2015 Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix

Singapore Grand Prix – Singapore, 20 September 2015

Posted: 20.09.2015
Source: Ferrari

Maurizio Arrivabene: “This is a fantastic win! It’s fantastic for Seb, who yesterday put in an awesome qualifying lap, something which reminded me of the great champions of the past. But this result is also fantastic for the whole team, for all the guys here in the Singapore garage, and also for those who work back at Maranello. Kimi’s third place today clearly shows how important and effective was the development work we carried out on our car. Today we have both drivers on the podium and we’re happy with that. And yet, I was not sure that we could make it until we crossed the finish line. A race win is something you build step by step, from the start onwards: and on a track like this, full of unpredictables, and with two safety car periods, the real problem was keeping concentration. Now I don’t want to make predictions for the championship: there are still may points at stake, and obviously we’ll do all that’s in our power to stay in front. But always with great humility and a huge respect for other contenders.”

Kimi Raikkonen: “I have mixed feelings: I’m happy to be third, considering how difficult it was yesterday, struggling with the grip and the handling of the car, but I’m a bit disappointed for not having been able to fight for a better position. Today I knew it was not going to be easy: it was a tricky race, on new tires I was able to follow Daniel easily, but then I was starting to have the same problems as yesterday, and I did not have enough speed for trying to catch him. First and third is a great result for the whole team, but of course it could have been better. It’s hard to predict how is going to be in the next races , but I don’t think we should get carried away. Obviously some tracks fit you better that others: we’ll do our best as usual. Hopefully we’ll find out that we can be competitive again fighting at the front. We have done an amazing job as a team so far, we keep improving, building and learning a lot in all areas, we are going in the right direction.”

Sebastian Vettel: “It was an incredible race today, in fact all in all an incredible weekend and it is difficult for me now to sum it up. The race was intense and long, I had some pressure from Daniel behind me, we were the quickest two cars out there today, but I was able to control the pace and look after the tyres, which ran ok for the whole weeekend. The car felt fantastic, I could control the gap until the end. Today we are in paradise, but we know we’re still a long way to go. It has been a surprise that Mercedes hasn’t been on the pace this weekend, we don’t know why, but to be honest we don’t really care. I am very happy for the team today, there has been a lot of work going in since the day I joined in. For the next races we will keep pushing 100 percent, we’ll give our maximum, like always. As long as there is a chance we have to go for it, we have to do everything we can. Mercedes are the ones to beat, the best way to do it is looking after ourselves and doing the best we can.”

Singapore GP: statement from Chairman Sergio Marchionne

Posted: 20.09.2015
Source: Ferrari

Maranello, 20 September 2015 – “Congratulations to everyone involved in this fantastic victory. Sebastian Vettel drove like a real champion today and everyone on the team, both on the track and back home in Maranello, did an absolutely perfect job. I’m also delighted for Kimi Raikkonen. It is wonderful to see him back on the podium too. It has been too long since two Ferrari drivers were in the first three across the line.

This was a major victory on a difficult circuit and I’d like to dedicate it to all our tifosi who have been so steadfast in their affection and support. On behalf of everyone in Ferrari, I promise them this race is not just a one-off but a huge step forward on our road back to staying at the top and hearing the Italian national anthem played a lot more often.”

Singapore Grand Prix – Vettel triumphs at night in Marina Bay

Posted: 20.09.2015
Source: Ferrari

The German wins ahead of Ricciardo. Kimi third

Singapore, 20 September – Sebastian Vettel led from lights out to chequered flag, in a splendid performance at the floodlit Marina Bay street circuit, alongside Singapore harbour. The German started from pole and led all 61 laps, managing the race perfectly through two appearances from the Safety Car. Vettel held a slender lead over Ricciardo’s Red Bull right to the flag, crossing the line just 1.4s ahead of the Australian. Kimi Raikkonen also made it to the podium, having been third from start to finish, making it a significant team result for Scuderia Ferrari.

Singapore Grand Prix – Singapore, 19 September 2015

Posted: 19.09.2015
Source: Ferrari

Kimi Raikkonen: “I’m happy to finish third considering the difficult day I’ve had compared to yesterday. I have been struggling all day with the set up of my car, finding the grip and the balance. It was difficult to make the car work as I wanted. We always try to do our best in a race weekend and here it seems to work. Some places seem to favor one team and some others other teams, this time we have been having a pretty ok weekend so far. Our aim is to improve for the race, tomorrow we’ll see how strong our opponents are, we’ll try to do our best and hopefully have a stronger race as a team.”

