2024 Singapore GP: Post Race Analysis

Singapore is just a longer Monaco at this point. One had to suspect that a 4th DRS only makes quali lap times faster, and the following car another opportunity to stay closer without any extra real chance of passing. The majority of blame has to go down to the size of these cars. Moving on.

McLaren have a properly dominant car. Lando was every bit as dominant as Max was in any of his races last year. With all the talks about #1 drivers and enforcing team orders, Lando did a great job of stepping up and showing he can perform at another level above Piastri. However Lando nearly ruined his own race a couple of times. Don't take anything away from Oscar, he definitely has done a great job this season and another podium helps ensure Mclaren claim their first WCC since 1998.

Red Bull have made some changes that Max seems to like. In all honesty the car still might be behind McLaren and/or Mercedes on any given day, but Verstappen is truly a difference maker. He was 9 tenths faster than Perez in Q2 and over a minute ahead in the race. I don't think there is any hope RBR wins the Constructors and most blame Perez but the fact remains that since 2020, no teammate has been close to Max. There are maybe a handful of drivers that could challenge Max on occasion.

Mercedes might have focused more of their setup in qualifying as they weren't challengers at all in the race. Russell was in his own space, no challenge to Max or the McLarens and was lucky track position is everything ahead of the faster Leclerc. Surprised to see Hamilton start of Soft tires. Didn't appear to be a good strategy for him as he was correct that the tire offset would be too much and Leclerc was easily able to get by.

Ferrari really paid the price for their poor qualifying. Leclerc was as good as Lando and Max today. The Ferrari had very good race pace, they just couldn't show it. Had Leclerc qualified top 3, he likely would be on the podium and for sure a challenge to Max. Sainz had to pit early which gave him track position in the middle of the race, but not tires to attack later. The team did salvage the best they could given their starting positions.

Aston Martin had a great race from Alonso. He is looking as good as he has been all season as of late. Solid points for him. Stroll finishing ahead of the Sauber's is an embarrassing performance.

Haas get points from a stunning drive from Hulkenberg. He is not getting enough credit for his performance this weekend. Outstanding job. Kmag returns after a 1 race ban and unfortunately had a race to forget. Unlucky tire puncture at one point, but he wasn't anywhere close to points anyways.

Williams still might be a car suited to low downforce tracks as they didn't look quite as strong. Another top performance from Colapinto. Nearly points in back to back races. Who knows if Albon would have finished ahead of his teammate, but no doubt Colapinto got the better of the two into lap one. Albon complained but it was one of the moves of the race.

RB still struggling to score points, yet not far off. Tsunoda still a hot head and probably didn't help his own race. Danny Ric likely has drove his final Formula 1 race. Not a great showing sadly. Another example of why the team should replace him to be completely honest. Of course he was one of the bright characters in F1 and we will all miss that.

Alpine had a rough day. Ocon got the better of the two drivers but nothing to really care about.

Sauber remain commuted to running dead last. Still no points. Zhou finishes ahead of Bottas.

Driver of the Day: A difficult choice. Lando dominates but gets excluded for hitting the wall twice despite having zero pressure. Max carries his entire team on his back once again, but he did have clean air and no threats behind. So DotD goes to Charles Leclerc. On a track you cant pass he goes from 9th to 5th with a challenge for 4th. A long first stint, had great pace once in clean air. Made a bunch of passes on track. Well deserved.

 

Great analysis once again, Chris. Charles definitely deserved DOD but I guess the fans wanted to give Ricci a parting gift. That fastest lap could be the difference in the WDC. Hulk was a stud and Colapinto got a shout out from Checo. Everything else was kind of boring.

 

I won’t miss Ricci Danni at all. ****** nozzle move for fastest lap, too.

 

Great analysis as usual

What does it say about F1 when a has-been driver that is being fired, in a back-of-the-grid Q3 car can put on new tires and set fastest lap ????

 

It doesn't say anything. Everyone was on a 1 stop in this race. The changing of the tires to softs was Ricciardo's 3 pit stop....on very low fuel....so he gunned it at the end for the fastest lap on new softs.

 

My thought is RIC knew it was his last race and asked the team to give him the opportunity to set fast lap at the end before the race even started.

 

A win-win for RBR and Ricciardo--Mclaren and Lando are denied 1 point for fastest lap and Ricciardo gets a positive footnote for his final F1 appearance.

