Singapore – Free Practice 1: Hamilton First Flash in the Night

The light turns green at 6 PM. As Romain Grosjean leads the parade of cars for a reconnaissance lap, it is still daytime at the Marina Bay circuit. The Grand Prix, on Sunday, will take place at night. The only race of the season to be run under these conditions.

The temperature is 31°C in the air, 33°C on the track. Temperatures are expected to drop as the moon appears. As a result, the tires should not overheat this weekend. The tires brought by Pirelli are the super-softs and the mediums.

The regular drivers are all behind the wheel. Jules Bianchi, Max Chilton, Giedo Van Der Garde, and Valteri Bottas are discovering the circuit.

After fifteen minutes, no crowding on the circuit. The drivers take turns on the track for a reconnaissance lap. The track is likely to be dusty since it is not used for the rest of the year. « Not so dirty », comments Van der Garde on the radio. No one wants to take on the heavy task of cleaning the track, at least not for the moment. The chicane at turn number 10 has disappeared, leaving a simple left turn. Therefore, the time of 1’50″566, set by Sebastian Vettel during the first free practice session last year, should be easily beaten.

After almost half an hour, Sergio Pérez, followed by Charles Pic and Giedo Van der Garde, finally starts the session. First reference time for the Mexican at 1’53″245, then 1’51″644 and 1’50″103. The drivers are using mediums to start, waiting for the track to be a bit more “rubbered in” and thus, less aggressive with the tires. Van der Garde brushes the wall! An image that is likely to be repeated many times this weekend. In an interview, Eric Boullier confirms that they are waiting for better track conditions to go out. Pastor Maldonado sets the fastest time at 1’49″827. The Venezuelan shared the front row with Lewis Hamilton last year.

After forty-five minutes, Nico Rosberg leads the charge of the heavy hitters with Kimi Räikkönen, Felipe Massa, Mark Webber, and Lewis Hamilton in his diffuser. The German sets the fastest time at 1’48″684, ahead of Webber and Hamilton. The lap times drop successively with each fast lap by one of these three drivers. Hamilton takes the lead with 1’47″872. The Briton has changed the design of his helmet for this weekend; the usual yellow has completely disappeared to make way for gray.

Fernando Alonso, whom McLaren reportedly wishes to bring back with the financial help of Honda according to the BBC, finally starts his session, with the fifth fastest time. The Spaniard is on the attack! His Ferrari is close to the walls… Vergne is having trouble with the first corner. After locking up his wheels, he goes slightly off track at that point a few laps later.

After an hour, the top drivers continue to take advantage of the gradual improvement of the track. With 1’47″055, Lewis Hamilton leads Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg, and Kimi Räikkönen. He is the fastest in all three sectors of the circuit. Alonso seems to be struggling on the Marina Bay track, with only the sixth fastest time and notably, a number of small errors. Alain Prost, Renault’s ambassador, observes this from the Red Bull garage.

Pérez narrowly misses hitting the left wall just before the small tunnel. He locks the front-left wheel and slides into the run-off area to turn around. Apart from a reconnaissance lap, Romain Grosjean hasn’t driven for nearly an hour. His team was working on the power steering of his E21. The Frenchman enters the track with the seventh-fastest time.

**Fifteen minutes from the end**, things are heating up on the track. The big guns are out for one last set of laps before the end of the session. The drivers don’t improve during the last ten minutes. Giedo Van der Garde and then Mark Webber nearly brush the rail after the first corner.

Lewis Hamilton finishes at the top of the timesheet with a large lead over the two Red Bulls and his teammate. Grosjean is sixth, Alonso is only seventh, nearly a second and a half behind.

It should be noted that the drivers did not use the super-soft tires during this session. The “qualifying” setups will be for this afternoon. The times have still literally “exploded” by more than three seconds compared to Sebastian Vettel’s best time during free practice 1 last year.

Result of Free Practice 1 of the Singapore Grand Prix /f1/news/16192-singapore-jewel-in-the-crown-of-f1-business.html: