2014 Singapore Grand Prix Discussion Thread

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 19 Sep 2014, 12:28

CoopsII wrote:
watka wrote:I know Mario fanboyism has been expressed enough times on this forum, but sometimes I wonder why you don't just send the BBC or Sky Sports some video footage of you giving analysis and demand a job from them.

Woah, hang-on we don't know what Mario looks like. He may be some uggo and I'm not sure we want to be looking at that on a Sunday regardless of the quality of his journalism

However, if Mario actually looked like this, then I am sure there would be few complaints:

CoopsII · Post by **CoopsII** » 19 Sep 2014, 12:31

Mario might complain. When he visits the forum next he could read all this and open up a can of whup-ass.

DanielPT started it, Mario.

sw3ishida · Post by **sw3ishida** » 19 Sep 2014, 13:47

Random side note: Giedo van der Garde doing guest commentary for Sky for P2 and saying that he was offered a renewal at Caterham for 2014, but took the Sauber test role instead. It's like Der God foresaw all the mayhem and had to pick the slightly less chaotic team

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 19 Sep 2014, 14:07

I am pretty sure that I've seen weirder things in this forum than dr-baker fantasizing about how mario looks. I just cannot recall any at the moment.

CoopsII wrote:Mario might complain. When he visits the forum next he could read all this and open up a can of whup-ass.

DanielPT started it, Mario.

I am not your father, CoopsII! Therefore I am unable to see how I started it.

Shizuka · Post by **Shizuka** » 19 Sep 2014, 14:27

Nothing else needs to be said. :lol:

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 19 Sep 2014, 14:43

They really ought to throw the Lotus E22 in the slammer, it's attempted murder like half a dozen times this season.

hootie · Post by **hootie** » 19 Sep 2014, 15:48

just back from the Free Practice sessions on track.

Despite the rain in the afternoon earlier, the evening was hot and very sweaty.
this is my first experience of the 2014 cars in a street circuit environment
I have to say the sound of these new engines is still fantastic.
experiencing it live is completely different from TV or online.

the engine roar is not so loud now. you don't get the glass windows from the office building vibrating like in past years.
then the silent whoosh like a shinkansen going past you on a japanese train platform. and the ground still rumbles as the cars past 3 to 4 metres in front of you.
then the engine braking as they take the corner

i like it
hootie

Post by **mario** » 19 Sep 2014, 17:11

CoopsII wrote:Mario might complain. When he visits the forum next he could read all this and open up a can of whup-ass.

DanielPT started it, Mario.

To be honest, I'm not sure whether I should be pleased, annoyed or slightly alarmed at some of the comments...

Salamander wrote:They really ought to throw the Lotus E22 in the slammer, it's attempted murder like half a dozen times this season.

Unfortunately, if what they have suggested is true - that the handling issues are related to a major fault in the design of the chassis - then they are locked into that issue until the end of this season.

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 19 Sep 2014, 17:23

hootie wrote:I have to say the sound of these new engines is still fantastic.
experiencing it live is completely different from TV or online.
the engine roar is not so loud now. you don't get the glass windows from the office building vibrating like in past years.
then the silent whoosh like a shinkansen going past you on a japanese train platform. and the ground still rumbles as the cars past 3 to 4 metres in front of you.

Are you slightly tempted to go to the Formula E race at Putrajaya?

Dj_bereta · Post by **Dj_bereta** » 19 Sep 2014, 19:33

Williams outside of the top 10 in Both sessions and the rain forecast for the qualify and the race (which I don't believe and it's very likely the race to be red flagged if rain). No surprise if the groove team don't score points in this weekend.

Talking about the rain, I'm curious because it is a night race. FIA will let the race goes on with rain?

solarcold · Post by **solarcold** » 19 Sep 2014, 19:39

Is it just me or Remi Taffin is Star Wars' Han Solo re-incarnated?

roblo97 · Post by **roblo97** » 19 Sep 2014, 19:39

Dj_bereta wrote:Williams outside of the top 10 in Both sessions and the rain forecast for the qualify and the race (which I don't believe and it's very likely the race to be red flagged if rain). No surprise if the groove team don't score points in this weekend.

Talking about the rain, I'm curious because it is a night race. FIA will let the race goes on with rain?

