Singapore: Lewis Hamilton will aim to extend his three-point championship lead on the slow and twisty streets of Singapore F1 circuit, which is likely to suit the Sebastian Vettel-led Ferrari more than the Mercedes when the race happens Sunday.
Hamilton produced a dominating show on the high-speed tracks of Spa and Monza to wrest the championship lead from Vettel but according to Mercedes team boss Totto Wolff, stopping the Ferraris and Red Bulls in the hot and humid Singapore will be anything but easy.
“So far this year, we have seen the pendulum swing according to circuit type. On the surface, Singapore is the kind of circuit that should favour both Ferrari and Red Bull,” said Wolff here Wednesday.
“Both have shown strong performance on low-speed circuits demanding maximum downforce, and we have found life more difficult at those places in 2017. We head to Asia this time round with the expectation that we have a big challenge ahead of us,” Wolff added, mindful of the experience in 2015 when Hamilton endured his first retirement of the season and Nico Rosberg came sixth.
The race is also an opportunity for Vettel to infuse fresh life into his title bid. The German, who has won the street race a record four times since its inception in 2008, will be sniffing blood after the disappointment of the previous two races where he finished second and third respectively.
Besides Ferrari, Red Bull is another team that should be strong on the high downforce circuit with Daniel Ricciardo, leading their charge.
“I believe Singapore won’t be our only chance but is one of our best chances of a win in the second half of the season,” said Ricciardo. “You have to build up speed a little slower in the practice sessions on a street circuit like Singapore. At some point you have to start taking risks but to do that straight away doesn’t make sense,” he added.
The battle for the lead in the drivers’ standings has been intense but Mercedes (435 points) have built up a healthy 62 point lead over Ferrari (373) with seven rounds remaining. Red Bull with 212 points are on third followed by Force India (113).
Champs retain Bottas
London: Mercedes confirmed Wednesday that Valtteri Bottas will be their driver in 2018 also after the Finn signed a new one year contract extension. Bottas, who replaced the retired Nico Rosberg at the beginning of the season, has so far won two races this year and stands third with 41 points in the drivers’ standings. “We gave Valtteri a big challenge this year by asking him to join the team at the 11th hour, stepping up to the forefront of F1 and pairing with the sport’s best driver as his teammate,” Toto Wolff said. “With that in mind, his results have been probably even more impressive. So we are happy that he will continue with us for another season also.”
