F1 Madness

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  • F1 2015: Russian GP Review – Russia Redeemed

    F1 2015: Russian GP Review – Russia Redeemed

    It isn’t often in Formula 1 that you get what you ask for. Ahead of the second ever Russian grand prix the request was for a race with a bit more zest and the Sochi Autodrom delivered.

    Where it concerned the winner of the race it wasn’t high on the entertainment stakes. Lewis Hamilton ambled to career victory number 42 in his Mercedes without so much as a whiff of a challenge.

    It appeared at the start of the race as if the double world champ would have some work to do as Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg maintained his pole position off the starting line. But it wasn’t to be for Rosberg as he was forced into retirement with a broken throttle pedal. It the lead up to the race the call for Rosberg to step up and take the fight to Hamilton and he responded with an authoritative qualifying performance.

    Alas, now and then the unpredictability of F1 rears its head and inserts a searing reminder of how cruel the sport can be. If Rosberg’s admittedly fragile championship dream was hanging by a thread before it has now been completely obliterated. The German driver trails Hamilton by 73 points with a maximum of 100 still available.

    podiumrussiaFerrari driver Sebastian Vettel was never within striking distance of Hamilton but showed a solid enough turn of pace for a comfortable second place. The four-time champion pulled off two crucial moves on Raikkonen and Perez for his second place finish.

    The race had two safety car deployments the first of which came on lap one for a collision between the Force India of Nico Hulkenberg and the Sauber of Marcus Ericsson. The safety car was deployed a second time as Romain Grosjean crashed his Lotus heavily into the barrier on the outside of turn three.

    While Grosjean’s race was over it prompted a roll of the strategy dice for Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo and Force India’s Sergio Perez. The two drivers would attempt a run to the flag, some 40 laps away, on one set of the yellow-walled soft compound tyre.  For Ricciardo it came to naught as he had to retire his Red Bull with a suspected suspension issue.

    However, Perez was clinging onto third for dear life. But as Williams’ Valtteri Bottas and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, with fresher tyres, closed him down at a rate of knots it appeared that the Mexican would be consigned to the very least a fifth place finish. Unexpectedly, Raikkonen’s attempt to overtake countryman Bottas proved a bit too feisty and the two collided into turn 4. The clash put Bottas out of the race and left Raikkonen with a damaged car.  Ever the opportunist, Perez swept past to take a deserved third place finish.

    Sochi Autodrom 2014Willliams’ Felipe Massa recovered from fifteenth on the grid to finish fourth; Raikkonen crossed the line in fifth but was later slapped with a 30 second penalty for the Bottas collision which drops him down to eighth. Local hero Daniil Kvyat finished fifth in his Red Bull ahead of Sauber’s Felipe Nasr, Lotus’ Pastor Maldonado, McLaren’s Jenson Button and Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen, in tenth. The sister McLaren of Fernando Alonso would’ve finished in tenth but the Spaniard was given a five second penalty for not respecting track limits.

    Subsequently, Raikkonen’s thirty second penalty has resulted in Mercedes being crowned the 2015 constructors champions. In F1 you’re only as good as your last race and while the 2014 Russian grand prix was a straight up bore fest it’s 2015 edition delivered a race sizzling enough so that we can declare Russia redeemed.

    (Podium image courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport).

  • F1 2015: Pirelli To Stay In F1

    F1 2015: Pirelli To Stay In F1

    It has been confirmed that Pirelli will remain as the official tyre supplier to Formula 1 until the end of the 2019 season.

    Pirelli returned to Formula 1 at the start of the 2011 season and during their tenure in Formula 1 has endured several controversial periods. The Italian manufacturer was facing competition from French company Michelin but has reportedly signed a deal with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

    Pirelli’s current contract would have run out at the end of the season. As the sport looks towards yet another re-invention in 2017 it will be interesting to see what Pirelli can bring to the table to increase the spectacle.

  • 2015 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix: Saturday Press Conference

    2015 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix: Saturday Press Conference

    DRIVERS
    1 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes) 
    2 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
    3 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Willams)

    TV UNILATERAL

    Nico, you were fastest in Q1 and Q3, fastest after the first run in Q3, on pole by a decent margin. Are you pleased with that?

    Nico ROSBERG: Yeah, for sure, I’m very happy. It’s been a difficult weekend actually, because of the little running that we got; we didn’t get much practice. Qualifying worked out really well; found a good balance on my car, thanks to my engineers as well. We had to guess a bit where is it going to be and it all worked out well. I felt comfortable, so got some really good laps in and I’m very happy with that.

