Thank you for your support over the weekend. The F1 World Championship arrived in Asia for three consecutive races. The first race of the Asian round is the Grand Prix of Singapore, a brand new street circuit. What made the race even more exciting is the fact that it was the first–ever night race in the history of F1. Without further ado, here is my report from the Grand Prix of Singapore.

The team brought out their latest heavy downforce specification–the most advanced since the high downforce specification used at the Monaco Grand Prix. The team also prepared for a heavy load on the brakes. Contrary to initial concerns, the lighting on the course presented no problems.

Unfounded concerns about lighting; a technical, winding circuit

Being the first–ever F1 race under the lights, we did our walk–through of the circuit at Singapore on Wednesday evening, where normally we do our walk–through on Thursday morning before the first practice session. Before arriving at the circuit, we had been concerned about the brightness of the lighting. After walking the course, we felt that the course was lit well enough to eliminate any issues. We were also relieved to see that the lights were aimed directly downward so as not to shine in the drivers’ field of vision.

Compared to the Valencia street course configuration featuring wide runoff areas, the Singapore circuit had many more right–angle corners. Given the design, we predicted that the course would be very tough on our brakes. Escape zones were arranged in case the drivers mistimed their braking, but there were concrete walls and tire barriers close to the exits out of the corners. Our initial impression of the circuit was that car handling would be a significant factor in determining lap times.

The road surface was even bumpier than anticipated, and the team struggled with the issue throughout the entire weekend. Talking about the arduous conditions, Timo said, “I think I’ll be very sore on the day following the race.”

Introducing our latest high–downforce spec; checking ride height during practice sessions 1 and 2

The aerodynamics package we brought with us to Singapore was the second highest downforce specification next to what we used in Hungary. But since we introduced some updates since the Monaco Grand Prix, you could say that this was the most efficient downforce spec we have used this year. We used the first practice session to allow the drivers to get used to night driving and the layout of the circuit. We had them do as many laps as possible using just one set of tires. After finishing the first session, we realized that the Marina Bay Circuit was quite a bit bumpier than we anticipated. Accordingly, we adjusted the ride height of the car for the second session. Session 2 was more setup testing and comparison of the two types of tire compounds available for the race.

After the end of the second practice session, Timo (Glock) and Jarno (Trulli) were P10 and P19, respectively, on the time charts. We were able to accomplish a great deal on the first day of the weekend, as both drivers completed Sessions 1 and 2 without any notable mistakes, allowing us to progress through our program. Nevertheless, we still had issues with a slight understeer in the low–speed corners and a slight oversteer in the medium– and high–speed corners. These were unresolved issues that we needed to figure out prior to qualifying.

A rare street course, and the first–ever night race for F1. Despite the large number of unknowns at the GP of Singapore, the team selected perfect pit strategies reflecting the grid positions of the drivers and the likely developments during the race.

Only one car makes it through to Q3; tire selection and stability issues

Qualifying was somewhat of a disappointment, as we believed we were strong enough to qualify higher than we did.

What prevented Jarno from moving on to Q3 was neither driver error during his attack lap, nor (seeing Timo move to Q3) was it an issue with the car. I think we can properly lay the issue at the foot of tire selection. Our plan going into Q1 was to run at least one attack lap on each of the soft and the super–soft compounds. But Jarno ran into unexpected traffic during his second attack on the super–soft compound, forcing him to abandon his lap and come into the pits. This prevented us from making a correct evaluation of the super–softs. Under the circumstances, we had Jarno make his first Q2 attack lap on the super–soft tires. Looking back, it might have been better to let Jarno do both Q2 attack laps on the soft tire.

Meanwhile, on the same program as Jarno, Timo made his first Q2 hot lap on the super–softs, changing over to the soft compound for his second attack. For his part, Timo turned in a splendid attack lap in the 1m44s range, which gave us tremendous encouragement for even better times during Q3. We were looking to qualify two or three positions higher, but circumstances did not turn our way.

The combination of driver effort and pit strategy helped move the team up in position during the race, with Timo finishing P4. Jarno had risen as high as P6, and was within 12 laps of the fourth double–points finish of the season when trouble with the hydraulic system forced us to choke back our tears.

A perfect strategy anticipating a rough race; a double–points finish escapes our grasp

After the end of Saturday’s qualifying, P6 qualifier Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) was assessed a three–position penalty on the starting grid, which in turn moved Timo up from P8 to P7 for the start of the race. Both Timo and Jarno (from P11) had strong starts, skillfully moving through the jostling in turns 1 through 3, and securing advanced positions coming through the control line at the end of the first lap.

We decided to use different race strategies for each of our drivers. For Timo, we adopted a two–stop strategy, choosing a one-stop race for Jarno. While their respective starting positions obviously factored into our decision, we also counted on the likelihood that a race on the Marina Bay Circuit would involve a safety car at some point. As far as strategy goes, I feel that our decisions were working quite well.

Timo turned in a tremendous result in a grueling race (two safety car periods), securing his best finish since P2 in Hungary. Despite a heavy fuel load, Jarno drove a tenacious first stint, and nearly joined Timo in winning championship points. I feel especially bad for Jarno, since he had been driving so hard and so well until being forced out of the race by hydraulics problems in his car.

Our goal for the Grand Prix of Singapore was to have both drivers finish in the points, so it goes without saying that we were somewhat disappointed. But I do want to congratulate everyone who kept us so close to our goal up through the final stint of the race. We will use the Japanese Grand Prix as a way to remove this bad taste this weekend left our mouths. We hope to show everyone just how far the TF108 has evolved at the Japanese GP. Please show up and cheer us on!