Sebastian Vettel: “Of course there are no points given today, but for the team, for all of us, this is a fantastic result! We had been waiting for so long for this pole to arrive, not just the team, but myself too. Perhaps I could have aborted the last attempt, but there was no much point in doing so, because I did not know what the others were doing and I felt fantastic, so I pushed to the end. Now I’m looking forward to the race tomorrow, knowing that it will be very difficult and challenging to master all the conditions that you experience in a race. But we are starting from the perfect spot. I wouldn’t mind to pull away at the start, but it’s going to be a very long race. There are so many small decisions you have to take, and it’s easy to focus on the big result and neglect the small details… So we’ll have to focus on tomorrow, because so many things can happen on the way to the chequered flag, with the safety car and so on, as we’ve seen so often in the past. Hopefully we can have the same speed tomorrow, and then it could be a very good day”.

Singapore Grand Prix – Vettel takes his first pole in “red”

Posted: 19.09.2015
Source: Ferrari

The German is fastest in Singapore qualifying. Raikkonen third

Singapore, 19 September –Against the splendid backdrop of the Marina Bay circuit Sebastian Vettel took pole position at the end of a thrilling qualifying session. The German lapped in 1.43.885 over half a second faster than Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bull. Kimi Raikkonen ensured there are two Ferraris in the top three, taking third place with a lap in 1.44.667. This is Vettel’s first pole at the wheel of a Ferrari.

Singapore Grand Prix – Quick in free practice

Posted: 19.09.2015
Source: Ferrari

Seb and Kimi top FP3 timesheet

Singapore, 19 September – Saturday’s action at the Marina Bay circuit got underway with Scuderia Ferrari taking the top two places in the final hour of free practice. Sebastian Vettel did a lap in 1.45.682, while in the other SF15-T Kimi Raikkonen did a 1.46.132. Both Ferrari men did six laps with the Soft compound and a further six on the Supersoft, to outpace the Red Bull duo of Daniil Kvyat (1.46.167) and Daniel Ricciardo (1.46.359). In less than two hours the action resumes with qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix.

Singapore Grand Prix – Singapore, 18 September 2015

Posted: 18.09.2015
Source: Ferrari

Kimi Raikkonen: “It was a normal practice session, we were doing our normal things and everything worked more or less ok. There is always something we can improve but overall the car was behaving well. As usual, Mercedes will be very strong and also Red Bull seems to be quite quick here, but today it’s only Friday and it’s hard to judge from the lap times. Hopefully tomorrow we’ll have a good day and then we’ll go from there.”

Sebastian Vettel: “It is always difficult to make predictions after the Friday sessions. In general, I think it was a good day for us. The car seems to work, but other than that I think we can still improve. I was not entirely happy with my short-runs, so for Qualifying we still have to improve a bit, but for the race it looked ok. The pace seems to be there, but it’s also fair to say that I haven’t seen too much of the data yet. So we will see. Obviously, we can expect the Mercedes to be quick tomorrow: I don’t know what happened to them today, they looked a bit slow, but for sure they will change it for tomorrow. We know that the Mercedes don’t show everything on Friday, and as expected the Red Bulls are fairly quick here as well. So tomorrow it will be tight. I look forward to Saturday, I like the circuit, it is a big challenge: there’s a lot of corners, it is a long lap and it’s not easy to get everything right. For tomorrow we should be a bit quicker, but it is only Friday and we should keep our feet on the ground.”

Singapore Grand Prix – A surprising session

Posted: 18.09.2015
Source: Ferrari

Kimi second in FP2, Seb fifth

Singapore, 18 September –The second free practice session for the Singapore Grand Prix produced a surprising result, with Daniil Kvyat topping the time sheet with a lap in 1.46.142.The first runs on the Supersoft tyre on the streets of Marina Bay secured the fastest time for the Russian Red Bull driver, ahead of the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen who posted a 1.46.181 and the other Red Bull, driven by Daniel Ricciardo (1.46.256). Sebastian Vettel is fifth in his SF15-T in 1.46.487. Both he and his team-mate worked on assessing the car’s mechanical set-up. The tyres produced positive results on the Marina Bay tarmac, although it’s too early to have a verdict on degradation. Race pace seems good, although one should not ignore the fact that different fuel levels are run during the session

Singapore Grand Prix – It starts at sundown

Posted: 18.09.2015
Source: Ferrari

Ferrari fourth and fifth in first free practice

Singapore, 18 September – The Ferraris finished the first free practice session for the Singapore Grand Prix at the Marina Bay street circuit in fourth and fifth places. Fastest at the start of this the thirteenth round of the Formula 1 World Championship were the Mercedes duo of Nico Rosberg (1.47.995) and Lewis Hamilton (1.48.314.) Third in the session that began in daylight and ended lit by 1,600 floodlights around the track was Daniel Ricciardo who posted a 1.48.331 in the Red Bull.
Quickest of the two SF15-T drivers was Sebastian Vettel who lapped in 1.48.494, ahead of team-mate Kimi Raikkonen who did a 1.48.785. Both men worked on set-up and brakes, running the Soft tyres – the other compound available being the Supersoft – as well as practicing some starts from pit lane.