    Very well done. Lewis, obviously you were trailing your team-mate after the first part of Q3 and then you didn’t go for the extra lap at the end. Why not? And I saw you looking around the Ferrari afterwards, did you learn anything from it? 

    Lewis HAMILTON: No. I did go for my second lap; I just didn’t finish it. I made a mistake at Turn 13 I think it is. Yeah, a difficult weekend I think for everyone. Nico did a great job on his lap. I wasn’t quite perfectly happy with the balance that I had. But overall really happy. I think it’s great for the team and yeah, as you say last year this is not such a bad race for P2.

    OK, thank you for that. Valtteri, you matched your result of last year, do you feel you have the measure of Ferrari this weekend?

    Valtteri BOTTAS: Well, it seems like it, at least today. We were quite competitive. It’s good to be third; it’s a good place to start here. Obviously it has been a tricky weekend for everyone but I really think we managed to use Practice 3, well, part of it, what we had, pretty well. I managed to get some good laps in qualifying, consistently, and I pleased with the laps and what we did as a team.

    Well done. Coming back to you Nico, obviously you’re going for the Constructors’ Championship tomorrow, trying to clinch it here for the second year in a row, but have you personally got a plan for worked out for Turn One. Lewis referenced it I his answer, after what happened here last year.

    NR: No, not yet. I haven’t thought about that yet. At the moment just enjoying being on pole and I’ll dig into that this evening or tomorrow morning to work out a plan for that. Of course the Constructors’ Championship is a really important target for us this weekend – it would be amazing to clinch it for the second time so early on in the season – so we’re out to do that, but at the same time, of course, I’m out here to try to reduce the gap to Lewis in terms of points.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Nico, you mentioned in your first answer about the lack of running this weekend, the really unusual situation. We had it in Japan but even worse here because of the curtailed Free Practice 3 after Carlos Sainz’s accident. So what have you been able to find out in terms of long runs with this much softer tyres than last year here in Russia and how much guesswork is going to be involved in strategy and race performance tomorrow?

    NR: Well, we tried to prepare as best we could. So this morning we did do some high fuel running, everybody did. So we do have an idea of how it’s going to be tomorrow, so it’s not completely just guessing. No, we’re quite comfortable that we know what to expect and strategy-wise we think we have got a good strategy, so it should be fine.

    Lewis, I wonder if you could give us your view on what happened this morning – the accident of Sainz and going under the barriers? Your thoughts on that speaking on behalf of the drivers?

    LH: To be honest I don’t know anything about it, so I couldn’t really comment. I’m just glad he’s OK.

    Q: OK, well I’ll throw a question maybe you can answer. You obviously mentioned the fact you are quite happy to start in second place, based on what happened here last year. So, obviously today didn’t work out for you in the single laps but fro the little that you’ve been able to learn from the high-fuel running, do you think you’ll be able to challenge for the win tomorrow.

    LH: I wasn’t saying I was happy, I mean I have no choice of being second right now, obviously Nico did a better job in qualifying but I feel there’s still all to play for, as you’ve seen in many other races where I’ve started second. I think it’s exciting. It makes the race ever more exciting and, as I’ve said, Turn One, it’s a long, long way down to Turn One. Probably one of the longest ones of the whole year so it should create opportunities. But there are other opportunities throughout the race as well.

    Q: Coming to you Valtteri, obviously both these gentlemen managed to get through Q1 without using a set of Supersoft tyres, just showing the performance that they have. A lot of your competitors struggled, it seemed, to get temperature into the tyres today as the temperatures actually came down during the course of the qualifying session. Is that something you struggled with – and can you articulate what it was like to use these tyres here today?

    VB: Yeah. We already saw last year it’s quite tricky to get tyres to work in the first timed lap, and that’s why you could saw many people doing many laps and longer running in qualifying than normal. What we did in the practice and in Q1 also, we just tried to learn more about the tyres so we’re sure we’re making the right decision what we’re going to do in Q3 in terms of tyre temperatures, pressures and how many laps we do. So I think everyone struggled with it today – but we got it right. We got the max out of the car and the tyres.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi, La Gazzetta dello Sport) Question for all of you about the accident of this morning, car that went through the barrier. Would like to know if you’re worried about it: the dynamic of the accident. The car was inside of the barrier.

