20/09/2015
NEWS STORY
British readers of a certain vintage will be familiar with the term 'to put the mockers on'. Whilst its origin is unclear, it is defined as meaning: "To thwart someone's efforts or cause them to have bad luck. Also, to have the mockers on - to be cursed with bad luck."
One of those who regularly used to "put the mockers on" people was Murray Walker, who would advise viewers that X, Y or Z was cruising to victory only for the hapless driver to retire moments later in a cloud of smoke.
Consequently, one wonders whether all the reports about Lewis Hamilton equalling his hero Ayrton Senna's victory tally this weekend conspired against the Mercedes driver, for ahead of this afternoon's race it looks unlikely.
On the other hand, and without wishing to "put the mockers on" Sebastian Vettel, a win would see the German move ahead of the legendary Brazilian.
Whatever happens, yesterday's pole lap, not forgetting Ferrari's qualifying at Monza, gives us hope that there is still much to fight for, indeed at least two of the remaining circuits should suit the red cars and their rivals from Milton Keynes.
Thoughts that Mercedes was sandbagging on Friday turned to dust in FP3 and trampled into the ground in qualifying, both silver cars over 1.4s off the pace. Still playing around with set-up in the moments leading up to qualifying, Nico Rosberg appeared to be at sixes and sevens, highly unlikely to close the gap to his main championship rival.
Of course, as all the Mercedes teams struggled, it was ironic to see the Renault-powered Red Bulls and Toro Rossos looks so competitive, the French manufacturer surely allowing itself a wry smile at session end.
With two wins under his belt already, Vettel will have every right to feel confident today, if nothing else he can close the gap to Rosberg, thereby making up for the disappointment of Spa. Hopefully, teammate Kimi Raikkonen will keep his pinky under control at the start and not repeat his Monza madness.
One driver who really deserves some credit is Romain Grosjean, the Frenchman putting his Lotus tenth on the grid, despite the package's weakness here, not to mention his team's off-track 'issues'.
With the Mercedes teams on the back foot, McLaren could also spring a surprise, whilst Alexander Rossi will be keen to merely bring the car home safely on his debut.
Between two and three stops are expected, with three stops being theoretically the quickest option, depending on traffic.
However, an important factor to bear in mind is the fact that there has been a safety car at every race held since Singapore made its debut in 2008.
This means that any strategy has to be flexible. The quickest three-stop strategy is to start on supersofts, change to the supersofts again on lap 16, supersofts once more on lap 31, then softs from lap 46.
Some teams may attempt to manage their pace in order to achieve a two-stopper. The quickest two-stopper would be to start on supersofts, supersofts again on lap 16, then softs from 43. This could reduce the risk of hitting traffic at the end of the race.
There are two DRS zones, the first detection point is at the exit of turn 4 and the first activation point is after turn 5. The second detection is before turn 22 and the activation point after the turn 23
Furthermore, since 2014 the track has been re-aligned between turns 10 and 13 and now uses the left hand side of the Anderson Bridge. Arrangements for cars to re-join the track having gone into the run-off at turn 1 have also been made, Felipe Nasr's failure to adhere to these rules costing him a reprimand on Friday.
Drivers have had issues at a number of corners, with T17 proving to be a thorn in the side for most of them at one time or another. Again, we remind you that there has been a safety car every year.
The pitlane opens and one by one the drivers head to work, pole-man Vettel among the first.
With seven minutes before the pitlane closes, Rosberg grinds to a halt halfway down the pitlane and has to be 'rescued' by his crew. "My engine has gone off," he says. They get him going only for him to stop again. He finally gets going but will his race start be impacted?
Raikkonen reports his car is feeling much better than yesterday.
Air temperature is 29 degrees C, whilst the track temperature is 36 degrees. Humidity is 73%.
They head off on the warm-up lap, everyone on the option rubber, Hulkenberg, Perez, Button, Nasr, Ericsson, Maldonado, Stevens and Rossi all on brand new tyres.
The grid forms behind Vettel, the first time since Germany 2012 that a Ferrari has started a Grand Prix from the coveted position.