According to the BBC, the race should be dry

takagi_for_the_win · Post by **takagi_for_the_win** » 19 Sep 2014, 19:49

dr-baker wrote:However, if Mario actually looked like this, then I am sure there would be few complaints:

I think that's enough internet for one day Baker.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 19 Sep 2014, 20:38

takagi_for_the_win wrote:
dr-baker wrote:However, if Mario actually looked like this, then I am sure there would be few complaints:

I think that's enough internet for one day Baker.

Oh, you're no fun, you spoil-sport.

Surprised how poorly Williams have gone today. Things can only get better, right? Be a kick in the teeth if Williams don't get both cars to Q3.

Post by **mario** » 19 Sep 2014, 21:22

Dj_bereta wrote:Williams outside of the top 10 in Both sessions and the rain forecast for the qualify and the race (which I don't believe and it's very likely the race to be red flagged if rain). No surprise if the groove team don't score points in this weekend.

Talking about the rain, I'm curious because it is a night race. FIA will let the race goes on with rain?

As far as I am aware, the FIA's official position is that they would let the race continue so long as they felt the circuit owners were meeting the minimum safety requirements - how that would actually work in practise is unclear, and I wouldn't entirely rule out the possibility of a safety car or a red flag in the unlikely event of heavy rain.

If it were a wet race, then the other issue is that the race might hit the 2 hour time limit and be cut short - the stop start nature of the circuit and the reduction in downforce levels means that the cars are quite slow, and the high likelihood of a safety car only makes matters worse. We've already seen one race cut short - the 2012 was stopped at 59 laps instead of going the full 61 laps - and I wouldn't be surprised if the same thing happens again this year, even if it is dry, given the high likelihood of a safety car.

good_Ralf · Post by **good_Ralf** » 19 Sep 2014, 21:40

dr-baker wrote:Surprised how poorly Williams have gone today. Things can only get better, right? Be a kick in the teeth if Williams don't get both cars to Q3.

Williams struggle on high downforce circuits and usually in the rain too, although in the dry in Silverstone and Budapest the track configurations and conditions didn't hurt their pace that much. Neither Williams made Q3 in Monaco, a similar circuit to Singapore, even though Singapore is much faster and in Monaco, Massa was taken out by Marcus Ericsson in Q1.

hootie · Post by **hootie** » 20 Sep 2014, 08:37

dinizintheoven wrote:Are you slightly tempted to go to the Formula E race at Putrajaya?

all the way to Kuala Lumpur for a 30 min race?
i dunno. the organisers have got to build a proper race day of events to get audiences to Putrajaya.
hootie

RAK · Post by **RAK** » 20 Sep 2014, 09:45

mario wrote:If it were a wet race, then the other issue is that the race might hit the 2 hour time limit and be cut short - the stop start nature of the circuit and the reduction in downforce levels means that the cars are quite slow, and the high likelihood of a safety car only makes matters worse. We've already seen one race cut short - the 2012 was stopped at 59 laps instead of going the full 61 laps - and I wouldn't be surprised if the same thing happens again this year, even if it is dry, given the high likelihood of a safety car.

This is part of why I can't understand why the FIA don't use Monaco as a precedent and cut Singapore back to 250 kilometres. I like the idea of a race of attrition, which Singapore does, in some way, promote, but the chances of the race being cut short are substantially higher than they are for any other Grand Prix.

hootie · Post by **hootie** » 20 Sep 2014, 10:20

The local transport network has a useful and constantly updated webcam live feed.

http://www.onemotoring.com.sg/publish/o ... 0/mce.html

This points to the entrance of the Marina expressway, just a few kms away from the track.
If it rains on this road, it will be pouring on track.

hootie

good_Ralf · Post by **good_Ralf** » 20 Sep 2014, 10:56

Gutierrez's best time so far in FP3 = FLUKE

Post by **Miguel98** » 20 Sep 2014, 11:03

Alonso fastest in Q3, ahead of Ricky and Rosberg. Vergne 4th fastest, ahead of Vettel and Hamilton.

Seems it will be an interesting qualifying. The top 10 drivers we're separated by "only" a full second, with Guti beeing the 10th fastest, which was a pleasent surprise. Let's see if he can keep that into qualifying and surprises us with a Q3 going for Sauber.