    We’ve already asked Lewis that question so we’ll start with Nico.

    NR: I haven’t seen it so difficult to comment. Of course we always need to push to improve things. Apparently it’s not good, not ideal, so let’s see if we can make progress on that.

    Valterri?

    VB: I haven’t seen it either, so can’t really say that much. Like Nico, we always need to keep pushing on the safety.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globoesporte.com) Nico, in the last race you were very conservative at the start and maybe that was one of the reasons you lost the victory. How do you plan your start tomorrow?

    NR: On the one side I don’t agree with your opinion – but that’s OK. On the second, just work on it tonight and tomorrow. Work on the start, get everything right there, look at last year’s start, learn from that. That’s it.

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) To both of the Mercedes drivers: you were very aggressive – Hamilton was very aggressive – here last year and you were very aggressive also in Japan. I would like to continue on this matter, to know that if, as you have this goal tomorrow [the Constructors’ Championship] does it change you approach for the first corner?

    LH: You said I was aggressive here last year? Here? I don’t remember being aggressive. But whatever I did last year it worked so I plan to stay the same really.

    Q: I think the point of the question is that you have had a few starts where you have been quite close, not least the last one in Japan and as you’ve got the Constructors’ possibly tomorrow, is it going to change your thinking going into the first corner. For both of you.
    NR: No. Nothing changes anything. It’s one way and that’s it.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globoesporte.com) In Q1, only Lewis and Nico were on soft tyres, all the others were on supersoft tyres. Is this some kind of reference that we can expect in the race?

    NR: Looks like we were especially quick on the soft which is always a good thing of course in the race, because everybody has to use them once so that can only help us.

    Q: You’re expecting this to be a one-stop race tomorrow then?

    NR: I don’t know about the strategy yet. That’s look into that this evening.
    LH: Yeah, very strange coming into the weekend – people were making assumptions that we would have a repeat of Singapore. Obviously I had no idea what it’s going to be like and to think that now we have it the other way round it’s very, very strange. I don’t have answer for it but the car felt good otherwise on the tyres today. I don’t know how it will be for the race. I think from our short long run, the seven laps that we might have got, we have to take information from that, but it didn’t feel bad.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Valtteri you were a very consistent third in every session; was this your strongest qualifying hour of the season?

    VB: Well, I think compared to the number of laps I’ve got and everyone has yesterday and today it was not bad from my side. I felt very good. I could have been feeling very good in the car all weekend and managed to do multiple laps in a very consistent way without any mistakes. Yeah, I can be happy for the session but it’s difficult to say if it’s the best or one of the best.

  • Sainz Released From Hospital, Team Shed Some Light on Crash

    Sainz Released From Hospital, Team Shed Some Light on Crash

    After a horror crash in Free Practice 3, Toro Rosso Driver Carlos Sainz has been released from hospital while his team shed some light on what may have went wrong in the build up to the crash.

    Although Sainz is out of the hospital, he will still need to undergo a check by the FIA medical delegate to consider him fit to race on Sunday.

    He says that he’s ready to race, but it all depends on how he feels on Sunday morning.

    “I’m OK, I’m fine,” said Sainz in a video message posted on Twitter posted by his team.

    “Just a bit sore from the accident on my back and on my neck,” the Spaniard continued.

    “But I’m totally ready to see what ever happens. Hopefully, tomorrow, I can wake up in good shape and maybe try to race.

    “This is the intention, but we need to be cautious obviously.”

    Meanwhile, back at the track, Toro Rosso have been investigating the cause of the accident.

    Team Principal Franz Tost thinks that it may have been a combination of the prime tyre with a change in brake balance.

    “Prior to the accident, Carlos had completed a long-run on the option tyre, before changing to the prime to do two further laps,” he said.

    “On primes the grip level is lower. In addition he had changed the brake shape on the steering wheel, which meant he had more braking rearwards.

    “A combination of these two factors might have been the cause of the rears locking, which made the car uncontrollable.”

    Replays of the crash seem to confirm what Tost is saying as the Sainz brakes, the rear of the car steps out and as he corrects the slide, he hits the nearside barrier which sent him straight into the tech-pro barriers at the end of the run off area.

    The final findings of the crash will be revealed by the team at a later stage.