They're away. All get away cleanly, despite being three abreast in T1, except Verstappen who finally gets a push from the marshals. A couple of corners later, Perez almost takes out his teammate, the Mexican somehow not doing so. A poor start from Grosjean who is already down to 13th.
At the end of lap one it's Vettel already 3s clear of Ricciardo, Raikkonen, Kvyat, Hamilton, Rosberg, Bottas, Massa, Hulkenberg and Perez.
As Bottas closes on Rosberg, Vettel's lead is up to 4.7s.
Asked about his tyres, Ricciardo says they're "OK for now". Currently 5.3s down on Vettel, after 4 laps, the Australian has Raikkonen 1.1s behind. Sainz all over the back of 11th placed countryman Alonso.
"Rears overheating under braking," warns Button.
Bottas says his pace, compared to Rosberg is good but is finding it hard to follow the Mercedes. Ericsson complains that teammate Nasr is holding him up. Perez appears similarly frustrated behind Hulkenberg. "I'm a lot quicker than Nico," he says. "We understand," is the non-comital response.
"We're going to Plan A, target +3," Button is told. Asked about his tyres, the Briton reels off a litany of issues, no doubt leaving his engineer wishing he hadn't asked.
On lap 9, Ricciardo, Raikkonen and Rosberg all posts PBs in S1. The Australian is now quicker than Vettel for the first time.
Grosjean pits at the end of lap 9, the Lotus driver, switching to primes, rejoins in 17th following a slight issue with his left-front.
Next time around Alonso pits, as do Sainz, Ericsson and Maldonado. Sainz and Alonso lose time behind the Sauber and Lotus, the McLaren rejoining just ahead of Grosjean. Alonso and the Frenchman battle but the Lotus driver has the edge.
Hulkenberg pits at the end of lap 11, thus releasing his teammate who is 4.4s behind Massa.
Out front, Vettel's lead is down to 3.6s as Sainz ramps up his battle with Alonso.
Kvyat pits at the end of lap 12, as does Massa. Vettel now losing half-a-second a lap to Ricciardo.
As he leaves the pits, Massa hits Hulkenberg, the German spears across the gtrack and into the barriers. He is fine but his race is done.
Initially the Virtual Safety Car is deployed, but the actual Safety Car is then sent out due to the amount of debris on the track.
Vettel pits, as do Ricciardo, Raikkonen, Hamilton, Rosberg, Bottas and Perez. Nasr and Button also.
Most stick with the options but Hamilton, Rosberg, Perez, Nasr, Alonso and Sainz have all gone for primes.
An absolutely dreadful stop for Button who loses almost a minute as his crew struggles with his front-right.
Behind the Safety Car, after 14 laps, it's: Vettel, Ricciardo, Raikkonen, Hamilton, Rosberg, Kvyat, Bottas, Perez, Nasr and Massa. Only Stevens, in 16th, hasn't stopped yet.
Massa pits at the end of lap 14 to check for damage following the clash with Hulkenberg. Stevens also pits.
"He got lucky didn't he," Ricciardo tells his crew, the Australian's tyre strategy thwarted by the appearance of the Safety Car.
Behind the Safety Car, Verstappen is given permission to un-lap himself.
Marshals continue to sweep the carbon fibre from the track where Massa and Hulkenberg collided, after 17 laps the Safety Car still heads the field.
The Safety Car pulls off at the end of lap 18.
Unleashed, Vettel leads the field in to T1, Maldonado, down in 12th, seemingly caught napping.
Sainz has an issue, the Spaniard crawling around the Marina Bay track. "The car went to neutral again," he complains, "like in China".
The Massa/Hulkenberg clash is under investigation.
Vettel's lead is now down to 0.729s, with Raikkonen a similar distance behind Ricciardo. Hamilton is already 1.6s down on the Finn.
On the pit-wall, the monitors at the Ferrari stand are bland, provoking a typically Italian response.
"Vettel is backing up Ricciardo, I think" says Hamilton, though the Briton is now 2s down on Raikkonen.
