Singapore’s 4.94km Marina Bay circuit provides teams and drivers with an entire panoply of challenges, and that’s just considering things from a single lap perspective.
As a high downforce, partially twisty venue, straight-line speed is not among a car’s most important performance factors, something that is reflected in the less than 9 km/h speed delta between the fastest and slowest contenders in qualifying.
However, Lando Norris’ 306.7 km/h maximum velocity as measured by the speed trap at the end of Marina Bay’s main straight tells us that the MCL38’s controversial rear flexi wing that was on display in Baku, and which was ‘stiffened up’ this weekend, was perhaps not the ‘magic bullet’ that many claimed it was.
Balance and traction are a car’s main assets in Singapore, but there’s nothing wrong with having a handy top-speed edge over one’s rivals.
Looking at the qualifying data, Norris bested the first two sectors in Q3 but was only fourth quickest in Sector 3 that was headed by George Russell and Lewis Hamilton for Mercedes, while Max Verstappen was consistent throughout which allowed him to clock in second overall.
Traction is evidently a strong trait of McLaren’s charger, but where Norris pulled off his ripper in Q3 was his speed through Marina Bay’s Turn 16/17 complex, achieved in large part by his MCL38’s kerb-riding ability.
On a track that takes no prisoners and where every single race has seen a Safety Car intervention, it would seem a tad simplistic to declare that Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix is Lando’s to lose.
In all likelihood, there will be a neutralization, or perhaps several, which means that tactics will come into play. Which means that Pirelli’s projection for a one-stop race in ideal circumstances – with a medium-hard scenario the quickest route – will require a bit of fine-tuning along the way.
Among the imponderables, we’ll also throw in the weather, although forecasts are calling for a dry, albeit overcast day.
In summary, teams will once again need to be ready to make the most of any opportunity that presents itself.
We’ll be keeping an eye on Hamilton, by the way.
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