Singapore Preview- F1 prepares for radio crackdown

By Charlie Bennett

The sound of silence

As per usual, when rules are made in Formula One they are never straightforward.

Teams always manage to find a loophole, and then the controversy begins. Pat Symonds once said, you read the rules once to understand and then again, to find ways around them.

So, the FIA’s latest introduction, banning certain info being passed via radio, should see some interesting loopholes appear at this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix.

The new rule means we will no longer hear race engineers informing their men on fuel consumption, or advising on where to go faster. The driver has to figure it out for himself.

The FIA has produced a list of 18 types of messages that can’t be conveyed, including how to change settings on the car and where an opponent is faster.

There is a list of just 14 things that are allowed.

And before you say anything, coded messages are completely banned.

The desired effect is to make the drivers more self-sufficient and less like puppets, doing what they are told. It sounds great, doesn’t it? Drivers being men again and not over-reliant, pampered little souls.

But, as Symonds pointed out, things are never black and white.

What if Lewis Hamilton’s brakes are hot and he needs to change a setting to stop them giving in? What about if Nico Rosberg is going to run out of fuel on the last lap, unbeknown to him?

The rules need perfecting, and to introduce it half-way through a season with a title battle in full swing is risky. But watching it go wrong, and watching the teams find, inevitable, ways around it will be great fun.

Praise the FIA. Formula One gets better to watch by the week.

Rosberg needs to strike back

So, to this weekend.

And the focus is firmly on championship leader Nico Rosberg. It wasn't the fact that Lewis Hamilton won the Italian Grand Prix last time out that has turned the spotlight on Rosberg. It was the way the German weakly conceded it.

Hamilton has the bit between his teeth, and that bit is quickly becoming Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton is squeezing and squeezing and, the combination of the Brit’s hot breath breathing down his neck and the pressure from the fans to justify his lofty place in the standings, might see Rosberg go pop.

Something has changed in the unflappable demeanour the German has shown all year. If it continues, he won’t win the championship.

He needs to strike back in Singapore and, so far, he hasn’t failed to strike back yet.

Nico Rosberg VS Lewis Hamilton

When questions are posed, Rosberg has stood tall. In Monaco, Canada and Germany he has reacted to Hamilton and seized the initiative back dramatically and emphatically.

Nico will surely recover from his woes in Italy, don’t expect him to fail again. Street circuits are to his liking. Technical tracks are his specialty. Rosberg is here to stand up to Hamilton. The battle cannot be missed.

Red Bull can finally challenge

A familiar theme since 2009 is that once we wave goodbye to Europe, Red Bull reach a new level. The final third of the season is where they excel. The car suits the tracks, the drivers relish the challenge and the results are often sweet.

Sebastian Vettel’s late surge to the title in both 2010 and 2012 started in Singapore. Memories of Marina Bay are good for Vettel and his men.

With the Renault engine steadily improving, Red Bull feel they can go toe to toe with Mercedes in the final six races.

Spa and Monza, two circuits which don’t suit them, passed by with relative success. A corner has been turned.

Aerodynamics, a key word in this fine sport, is where Adrian Newey, the genius who designs these amazing Red Bulls, excels. Aerodynamics is what is most important in these tricky final circuits.

Mercedes have enjoyed a gap of around a second per lap on race day this year. That is unlikely to continue, while qualifying should be closer than ever.

Daniel Ricciardo is probably too far back to catch Mercedes in the Drivers’ Championship unless they continue to fall over each other. But the chances of adding to his three wins this season, is a realistic prospect.

His team-mate, the suffering Vettel, should be revitalised on tracks where he has happy memories. He has won three of the six races here and led almost half of the laps ever staged.

If the four-time champion hits form then there could be a new player in the game at the front. A preview of 2015, perhaps.

The Track

Marina Bay

It will be hot, it will be bright and it will be intense. Singapore is a modern street circuit and it has ticked all the right boxes.

Twisty and hard to overtake, Lewis Hamilton described the track as “twice as hard as Monaco”.

It is the second night race of the season and if it’s anything like the first, we are in for a cracker.

Two DRS zones will hopefully add to the spectacle. The first down the pit straight and the second between turns 5-7.

The weather is also worth keeping an eye on. Thunder storms and heavy rain are not unlikely, and, although we have never seen night time rain before, it is threatening this weekend.

Track Information

Race Start- 8pm (Local), 2pm (CET), 1pm (GMT)

Track Length: 5.065 km

Laps: 61

Tyres: Soft (Yellow) and Super-soft (Red)

Lap Record: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)- 1.48.574s (2013)

Predictions

Nico Rosberg wins

On the basis that Rosberg has always reacted well when Hamilton gets any momentum; don’t be surprised to see him claim his fifth win of the season.

Hamilton has had mixed luck in Singapore, and is fighting reliability every weekend. After winning in Italy, something could easily go wrong again. It’s the nature of his year.

Red Bull should pass Williams and become the best of the rest. Vettel has good form here and will fancy beating Ricciardo.

1. Rosberg
2. Hamilton
3. Vettel

What do you think?

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