TV cameras pick up on a very unhappy Hulkenberg in the paddock.
Raikkonen goes quickest in S1, the Finn possibly lining up a move on the Red Bull ahead. "This is good Kimi," the Finn is told, "tyre pressures have stabilised, we're back to normal."
Hulkenberg gets a three-place grid penalty for Japan, having been adjudged as causing a collision.
"The car is hot, avoid getting a tow wherever possible," Button is told. "Anything else?" is the weary response.
"Vettel isn't pushing at the moment," Ricciardo is advised, "keep looking after your tyres, look after your tyres." Elsewhere, Kvyat, under pressure from Bottas, keeps a watching eye on Rosberg, the Russian clearly frustrated by the fact he feels he is being held up by the Mercedes.
"Lost power guy, lost power," warns Hamilton. He is currently 5s down on Raikkonen. Indeed, he is passed by his teammate as Kvyat also closes in.
The world champion has a major problem, as Bottas passes him and Perez also closes in. Given a number of changes to make, the Briton replies; "doesn't work".
"We see the throttle is not going to wide open," he is advised, "is it the pedal?" Perez passes as the world champion drops to eighth, then ninth as Nasr makes his move.
Meanwhile, out front, Vettel has upped his pace, the German now 3.246s clear of Ricciardo.
"Come on guys, how do I re-set the throttle?" asks Hamilton. He is given the necessary instructions. He has just been passed by Alonso and own in tenth.
Ericsson and Sainz both bit, Maldonado having stopped a lap earlier.
Button passes the hapless Hamilton, one Briton replacing another in the final point scoring position.
Massa reporting a similar issue to Sainz, the car going into neutral. The Brazilian pits but the team is not ready for him and so he heads through the pits.
"OK Felipe, we're going to retire the car, box this lap, box this lap."
"Reporting loss of power for #LH44," tweets Mercedes. "We're still working on the issue..."
Down in 12th, Grosjean hard on the heels of Verstappen... who really benefitted from the Safety Car.
After 31 laps, it's: Vettel, Ricciardo, Raikkonen, Rosberg, Kvyat, Bottas, Perez, Nasr, Alonso and Button.
"Guys, we might as well save this engine," pleads Hamilton, "I'm losing loads of places." The world champion is currently sixteenth. The team tells him it is still investigating the issue.
"You need to stop me, it's getting worse and now my brakes are dropping off," pleads Hamilton. "OK, box, box, box, box," he is told, as Rossi sweeps past the Mercedes. Game over.
Kvyat pits but there a wheel-gun problem which costs him valuable time and positions. Moments later Alonso pits and drives straight into his garage.
Suddenly they're dropping like flies.
At the end of lap 34, Perez and Nasr pit. The Mexican rejoins behind the Verstappen/Grosjean battle.
Nice move as Perez takes Grosjean to take ninth and set about chasing down Verstappen.
"A real shame man, I think we had the pace to win," says Hamilton.
Verstappen pits at the end of lap 36, thereby releasing Perez.
The Safety Car is deployed... as the cameras pick up on a fan walking along the track.
Vettel, Ricciardo, Ericsson, Rossi and Raikkonen pit, as do Rosberg, Bottas, Button and Sainz.
Consequently, Vettel's lead is wiped out for the second time this evening. He leads Ricciardo, Raikkonen, Rosberg, Bottas, Kvyat, Perez, Grosjean,, Maldonado and Button.
"Am I going to end on these," asks Rosberg, referring to his tyres. "Yes, everyone is going to the end," is the reply.
At the end of lap 40, the Safety Car pulls off. However, the situation is not helped by the fact that Rossi is running just behind Ricciardo and ahead of Raikkonen.
The Finn soon despatches the American but Rosberg isn't so lucky.
In no time at all, Vettel has a 1.75s lead. Raikkonen 1.6s down on the Red Bull of Ricciardo.
Button makes a move on Maldonado, they touch, the McLaren damaging its front wing. The Briton subsequently heads to the pits.
Sainz and Nasr are also involved in a vicious scrap, as are Maldonado and Verstappen.