     

    Photo credit: Scuderia Toro Rosso Formula 1 

  • F1 2015: Russian GP Qualifying Report – Rosberg Sets The Pace

    F1 2015: Russian GP Qualifying Report – Rosberg Sets The Pace

    Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg has taken pole position for the 2015 Russian grand prix.

    The first part of qualifying went the usual route as both Manor F1 cars were eliminated from the running. Jenson Button, newly re-signed with McLaren for 2016, advanced ahead of his teammate Fernando Alonso to the second part of the session.

    Quali two caught out Williams driver Felipe Massa would was not able to overcome traffic on circuit to set a quick enough time to advance. Teammate Valtteri Bottas easily advanced the top ten shoot out with both Mercedes’ and Ferraris’ well in the mix. Local hero Dannil Kvyat was not able to drag his Red Bull in the final part of the session much to the disappointment of his home crowd.

    The top session turned out be a bit of an anti-climax as Nico Rosberg’s first run, some three tenths quicker than Hamilton, was enough to secure pole long before the chequered flag came out. Hamilton, slightly out of sorts around the Sochi Autodrom, did have a second go at snatching pole but a mistake meant he abandoned the lap and his chance of securing a 50th pole position start.

    Williams’ Valtteri Bottas set the third quickest time whilst Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen will start Sunday’s Russian grand prix in fourth and fifth respectively.

  • Weather Report for the 2015 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix

    Weather Report for the 2015 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix

    The Sochi Autodrom situated within the Sochi Olympic park plays host to the Russian Grand Prix and round 15 of the Formula 1 World Championship.

    The track which was built within the Olympic Park is 5.848km long which makes it the third longest on the F1 calendar. The circuit has a good mix of corners which should put the tyres through their paces. With the track surface last year, teams could stop once in the race as the degradation was very low. Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg managed 52 laps on his set of medium compound tyres after he stopped on lap 1 after locking up heavily into Turn 2.

    Pirelli say the track surface is much the same as it was last year despite a very harsh winter. This could be one of the reasons Pirelli have decided to go one step softer on the tyres bringing the super soft(option) and soft(prime) compound tyres. This is to also increase the number of pit stops in the race.

    The tyres will have to work particularly hard in the final sector where there are a series of 90-degree turns which require mechanical grip from the tyres.

    The weather for Sochi this weekend is clear with some scattered clouds around. The crowd can look forward to a perfect autumn afternoon during qualifying and the race. It will be partly cloudy on Friday. The weather will clear up for Saturday and Sunday. We can expect temperatures between 17-19 degrees Celsius.

    Russia 2015_weather



  • Honda Engine Upgrade Will Drop Alonso Down The Grid

    Honda Engine Upgrade Will Drop Alonso Down The Grid

    Honda have spent their remaining tokens for the seasons on upgrades to their power unit ahead of the Russian Grand Prix.

    Because of time constraints, Honda were only able to bring one upgraded engine which will be fitted to Fernando Alonso’s car. This will mean the Spaniard will more that likely start from the back of the grid for the race on Sunday.

    Alonso will run a new internal combustion engine, a new turbo, a new MGU-H, a new energy store, and a new set of control electronics. So far this season, Alonso has used 9 internal combustion engines, 8 turbo chargers, 8 MGU-H’s, 4 energy stores and 5 control electronics.

    Honda plan to run the upgrades during free practice as a test before changing back to the previous engine which was used at the Japanese Grand Prix.

    Jenson Button will run with the old engine and will have an upgraded unit at the next race in Austin, Texas for the United States Grand Prix.

  • Broadcast Times for the 2015 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix

    Broadcast Times for the 2015 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix

    After a two week break the Formula 1 circus heads into Sochi, Russia for round 15 of the Formula 1 World Championship and the Russian Grand Prix.

    The 5.848km circuit is situated withing the Sochi Olympic Park which was built to host the 2014 Winter Olympics and is the 3rd longest circuit on the F1 Calendar. There are 18 corners around the Sochi Autodrom that provide a good balance of high speed cornering with some very slow corners. The final sector is the slowest sector on the track with a series of 90 degree bends. Because of the flowing nature of some of the corners where the exit of one corner becomes the entry to another corner, drivers can be penalized quite heavily if they get their lines wrong.

    The cars are set up for high down force because of the slow nature of the track and because of the smooth surface which is expected to be weathered this year, the drivers have to be very careful on the throttle out of the slow corners not to spin up the rears. The degradation is expected to be low despite the degradation of the circuit surface over the past year and with Pirelli going one step softer on tyre choice.