 

I see it as Ricci Danni earning himself an asterisk for spoiling/making someone else’s championship, something that neither of them would much appreciate. I hope it doesn’t come to that….for their sake, not his.

 

That would be part of the equation IF Max wins his 4th WDC title but it won't be the ultimate part or greater part of the equation.

 

Of course. Granted, it’s a long shot and I truly hope it doesn’t decide the championship, no matter who wins. Because then we’d still have to mention Ricci Danni whenever talking about 2024.

 

Oh yeah, the same stuff Timo Glock was accused of ! "You helped someone win a championship!"

I don't think Ricciardo was too bothered about Verstappen or Norris' interest, but simply looking after himself.

Getting a fastest lap on his last GP (if true) would be a nice signature to end his F1 career.

 

It also has the potential to have the stain of a spoiler, but I don’t think he cares. As you say, looking after himself.

 

How about if Oscar yields a place to Lando? Does Lando then get an * if he ‘wins’ WDC?

 

Charles passed 4 or 5 cars on track - that doesn't happen at Monaco so I disagree it's just another Monaco. It's definitely possible to pass and we saw a decent amount of it, and for position after the pit stops.

Ferrari lost it in quali, probably a podium if not a fight for the win if they had gotten that right.

 

Oh, I see…..

Of course not. There’s a difference between doing something for your team(mate) and doing something purely out of self interest, with no real benefit to anyone, much less his team or even himself.

Does he deserve applause or even recognition for setting fastest lap on fresh soft tires and virtually no fuel load and in an inferior car? Q: How many points did he earn? A:None. Even Stroll could have done that. Ricci Danni isn’t in contention for anything except being a ponce.

Would you give him a pass if he’d taken a point off of a driver you favored?

 

A ponce you said ?? Sweet Jesus, I have never seen anyone so vilified for getting a freaking Fastest Lap !!

I can fathom why Ricci deserves all that scorn.

 

It isn’t in the profanity filter so I went with it….

I’ll assume you have no problem with the actual point of the post.

 

Why did Alonso, finishing 18th at the Austrian GP, set fastest lap at the very end. What purpose other than to demy one of the WDC contenders from getting that extra point. Shameless

 

Alonso ... really ?

So, who finished 8th then ?

 

Believe me, I don’t support that either. I don’t recall the circumstances of who was denied the point because of Alonso’s lap, so I’m truly neutral as to whose ox is gored. The rule should be changed to award the point to “fastest lap among points paying finishing positions.” Given the enormous difference in performance based on tire type and condition and fuel load, as well as unknowns such as presumably less traffic in the late stages of a race, awarding a point to “also-rans” really diminishes and trivializes the achievement in my opinion.

 

But they don't get a point, just the acknowledgement of fastest lap.

 

Who indeed, lol

 

Yes but it does deprive another driver of the point. The way I proposed it the straggler could get his precious fastest lap for his résumé but the point will go to somebody who’s actually competitive in the race .

On the other hand, somebody who’s actually competing for a championship might have a bad race but be able to salvage a point in this way, which makes me think the whole idea is a bad one. Just eliminate the point altogether. Fastest lap is a matter of fact, so it stands regardless. Just don’t give a point for it. Another rule that apparently wasn’t really thought through…..

 

What the big deal with that ? I don't understand.

The Fastest Lap is open to anyone; why punish whoever gets it if he isn't in the title race ?

I am also in favour of giving One point to whoever gets Pole.

 

I don't see the big deal to DR setting fastest lap. The team and the driver has the right to do it. Of course we all know RB is the sister team of RBR. It's fair to have a gripe about that and I haven't cared for their connections together since Red Bull purchased their second team. Given there are only 10 teams, 20% are under the Red Bull umbrella. However, customer teams are now all but sister teams to their PU manufacturer. Williams is a stepping grounds for Mercedes. Haas is the stepping grounds for Ferrari. We have seen shenanigans from these teams to help their PU owners before. How back markers get passed is a popular tactic. Move over for your PU owner, but cause grief for your PU owner's rival. None of this is new and none of it is technically illegal. However it definitely goes against the spirit of the sport when each team is supposed to act as it's own entity.

What sucks is if Max wins the title by just 1 point, you know the haters will demand an asterisk for this championship as well.