"I should have known," says a weary Button.
Heart in mouth time as Sainz and Maldonado duel, the Toro Rosso driver finally making it past. Prior to that Verstappen also got by the erratic Venezuelan.
After 42 laps, Vettel leads Ricciardo by 2.7s, Raikkonen is a further 1.5s down, Rosberg (1.1s), Bottas (1.9s), Kvyat (1.5s), Perez (1.4s), Grosjean (4.8s), Verstappen (1.3s) and Sainz (1s). Button is now down in 14th following his various trials and tribulations.
Out front, Vettel goes quickest in S1, his lead now 2.8s.
The Toro Rosso duo hunt down Grosjean, having made short work of his Lotus teammate.
The stewards are investigating the Maldonado/Button incident.
As Verstappen nails Grosjean, Button, given instructions by his crew, replies: "I know you're not happy, but you'll have to speak u[p a bit." Priceless.
Grosjean is forced wide as Sainz makes his move, bold driving from both Toro Rosso drivers. However, the Frenchman isn't happy. "He forced me wide," he complains.
"We think there's some diffuser damage, Maldonado is told, "but you're doing a good job, a few more retirements and you're back in the points." Which could be just the incentive required for some further Maldonado madness.
No further action on the Maldonado/Button clash, which should further please Jenson.
Vettel is told he is the quickest driver out there, but in fact Ricciardo was 0.004s quicker on the previous lap.
Almost 3s down on Perez, Verstappen is lapping around 2s quicker that the Mexican. The Toro Rosso driver is on options, the Force India driver on primes.
"Good laps, but remember there's still some way to go," Raikkonen is told, the Finn currently 4.3s down on Ricciardo.
On lap 51, Vettel posts a new fastest lap (1:50.075) as he enjoys a 3.021s lead over Ricciardo.
Next time around, Ricciardo responds with a 50.041, demonstrating that he hasn't given up yet.
Button is told to retire, the team warning that his gearbox is at risk. Bitter disappointment for the Briton and his team.
"A sprint to the finish, but the drivers will also have to be aware of degradation in the closing stages," says Pirelli. "Which means that it's not over yet!"
Taking of gearboxes, The Toro Rosso duo are glued to the back of Perez'.
Nasr passes Maldonado to take eleventh, leaving him 8s down on Grosjean. Shortly after, the second Sauber passes the Venezuelan. Shortly after the Lotus driver pits for fresh rubber.
"Look after your gearbox on downshifts," Bottas is told.
Despite two Safety Car periods, the Manors are lapped by race leader Vettel. The German maintains a 3.9s lead over Ricciardo who is now 8.1s clear of Raikkonen.
Nasr is all over the back of Grosjean, as Verstappen haunts Perez.
Manor reveals that Rossi's radio isn't working, hence his problem with un-lapping himself during the second Safety Car period.
Under intense pressure from Nasr, Grosjean locks-up in T7 and runs wide, thus allowing through to take tenth and the final point.
"Keep your head down," Vettel is told, "important laps."
Grosjean pits, his race over.
"What?" cries Verstappen, when told that he must swap positions.
"OK Max, you need to let him go," Verstappen is told.
Vettel takes the flag, "you did it, you did it, you're magic" he is told, he responds, congratulating his team in a range of languages.
Ricciardo is second, ahead of Raikkonen, Rosberg, Bottas, Kvyat, Perez, Verstappen, Sainz and Nasr.
Ericsson is eleventh, ahead of Maldonado, Grosjean, Rossi and Stevens.
An excellent win for Vettel and Ferrari, whilst kudos also to Ricciardo and Red Bull.
No doubt Verstappen will find himself in hot water for obeying orders, whilst Rosberg will no doubt be savouring the 12 points he's taken out of his teammate's lead.
As for Lewis Hamilton, we began by talking about "putting the mockers" on someone, perhaps the British media will take note - especially as Sebastian Vettel is now one win clear of Ayrton Senna, and only 49 down on his hero.
Check out our Sunday gallery, here.