    Coming into the race, Mercedes find themselves on the cusp of another constructors championship. They need to outscore Ferrari by three points this weekend and the title is theirs. Barring some reliability catastrophe, Mercedes should comfortably outscore Ferrari this weekend and walk away with the 2015 Constructors title. Mercedes have said that they’re weary of the fact that the soft and super soft compound tyres, which Pirelli have nominated this year for the race weekend, may see them in a similar situation which seen them struggling behind Ferrari and Red Bull.

    It should be business as usual this weekend with Mercedes out in front. The battle, will once again, be behind the Silver Arrows.

    Broadcast times this weekend are back to normal albeit slightly earlier with the traditional morning practice sessions and afternoon qualifying and race.

    All times are GMT+2

    Free Practice 1: Friday 09:00

    Free Practice 2: Friday 13:00

    Free Practice 3: Saturday 11:00

    Qualifying: Saturday 14:00

    Race: Sunday 13:00

  • F1 2015: Russian GP Preview – Second Chance For Sochi

    F1 2015: Russian GP Preview – Second Chance For Sochi

    There are a couple of circuits on the Formula 1 calendar that can be depended on to deliver a cracking race. Brazil’s Interlagos circuit delivers something dramatic and breathtaking almost every year. Then there are those that are as dull as mud such as Bahrain but the Sakhir circuit has transformed over the last couple of years thanks to its new night race status.

    The F1 paddock has only been to Russia’s Sochi circuit for the Russian GP once and although it’s slightly unfair to judge it on the one race it’s had so far, we will. The super smooth circuit delivered a bore fest of epic proportions in 2014. So ‘grippy’ was the circuit asphalt that Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was able to run a set of tyres for 52 of the 53 racing laps without even a suggestion of an issue.

    Pirelli isn’t exactly our favourite tyre supplier at the moment; see previous rants for evidence, but what happened at the 2014 Russian GP wasn’t entirely their fault. Despite the thousands of terabytes of data at their disposal they were not able to predict how the track would behave. Afterall, circuits are living things influenced by a bevy of variables that can only be calculated with factual data collected by cars running, consistently, on it.  In 2015, Pirelli has some tangible data and can therefore make a better informed choice. As a result the Italian tyre manufacturer is rolling out the red side-walled supersoft tyre for the Russian GP weekend.

    Russian_flagThe Sochi Autodrom, thanks to its variety of corners, provides a technical challenge to the drivers. It’s quite a long lap and a reasonably technical one too. “If you make a small mistake in one corner, you are punished for the rest of the lap,” says Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado. “If you’re off line for one corner, it might not be until one of the straights that you can recover. Off-line is very slippery too so you’re doubly punished!”

    The circuit, situated inside the Olympic Park, holds special memories for the Mercedes team who clinched the constructor’s championship here last year. There are some fears that the street-style circuit and the presence of the supersoft tyre may combine for a repeat of the Singapore grand prix but nature of the Sochi Autodrom and the cooler temperature will play in the favour of Mercedes. The German team must outscore nearest rivals Ferrari by three points on Sunday to secure back-to-back constructor’s titles.

    Lewis HamiltonAt the beginning of 2015 Nico Rosberg would have believed himself a match for Lewis Hamilton. Last year he bested his teammate in the qualifying battle and occasionally looked the part of true championship contender.  But twelve months later this theory has been de-bunked. Mind you, the 2015 season isn’t over yet and much could still transpire between the Russian GP and the season finale.

    All sorts of factors could conspire to stop Hamilton from claiming a third title. But there isn’t a genuine feeling that Rosberg could be one of these factors. There isn’t a bona fide threat that he is suddenly going to turn in to a Hamilton-beater and there never has been this season.  Rosberg must respond at the Russian GP with an emphatic, straight-out, victory against Hamilton and show that he isn’t just a good driver in a great car.

  • My Singapore Grand Prix Experience

    My Singapore Grand Prix Experience

    One of our contributors took a trip this year to the Singapore Grand Prix in September and wrote about his experience. We realise this is a bit late but he’s had quite a busy schedule since he’s been back.

    Please note that the views expressed in this piece do not reflect the views of F1 Madness and are the personal views of our contributor.

     

    So it all started way back in April when I was looking for a Grand Prix to attend. Admittedly, Singapore was not my first choice but it was on my list behind Monza and Spa. In the end it was more of a financial decision to attend the Singapore Grand Prix.