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 20 Sep 2014, 11:14

At the very least, it should be an interesting qualifying fight between Hammy and Rosberg. Their times in FP3 I don't think were fully representative, and I get the impression that they are actually quite similar on one lap pace.

Post by **Miguel98** » 20 Sep 2014, 14:03

Oh, we're in for a race... This is going to be fun. Rosberg's reaction to knowing Hamilton beat him by 0.007 :lol:

Kimi

. Finally able to match/beat Alonso, car breaks down. God damn it Ferrari.

apple2009 · Post by **apple2009** » 20 Sep 2014, 14:04

We're set up for the best race of the year.

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 20 Sep 2014, 14:08

Salamander wrote:At the very least, it should be an interesting qualifying fight between Hammy and Rosberg. Their times in FP3 I don't think were fully representative, and I get the impression that they are actually quite similar on one lap pace.

Called it.

I wonder how great Alonso's launch will be this time, last year he jumped from 5th to 2nd. Also, fingers crossed that Ricciardo manages a good launch this time...

Jocke1 · Post by **Jocke1** » 20 Sep 2014, 14:43

Lewis 'James Bond' Hamilton.

SgtPepper · Post by **SgtPepper** » 20 Sep 2014, 14:58

Shame about Hulk, he was looking properly competitive earlier on.

CoopsII · Post by **CoopsII** » 20 Sep 2014, 17:41

Shame for Raikkonen. Even when he does the job right Italian gremlins conspire against him, well, against his car snyway.

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 20 Sep 2014, 18:14

Jocke1 wrote:Lewis 'James Bond' Hamilton.

Don't give him ideas!

TheFlyingCaterham · Post by **TheFlyingCaterham** » 21 Sep 2014, 10:42

I'm guessing the GP will start around 10pm for me. I hope it is worth it staying up

CoopsII · Post by **CoopsII** » 21 Sep 2014, 10:45

TheFlyingCaterham wrote:I'm guessing the GP will start around 10pm for me. I hope it is worth it staying up

Have you got school in the morning?

Post by **mario** » 21 Sep 2014, 11:30

CoopsII wrote:Shame for Raikkonen. Even when he does the job right Italian gremlins conspire against him, well, against his car snyway.

At least he has a chance to make up ground during the race given that Ferrari look much more competitive here - if Alonso had actually put together a clean lap, then he would have been in 3rd and less than 0.03s away from Hamilton, and Kimi was right on Alonso's pace.

As an aside, one other amusing note has cropped up - apparently, the classic Mercedes car Rosberg was riding in for the parade lap promptly broke down, with some of the mechanics having to bump start the car to get it going again. As some were joking, Rosberg's probably hoping that wasn't a forewarning of what might happen in the race...

apple2009 · Post by **apple2009** » 21 Sep 2014, 11:51

I've always liked Singapore, it's a truly unique event. Street circuit, at night, longest race of the year.

Really exciting coming into the final stretch of the championship. I hope Smiley can turn it into a three-way fight for the WDC.

Post by **Londoner** » 21 Sep 2014, 12:00

Rosberg's already suffering from electrical issues, and we haven't even started the formation lap.

Yeah, it's gonna be one of those races. :lol:

EDIT: Down to 20 cars before the race even starts...

pablo_h · Post by **pablo_h** » 21 Sep 2014, 12:04

Kamui didn't complete the formation lap

Rosberg doesn't make the grid either.

TheFlyingCaterham · Post by **TheFlyingCaterham** » 21 Sep 2014, 12:15

CoopsII wrote:
TheFlyingCaterham wrote:I'm guessing the GP will start around 10pm for me. I hope it is worth it staying up

Have you got school in the morning?

Why yes I do

Also, big problems for Kobayashi and Rosberg '__'

good_Ralf · Post by **good_Ralf** » 21 Sep 2014, 12:15

mario's prophecy about Rosberg has scarily come true.

apple2009 · Post by **apple2009** » 21 Sep 2014, 12:20

Rosberg's car is upshifting in increments of two gears.

apple2009 · Post by **apple2009** » 21 Sep 2014, 12:32

Rosberg is out.

TheFlyingCaterham · Post by **TheFlyingCaterham** » 21 Sep 2014, 12:34

apple2009 wrote:Rosberg is out.

It rly sucks

That's why I'm calling ROTR to Rosberg's clutch