Frédéric Vasseur hopes that Ferrari will manage to shine this weekend in Singapore, during a night race that promises to be difficult. Despite a missed victory in Baku, the Scuderia director is optimistic about the level of the SF-24.
“Last weekend’s race did not produce the result we were hoping for, which in itself proves that we are currently on the pace, at a time when Formula 1 offers a great spectacle with very little choice between the four best teams at the moment” Vasseur said.
“We want to continue this good form in Singapore, another demanding street circuit. Both our drivers enjoy it, and one of them won there last year. We would like to do the same, continuing to work well as a team, as we have done in the last few races.”
“We have seen in the last two Grands Prix how important tyre management is and Singapore will be the third weekend in a row where we have the same three softest compounds in the range, which should help us understand them better, even if each circuit is different.”
“Of course, qualifying is very important at the Marina Bay Circuit and we are well prepared for it, so I am sure we can give all our opponents a hard time.”
An “extremely demanding” race
Scuderia strategist Ravin Jain will have his work cut out for him this weekend and he explains the challenges of Singapore for teams and drivers: “Singapore has many aspects that make it unique. Firstly, it is a street circuit, which means that the grip tends to increase throughout the weekend and the drivers really have to work to find the limit between the walls.”
“Add to that the constant humidity and the race is extremely demanding for the drivers and a split-second lapse in concentration can cause an incident: every edition of the Singapore Grand Prix has seen at least one appearance of the safety car.”
“The circuit features a combination of many low-speed corners, meaning teams are trying to optimise low-speed performance and traction. Additionally, the lack of long straights encourages teams to adopt high-downforce setups.”
“Finally, this is F1’s first night race, which represents an additional challenge for drivers and teams, who must adapt to twilight free practice sessions, qualifying and the night race.”
The strategist confirms that starting space is crucial on the streets of Singapore: “Qualifying is particularly important at Marina Bay because overtaking is more difficult than average.”
“Therefore, being on pole position and leading the field by a wide margin gives a driver the advantage of managing the pace from the front and controlling the pit stop gap behind. The leader can then decide to increase his pace whenever he wishes.”
“He just needs to make sure he always has the gap to make his pit stops after his rivals have made theirs. That said, there is an extra DRS zone this year, making four in total, which should make overtaking easier. However, qualifying will play a crucial role at this circuit.”
“A huge amount of work and planning”
“Modern F1 strategy is a complex multi-variable system: factors that at first glance seem unrelated can actually influence each other.”
“Therefore, it requires a huge amount of preparation and planning in advance. Part of that preparation is coming into the weekend with a good idea of how the race will unfold and learning as much as possible during the free practice sessions, especially if there are track changes.
“Another key part is understanding who our main competitors are during a race, particularly this season where the relative competitiveness on the grid varies so much from circuit to circuit. Everything we learn is then distilled into how we want to approach the race.”
“To execute these plans and race at the highest level against some of the brightest minds in pit lane is an immensely rewarding experience. And of course, it’s especially special to design and execute a plan that helps us win a race!”