    Flight tickets, Grand Prix tickets and hotel all confirmed for my first Grand Prix. Now came the wait. It was agonising. The excitement was building as each day grew closer and finally, it was time.

    The flight was scheduled to land on Friday which meant I missed out on the Thursday pit lane walk. My flight landed in the morning. I still had the whole day to wait to get to the track. I could not contain my excitement. Although I could not sleep on the flight, my excitement and the anticipation carried me through.

    Walking into the track area I could hear the Porsche Cup cars in their practice session. All I wanted to hear was the sound of the F1 cars as they screamed passed me. I made my way to the Bay Grand Stand and took my place and took it all in.

    ritesh-singapore-DSC_0164Free Practice – I watched on the big screen as the cars made their way on to the track and I waited for them to come around. I could hear the cars brake for turn 16, then a short burst for Turn 17 and then straight across from where I was seated. It was so quick, but it’s something you don’t forget.

    You hear the engine roar passed you and you realise that its much louder than on the television. I soaked it all up. In a very short time you’re able to listen for the slight variations in engine tone.

    It’s truly amazing to experience it.

    During practice on Friday I took a walk along the track and stood between Turn 14 and Turn 16 to get closer to the cars. I picked a spot in the braking zone for T16 and enjoyed the view and the sound. When you’re that close you hear the different ways the drivers gear down before approaching corners. For instance, Hamilton does gears down before he gets to the turn while Ricciardo on a few occasions geared down as he turned in. If you watch really closely you can see the tiny differences as each driver takes a corner.

    Saturday came and I was at the track early waiting for Free Practice 3. It was much of the same from the Friday Practice sessions but there is a sense of urgency from the teams and drivers. Mercedes were struggling to find their pace while Ferrari had a good rhythm going. Then came qualifying.

    While watching live you do miss some of the action. The big screens and track commentary do help to an extent though.ritesh-singapore-DSC_0324

    Race day was something different.

    Walking to the track you can sense the excitement in the air. As I was walking to the grand stand I was greeted by a rather enthusiastic fellow Tifosi member who high-fived me as I walked passed him. We both shouted “Vettel!” at the same time. It was rather interesting for the three Red Bull supporters walking behind me fully clad in their Red Bull kit.

    I’ve always got some nervousness at the start of a race, even when I’m at home. This was just that much more. It was a good feeling though. After the start we followed the cars on the big screen until they filed passed us. By then Vettel already had a substantial lead. I could not believe how quickly he had done it. After that it was fairly routine apart from the time when Button and Maldonado had a carbon fibre fighting match in front of us.

    The crowd were on their feet and a collective “oooooohhhh” could be head when parts of Button’s wing went flying. The fun part was watching the marshals that were cleaning the pieces of carbon fibre off the track. It all looks very clumsy and disorganised. It was fun to watch though.

    The race itself wasn’t the most exciting race around except for the small safety car periods. Vettel took the win and it was over as quickly as it started. I was expecting more of a party atmosphere but there wasn’t much. Most of the crowd just stood up and left.

    I made my way down to walk on the track. We were finally allowed on the track at Turn 18/19 and the first thought that came to mind was, “wow this is narrower than I was expecting.” It was extraordinary. And to think the drivers go through there at speeds that boggle the mind. And then I wondered how on earth Max Verstappen got his car to fit down the inside of T18. That kid has zero fear.

    There is one thing that I think would improve things and maybe get fans closer to the action while still doing it in a safe way. Everywhere I went I saw people struggling to get a perfect shot of the action. Now I realise that we cannot all be photographers, but for a small extra fee, organisers could sell amateur photographer tickets that give you access to certain spots on the circuit to capture great moments.

    For my first time attending a Grand Prix, it is something I’m never going to forget. It’s just a shame that I took so long. I should’ve done it much sooner. But better late than never. Every fan should attend at least one race in their lifetime. Will I attend another race? Yes. Definitely! Will I go to the Singapore Grand Prix again? Well, maybe.

    Don’t get me wrong. The entertainment was fantastic. The atmosphere, the spectacle of it all was great. But it’s just not one of the classic F1 races. Although the Singapore Grand Prix has been with us since 2008, there’s no history attached to the venue, there’s no soul. The passion from the fans is lacking. Maybe it was just where I was sitting?

    Next on the list for me is Silverstone or Monza (if the manage to hang on to it long enough).