Singapore Grand Prix – Get rid of all the issues

Posted: 17.09.2015
Source: Ferrari

Kimi determined to “better results”

Because of the track layout, compared to many other places here it’s easier to overtake. As usual, our aim here is to do well in qualifying to have better chances in the race. Obviously we want better results, it would make it more fun for everybody. I think we are doing the right things but we’ve had issues here and there and if, like in the last race, something happens at the start, this compromises the end result. If we get rid of all the issues and mistakes I’m sure we can get good results. We are going in the right direction, we have to finish strong. The aim for this year is try to win more and hopefully next year we’ll be in the position to challenge in every race as a Team.

Singapore Gran Prix – Maximum attack

Posted: 17.09.2015
Source: Ferrari

Seb: “I get along very well with the car”

It’s always difficult to predict what is going to happen. In the last couple of years this place has been very good for me, I love the track, is one of the most challenging we face in the season. The circuit is unique in many ways, it’s a lot about the feeling with the car and having the confidence and this makes the big difference here. We have a strong package and hopefully we can keep this record up. Our goal for the championship is maximum attack, we have to go for everything that we can get, as long as the chance is there we have to try and make everything that’s possible. In principle I get along very well with the car this year, we’ve had many different types of tracks but still we are competitive more or less everywhere. Overall we have been quick enough to go in the top five, even if our target is to be always in the podium. Mercedes has the strongest package at the moment and if nothing goes wrong there is not much space left on the podium, but we have been pretty good in getting our Maximum.

Singapore Grand Prix – Seb meets President Tan

Posted: 17.09.2015
Source: Ferrari

An event at the Marina Bay Sands Ferrari Store

Singapore, 17 September –Sebastian Vettel’s first engagement of the Singapore race weekend involved meeting the President of the Republic, Tony Tan. The meeting was linked to the President’s Challenge, a charitable initiative which, since 2010, has helped the State’s underprivileged children. The meeting took place at the Marina Bay Sands Ferrari Store.

Singapore Grand Prix – Extreme conditions

Posted: 17.09.2015
Source: Ferrari

Important to cool the brakes

Maranello, 16 September –Scuderia Ferrari’s third driver, Esteban Gutierrez shares the view of many of his colleagues that the Singapore circuit is special. “The track has 23 corners, which is more than most,” the Mexican told ferrari.com. “Even though the race takes place at night, the humidity level is very high and when you consider the race usually runs for almost two hours, you can understand how physically demanding it is for the drivers. The high temperatures don’t only affect the men in the cockpit, they are also extreme in terms of the braking system. Singapore features several heavy braking points and keeping the components cool is extremely critical. The humidity further complicates heat dispersal from the brakes and that’s why, on a street circuit without many straights, cooling them is vitally important. Furthermore, the whole track is surrounded by buildings, so there’s even less airflow. One of my favourite sections of the track is from turn 15 to the end, because you’re always running at a fast pace. Unfortunately, turn 10 has been modified: it used to be a triple chicane, but now, it’s just a double. I know a lot of drivers prefer it this way, but I preferred the original version”.

Singapore Grand Prix – The Singapore night

Posted: 15.09.2015
Source: Ferrari

The championship bids farewell to Europe

Maranello, 15 September –Formula 1 now leaves Europe to tackle the final seven races of the season. The first of these takes place at night through the city streets of Singapore. Alberto Antonini, head of Scuderia Ferrari’s press office explains the main characteristics of this track to ferrari.com. “The Singapore Grand Prix is very demanding: the average speed is very low and usually the race runs close to the two hour time limit and simply finishing is no mean feat. The track places heavy demands on the braking system and managing traction is also important. The latter involves taking into consideration the many slow 90 degree turns, which also give the brakes a hard time. Given the twisty nature of the layout, there’s not enough time to cool the discs or the calipers, an aspect the teams have to keep in mind while setting up the car. The Singapore event runs to a different timetable, effectively taking place on European time, so that the personnel arrive at the track around lunchtime, working into the early hours of the following morning. For us, it’s just one more race on the calendar, to be tackled with the same attitude as usual, with our heads down and our feet firmly on the ground. What we can definitely promise our fans is that we will be giving it our best shot.”