Motorsport Week takes a look behind-the-scenes at some of the off-track developments and anecdotes that occurred through the course of the Singapore Grand Prix weekend.
Silly Season in full swing in Singers
The Silly Season was in full swing in Singapore as one piece of the 2020 market was locked in while one potential segment was removed from the jigsaw. Haas announced early Thursday afternoon that Romain Grosjean would stay on for 2020, alongside Kevin Magnussen, opting for continuity amid its difficult campaign. There are many who felt Haas has made a flawed choice but there is method in the madness. The team knows Grosjean, he knows the team, and his feedback is well-received, especially given the 2019 problems. Haas knows it must accept Grosjean at his worst at times if it is to appreciate him at his best – and an on-form Grosjean can be a formidable threat. Grosjean staying was bad news for Nico Hulkenberg amid rumours that Haas was put off by the German’s salary demands. Haas said an offer was never on the table but Hulkenberg inferred that negotiations were at quite an advanced stage. Hulkenberg is not under consideration at Red Bull, where one of either Alexander Albon or Pierre Gasly will end up at the senior team, with the ‘lucky losers’ getting another year at Toro Rosso next to Daniil Kvyat. Robert Kubica’s announcement had been expected given that the prospects of him staying on at Williams for 2020 were slim to none. Kubica was keen to stress that walking away was his choice – though it was likely a case of running before being pushed – and the team will now take time to assess its options. Nicholas Latifi is high on the list. Kubica has been linked to a DTM seat as his main course, with a little bit of F1 sim work on the side. It leaves the greatest intrigue lying at the door of Alfa Romeo. It has Kimi Raikkonen under contract but the second seat has yet to be filled. Antonio Giovinazzi has shown pace through the year but has yet to consistently apply it, with his prospects also hampered by a sequence of mistakes. However, the situation is complicated by the sway Ferrari holds for the second seat, with Giovinazzi occupying the berth previously held in 2018 by Charles Leclerc. No Ferrari graduates are ready for 2020 which eases the pressure on Giovinazzi. Hulkenberg, though, is still a contender, given that Alfa Romeo boss Frederic Vasseur knows Hulkenberg from their time at ART Grand Prix in junior series, and was influential in recruiting him for Renault during his brief tenure at the team in 2016. There must also be longer-term considerations to ponder. A Raikkonen-Giovinazzi 2020 pairing is solid, but what of 2021 if Raikkonen walks away, by which time he will be 41. Would Giovinazzi, with four points to Raikkonen's 31, really be suitable for a team leader role – or would someone of Hulkenberg’s presence be better for a team that has genuine aspirations to lead the midfield. Alfa Romeo has nonetheless stressed that its priority is towards Giovinazzi but it has not exactly thrown its full weight behind the Italian.
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Double Breakfast?
It is an unusual time rhythm in Singapore as the majority of people remain on European time, which means waking up at 1pm, breakfast around 3pm, lunch about 8pm, dinner at 3am, and bed at 6am. “Good morning” is the greeting even as the sun begins to set. However not everyone sticks to such a schedule, with several of the sport’s key leading figures having to have a half-and-half adjustment on account of business talks. “I think for the executives in the race team, such as myself, it becomes a much longer day,” said McLaren’s Zak Brown. “I got started this morning at about 8am and we’ll do that each morning, so I can tell you, I’m more tired than normal.” Christian Horner was in a typically cheeky mood and couldn’t resist a little retort. “I suppose the benefit for Zak is that he gets to have two breakfasts,” he quipped. Guenther Steiner muscled in: “Everybody gets up when he wants and has as many breakfasts as he wants so you shouldn’t pick on Zak, Christian, that’s not fair!”
Norris and Netflix
Netflix were following Lando Norris through the weekend and the Briton – who flew out to Singapore exceptionally early – showed his mischievous side by joining in with the latter stages of Carlos Sainz Jr.’s media session, placing down his phone while trying to think of suitable questions. “I think he’s an asshole,” joked Sainz Jr., with Norris sat opposite. “Especially today, I don’t know why. He’s like in a bad humour, I promise, today be careful with him, I’ve never seen him that way. Maybe because he has Netflix following him or something!
Norris chipped in. Who was faster on the simulator, he asked.
CS: I actually don’t know, because I really don’t care! Were you quicker?
LN: I don’t know
CS: You’re trying to make it like you don’t care but actually you do care.
LN: I think you care!
CS: I promise I don’t know. I actually went after you, for once. He normally goes after me to try and copy something, but this time I was after him…
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How to adjust to the heat
The heat in this part of the world is intense due to the humidity, while the length of the grand prix means it is the event that all the drivers have in mind while ramping up their training schedules. Most normal people will wear the most suitable clothes and attire when exercising, but Formula 1 drivers? It’s slightly different. Pierre Gasly went cycling in a sauna while George Russell was left out of clothes due to the amount he was wearing. “For the last 10 days, every gym session I've done I've been wearing tights, long socks, tracksuit bottoms, long-sleeve T-shirts, a jumper and a rain jacket with the hood up," he said. "Last time I was at Williams' factory, we were at the gym and my trainer turned the heating up to 28C and I had all of these clothes on as well. I finished at lunch time and all of these staff members came into the gym for their training session, for which the temperature is usually set at 19C, and they were like, 'What the hell have we walked into?' So they weren't too pleased about that."
