The track activity begun on Marina Bay Circuit evening with the first free practice of Formula 1. Alonso leads the timetable ahead of the two Mercedes and the two Red Bull.
The Singapore street circuit comes for another year to offer a night race of the Formula 1 championship. This time the media pressure is around Fernando Alonso, who some media links him to Red Bull for 2015, changing seat with Vettel. The Ferrari driver, angered by the controversy, has not denied the rumor and focused on his own weekend, achieving the current fastest time around.
Regarding the track, cars hold up well in the hard Marina Bay Circuit. At the end of the session Räikkönen’s brakes took fire and Vettel stopped his car right in the same place where minutes earlier ??a Toro Rosso did. Specific first session incidents without major importance, as Red Bull and Ferrari appear to work well in this circuit.
Mercedes, meanwhile, have also been shown competitive. An incident with a Nico Rosberg’s mirror has been their worst problem. Championship leaders are separated by just two hundredths in the timesheets, just over a tenth from Fernando Alonso.
The other hot spot of the weekend is the prohibition of radio messages that might help the driving. A configuration choice, how to corner or brakes and tire condition are messages that from now may incur a penalty although type has not been specified yet. The intention of the organization is to make drivers autonomous in control of the car although this rule has not been received with enthusiasm. Teams as Caterham, Lotus and Marussia could have obstacles as they might be unable to inform the driver about the condition of the car. These are teams that do not have an LCD screen on the wheel and after this new rule and complexity of new power units will make them miss one. As an exception, prohibited information may be communicated if it’s about a safety issue.
As for the highlights there is a spin of Kamui Kobayashi and problems in the MGU-K Esteban Gutierrez, who has had to stand a long time in box.
The second practice session will be at 9:30 pm Singapore time.
Results:
Pos. | Car | Driver | Team | Laps | Time | Gap | |
1 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | SPA | Ferrari | 16 | 1:49,056 | |
2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | GBR | Mercedes | 23 | 1:49,178 | + 0,122 |
3 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | GER | Mercedes | 24 | 1:49,205 | + 0,149 |
4 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | GER | Red Bull Racing – Renault | 27 | 1:49,874 | + 0,818 |
5 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | AUS | Red Bull Racing – Renault | 21 | 1:50,122 | + 1,066 |
6 | 25 | Jean-Eric Vergne | FRA | Toro Rosso – Renault | 11 | 1:50,539 | + 1,483 |
7 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | FIN | Ferrari | 19 | 1:50,783 | + 1,727 |
8 | 22 | Jenson Button | GBR | McLaren – Mercedes | 21 | 1:50,922 | + 1,866 |
9 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | RUS | Toro Rosso – Renault | 26 | 1:50,990 | + 1,934 |
10 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | MEX | Force India – Mercedes | 23 | 1:51,131 | + 2,075 |
11 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | DAN | McLaren – Mercedes | 24 | 1:51,217 | + 2,161 |
12 | 27 | Nico Hülkenberg | GER | Force India – Mercedes | 23 | 1:51,604 | + 2,548 |
13 | 19 | Felipe Massa | BRA | Williams – Mercedes | 20 | 1:51,953 | + 2,897 |
14 | 13 | Pastor Maldonado | VEN | Lotus – Renault | 25 | 1:52,125 | + 3,069 |
15 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | FIN | Williams – Mercedes | 19 | 1:52,146 | + 3,090 |
16 | 21 | Esteban Gutiérrez | MEX | Sauber – Ferrari | 15 | 1:52,171 | + 3,115 |
17 | 99 | Adrian Sutil | GER | Sauber – Ferrari | 22 | 1:52,237 | + 3,181 |
18 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | FRA | Lotus – Renault | 26 | 1:52,906 | + 3,850 |
19 | 17 | Jules Bianchi | FRA | Marussia – Ferrari | 15 | 1:54,113 | + 5,057 |
20 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | SWE | Caterham – Renault | 26 | 1:54,475 | + 5,419 |
21 | 10 | Kamui Kobayashi | JAP | Caterham – Renault | 21 | 1:54,607 | + 5,551 |
22 | 4 | Max Chilton | GBR | Marussia – Ferrari | 17 | 1:55,170 | + 6,114 |