Singapore: post-race analysis 2017
Quite the result, both
for the title and in the old betting stakes. Must admit to being a
little frustrated that three out of four contingencies occurred for
the 67 bet and Palmer’s team mate had a reliability failure, but he
finished in the points. Also a bit irked at myself I didn’t back
Mr. Sandpit’s suggestions of laying Vettel for the win at 1.7, or
backing Hamilton (20ish, I think). However, this was a green weekend
for me and I can’t be displeased about that. Worth noting the
further ‘silly’ Alonso win suggestion at well into three figures
actually was very credible and, but for misfortune, could have come
off. These things sometimes are possible (Verstappen 251 in Spain
2016 did come off, Perez 201 in Azerbaijan this year should’ve but
for Force India civil war).
Congratulations also to
Mr. M, whose bet on a Bottas podium at 7 also came off. I think
everybody ended up green, which is a rare event indeed.
It had rained heavily
earlier, and was still drizzling at the start. Thankfully there was
no nappy-wearing safety car start. The top six were all on
intermediates, behind them it was a mix of full wets and
intermediates.
The story of the race
was largely the story of the start. As I suggested, Vettel started
laggardly, with Raikkonen having a flyer and Verstappen a good start.
To cover Verstappen, Vettel moved left, but this led to a three-way
crash. Raikkonen and Verstappen were immediately out, Vettel suffered
damage that caused his car to leak fluid, which then made him spin
and crash.
Alonso had had a
stunningly good start and was close to the lead when he was caught in
the aftermath of the crash. Whilst he was able to continue, it
eventually forced him to retire. That was a great shame because, on
pace, he could’ve been there. A podium was eminently possible, a
win not out of the question. Damned bad luck.
After all that shook
out the safety car emerged and we had Hamilton and Ricciardo leading
the way, then Hulkenberg. However, a failure to pit promptly during
another safety car period (there were many) dropped Hulkenberg down
to about 5th, behind Bottas and Sainz. Just an error by
Renault. Not only that, the German, who’s a skilled driver but now
holds the record for most races (129) without a podium, then had a
reliability failure and didn’t score anything at all.
The track took a very
long time to dry, which was a bit perplexing as it wasn’t totally
soaked to start with. The race was a procession illuminated by sudden
spikes of failure and crashing. Ricciardo was once again the filling
in a Mercedes sandwich (as per last year) with Hamilton flawless
throughout. Sainz scored a career best 4th, Palmer
likewise for 6th.
Perez was 5th,
excellent for Force India after they looked a bit rubbish in
qualifying and practice, with Ocon 10th. Vandoorne also
got a career best 7th for McLaren, Stroll was 8th
and Grosjean 9th.
There were eight
retirements, an even mix of crashes and reliability failures. Massa
and Wehrlein were the only men to finish without points.
I know my run-down of
the race is concise (it’s shorter than I expected) but the
excitement really was at the start, with occasional crashing (Kvyat
and Ericsson) the other entertainment. Hulkenberg was extremely
unlucky to be taken out of the top 3 by a strategy failure by his
team, and then to DNF due to reliability crumbling. Alas, had it been
Palmer, my 67 bet would’ve come off. But there we are.
It’s been confirmed,
as expected, Perez is staying at Force India next year.
Drivers:
Hamilton 263
Vettel 235
Bottas 212
The first DNF for
Vettel of the season means a maximum swing against him in the title
race. Bottas is now closer to Vettel than Vettel is to Hamilton.
Worse still for Ferrari, this was very much a strong circuit for them
and a weak one for Mercedes. The title isn’t over, but this is a
very, very good result for the Silver Arrows.
Constructors:
Mercedes 475
Ferrari 373
Red Bull 230
Force India 124
Williams 59
Toro Rosso 52
Renault 42
Haas 37
McLaren 17
Sauber 5
Getting even tastier in
the battle for 5th. Williams may end up losing that
to Renault, I think. Top four are pretty much sorted now.
We’re off to Malaysia
in a fortnight. The other races are Japan, US, Mexico, Brazil and Abu
Dhabi. Vettel must start hauling in Hamilton, or the title race is
over. It’s still possible for him to turn it around, even without a
Hamilton DNF, but it’s got to start soon.
Morris Dancer
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