was that as he came through, his right rear wheel hit Verstappen’s left front. There was nothing Verstappen could have done to avoid that. He moves very slightly to the left as he sees Vettel coming across.

Had everyone stayed on their line and there was no contact, Raikkonen would certainly have got the ‘holeshot’ and although his angle into Turn 1 would have been tight, he would likely have been in the lead as the cars snaked right for Turn 2.

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The case against Verstappen

Verstappen got the second best start. It was immediately clear from the head-on TV shot of the lights out that Verstappen’s launch was superior to Vettel’s ahead to his right on pole.

That momentum continues through the acceleration phase and if no-one changes lines from this point, Verstappen will arrive at the braking point for Turn 1 ahead of Vettel.

Drivers can always sense immediately if someone around them has got a better launch. Their senses are hyper-alert to it and Verstappen knew that he had a real chance to beat Vettel into Turn 1, especially as he would have the inside line.

He may not have been aware of just how fast Raikkonen was travelling up to his left, as he was focussed on Vettel coming across on him from the right, knowing that he is compromised.

Verstappen changes line slightly to the left in anticipation and that is enough to put him on a trajectory where Raikkonen’s right rear runs over Verstappen’s left front, which caused the accident. It broke Verstappen’s suspension and also sent Raikkonen into the side of Vettel.

Some fans have suggested that Verstappen “should have lifted off”, but the trajectory would not have changed by doing that – he cannot simply disappear – and the critical first contact was that touch of Raikkonen’s rear wheel as he went past. That was all about the line.

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The case against Vettel

Vettel had the most at risk as he was the one fighting for the world title. It seems he forgot that in the heat of the moment. His ‘sorry’ to the team on the radio as he parked his damaged car said it all and is the true verdict on the matter.

However, he is racing and as the pole position man, he is entitled to move across once to defend his line.

The head on shot and the on board from Verstappen’s car show that Vettel moved across a long way and kept on coming. Ultimately this is what caused the accident as there was nowhere for the three drivers to go on a converging trajectory. Seen from the outside it seems simple and inevitable.

One could argue that with seven races to go and at the start of a two hour race where his title rival Hamilton is starting in fifth place, Vettel should have taken the long view.

But his mindset will have been affected by the rain that was falling and the fact that in recent years Hamilton has won virtually all the wet or rain affected races. As Hamilton said afterwards, “As soon as it rained I knew where I was going to finish. I knew I had the pace when it rains. Unfortunately we just didn’t have the car in the dry.
“But today, with it raining, those are my conditions.”

In a dry race, with a start like that Vettel would have approached it differently, knowing that the threat from Hamilton was less significant. But in the wet he could not afford to give anything away at the start, hence the insistence on the move across.

Vettel’s move was reminiscent of some similar moves that Michael Schumacher made off the startline in his Ferrari days, which was a talking point at the time in Drivers’ Briefings, as the rules on what was and wasn’t acceptable at the start were defined.

Ultimately the price he has paid has been high. Not only is it a fourth win in five races for Hamilton and a 28 point lead, but it’s another moment which casts some doubt in the mind of Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne. He sees things in black and white and the objective here is for Ferrari to win the world championship.

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They have built a wonderful car this year, whereas the Mercedes is a bit tricky and temperamental. And yet Ferrari finds itself now out of control of the championship, not least due to valuable points dropped in Baku and Singapore.

Ferrari’s long winless streak creates nervousness in the team and missing out this year will create greater nerviness next year. In that scenario one can imagine a leader like Marchionne deciding next summer that he needs another hot rod in his second car.

That is the risk for Vettel.

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Mika,

Not sure if you have ever been to the Singapore GP or not but it is a must see event. I just got home from Singapore myself and the experience was amazing. Probably the best sporting event I have been too and so well organised. A night time street race with the Singapore skyline in the background is truly an unbelievable spectacle.

 

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