A qualified success?
Formula 1 is still in the process of evaluating whether to introduce qualifying races at three grands prix in 2020, as part of the longer-term idea of assessing how the sport could change. All 10 teams have given the FIA and Formula 1 their blessing to continue further evaluations over the concept, though when the final idea is delivered it will require all 10 teams to give the green light, due to the 2020 regulations deadline having long passed. The basic working proposal at the moment is for a no-points qualifying race, the grid set by reverse points order, to replace the qualifying hour at three grands prix, and the outcome of that race would determine the grid for the main grand prix, where usual points would be applied. The three grand prix in question have yet to be outlined though Ferrari has already indicated that it would veto such a proposal in Italy. In order for fair tyre and engine usage any race would be around 20 laps – similar to the mileage the leading teams complete in qualifying – though there remain questions over what spare parts may be needed and the consequent financial implications. Were the drivers enthused? Hardly.
“I think it’s complete bulls**t to be honest,” said Sebastian Vettel on the reversed-grid concept. “I think we know what’s probably [best] if you want to improve things, it’s very clear, you need to string the field together, have better racing. It’s just a plaster. I don’t know which genius came up with this, but it’s not the solution. I think it’s completely wrong.” Added Lewis Hamilton: “I think the people that proposed that don’t really know what they’re talking about.” Charles Leclerc’s thoughts? “I don’t think it’s a solution for Formula 1. I think the best should win, and start in the best place, and not reversing that order. I don’t think it’s a solution.” Even the driver who would ostensibly most benefit was not keen. “That idea is pretty stupid to be honest,” said George Russell. “Everyone’s here to race and it’s unfair on the guys who deserve to be the ones leading the race or leading the championship to be hindered, or in the qualifying race they get damage trying to come through the pace.” GPDA chairman Romain Grosjean neatly summed it up. “We believe if those four points [tyres, money distribution, weight, aero sensitivity] are sorted the championship doesn’t need any tricks or whatsoever. We haven’t seen tennis changing the way they are doing a tournament because Nadal or Federer have been winning.”
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Specific-Haas-tion
Haas has spent the middle part of the year evaluating various car specifications in a bid to get on top of its problems. Romain Grosjean reverted to the Melbourne-spec car in Britain, Germany and Hungary and, after a brief respite for the low-downforce Belgium and Italy, was on a mish-mash of approaches in Singapore. “We kept the front wing of the latest car and we put the floor, the bargeboard, and the rear wing of the Melbourne-spec [car].” said Grosjean, who is expecting to run a similar hybrid in Russia. “I think it was the right call, unfortunately here because FP3 is not representative of quali we didn’t get time to set-up the car properly, I think there is probably a bit more potential than the new one in it but we ran out of time to set things up. I think we just know that the wind tunnel to the track has been wrong. I don’t think we’re lost, we know it’s somewhere in there, there’s been acknowledgement of it. Singapore is one of the hardest tracks and you’re bringing race one package here so don’t expect miracles!” With Haas still struggling, and the start of the 2020 season now less than five months away, there have been concerns that there could be a knock-on effect. But Grosjean has played down such fears. “I think we’ve made some good steps in understanding, from what I hear,” he asserted. “I’ve got confidence that we will bounce back next year in a good way.” Haas is not in F1 to finish ninth overall and, with little financial cap changes on the horizon – seemingly limiting the short- and medium-term prospects of smaller teams – it is no surprise that the whispers have begun suggesting Gene Haas is on the lookout for a buyer by 2021.
Ricciardo’s micro advantage
Regulations in Formula 1 strive to be black and white and if there is a clear transgression of the rules than the penalty is usually a slam dunk. Thus when it was revealed that Daniel Ricciardo had exceeded the maximum wattage from his MGU-K on a Q1 lap exclusion from the session was duly expected, and thus followed. However, it later transpired that Ricciardo gained just a microsecond from the incident – a unit of time which would not even register on the timing screens – and he was understandably upset at the outcome. When asked for his thoughts by this writer a pensive and emotional Ricciardo relayed some common sense. “If that is something that is happening consistently through the session, I’d understand,” he said. “If every lap I’m getting a micro second gain, then I’d understand, ok eliminate me from the session. But it happened on one occurrence for one milli-second on one lap. And the lap did not affect my qualifying. Delete that lap. We have the track limit rule, if you gain an advantage then that lap is deleted. So it seems very simple to do that. They didn’t feel the need. I have some strong words for them, but I’ll leave that…but I think you know what I feel. They ruined my weekend. A 12-hour flight return, I feel was bit for nothing. So maybe they will pay for my seat on the way home. It affected my sleep heavily. I was frustrated. Just being honest now, it is hard to then switch off because you have so many scenarios running through your head. A lot of anger, and you feel hard done by because I’ve never pissed off anyone there personally. I don’t have a grudge on anyone. I’d think just a bit of common sense would prevail. I’m running through all these scenarios in my head while I’m in bed trying to sleep.”
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