So qualifying has come and gone here at Singapore. The one thing that does seem to be very crucial at this circuit are the bumps, generally under-estimated by the teams. This, and the frequency of corners make for a busy and physical lap, coupled with the heat means that tomorrow's race is going to be pretty lively.
We often see spins and incidents during practice but they usually peter out as the grip increases and drivers get used to the circuit. But they have tended to continue here at Singapore, which means there could be a lot of incidents in the race itself.
Entertainment today has been provided by the various support races including Aston Martins and Porsches, Formula BMW Asia and a 'celebrity' race (read journalists) in Fiat 500s. Martin Brundle tried to get a ride in the Astons (brother Robin is MD of the competition department) but failed but fellow TV pundit Christian Danner got a ride, the sole aim of both being to learn the circuit in order to better describe the action.
So where Martin failed, Louise Goodman succeeded because she was taking part in the Fiat 500 'race' with sundry hacks. Actually it was a celebrity parade for journos and TV commentators, and there wasn't a lot of racing. Well, there wasn't meant to be. Bernie Ecclestone scoured the press room at lunchtime for recruits having failed to find the cars for a similar outing the previous day! There were no helmets or driving suits, as one would expect if it was a parade, and Bernie's advice to our man from the Times was "just imagine you're driving to your local supermarket." Gives you some idea how Bernie must drive to Waitrose in the Kings Road. In the event, Ed Gorman couldn't get a gear and didn't take part. At least he had a car which is more than the Belgian representative.
One of the major tasks for independent visitors such as us journos has been getting around Singapore, as in going to and from our hotels scattered around the city. No point in having your own car - nowhere to park - so it's down to the underground which seems to work well but not after midnight or so, or taxis.
Now there are thousands of taxis in this city, and queues for them don't seem to take long to disappear, but there's a really good system for short-cutting even those queues. You phone a number - yeah, yeah, nothing new there - give a contact number, your location and a moment or two later a lady then gives you a cab number which is the cab's registration plate, adding that it will arrive between five to seven minutes later.
What has happened is that a message has been sent via satellite to the nearest available cab, which bounces back its registration number, and the driver then has to head to your location. The number is even flashed on its roof light. At three o' clock this morning, I managed to queue barge about twenty people by this method, waiting at least a minute after I'd given the details and this morning a cab actually reversed back to the hotel for me. It really works brilliantly.
Interestingly enough, the city has taken on board the various comments that the action takes place at night and therefore deprives TV viewers around the world of the chance to see the Singapore skyline during the day. One observer met someone who usually takes pix of the skyline and who has the ability and contacts to ensure office blocks leave their lights on, but he hasn't been contacted. However, it does appear that next year Friday's practice will begin at six instead of seven, to allow the skyline to be seen in daylight.
One of two modifications were made to the pit entry and exit since Friday's action, but during the Saturday practice Robert Kubica radioed that he felt that the pit entry, which had been shortened, was now even more dangerous than before. No modifications seem to have been made to the pit exit, and it remains to be seen if further modifications can be made to the entry.
Of course, the person to really suffer during practice was Giancarlo Fisichella, who did what all drivers feared and that was straight-line the turn ten chicane, over those dreadful half rugby balls and ending up in the TechPro barrier. How pleased his team must have been when he put his repaired car into the barrier again on his first lap of qualifying.
An extraordinary phenomenon here is that temperatures scarcely vary from session to session. We might start the evening at seven pm with a track temperature of 30 degrees and it might come down two degrees by the end of the day/night, but that's all. I'm not sure that there's much benefit to anyone except that it must make the team's set-up work easier.
Finally, check out Bridgestone's press release where they suggest that a three-stop strategy might be on the cards tomorrow. When the cars were heavier, the soft tyres gave better performance. However, increased grip means that there was also higher degradation and Hamashima-san says that a three-stop strategy might be the preferred option from teams, which means that it will be a very tactical race, given the difficulties in overtaking. But then again, rain showers are also predicted. Make sure you don't miss it!
Bob Constanduros
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