Sebastian Vettel’s impressive Monza triumph earned him the chance to seal the title last weekend, with his rivals taking points away from each other whilst attempting to halt what has been a dominant title assault. Victory number eight of the season puts his tally into perspective, with no other driver recording more than two wins in 2011.
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View GPUpdate.net's In-depth Tyre Analysis chart for the 2011 Singapore GP
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In Singapore, pole position followed by another incredibly calm victory was somehow not enough to complete the task, with the German still racing against one man who can mathematically deny him of securing a second straight crown. Jenson Button now has to win all of the remaining five Grands Prix to remain in the hunt, while a solitary point from Vettel would put the matter to bed.
Looking at the race winner’s tyre strategy in detail, it is quickly clear to see why he took the top step of the podium once again on Sunday afternoon. As the strategy dictator, Vettel opened his race with a rapid Option tyre stint of 14 laps to maintain his lead ahead of a fast starting Button, before two consistent Prime runs led him into a final dash with the softer rubber to the chequered flag.
Button’s race pace was once again his strength, with the McLaren driver bolting off the line into second place before doing his best to keep Vettel in his sights. A final stint on the Super Soft tyres (13 laps) perhaps showed McLaren’s true potential at the Marina Bay venue, highlighted by the fact that the 2009 Champion closed a deficit of more than ten seconds to just 1.737 by the chequered flag.
Behind Button, Mark Webber ensured that two Red Bull drivers made the podium, but it didn’t come easily for the Australian. Another poor start, a phase which he now believes is partly down to the new tyre characteristics this year, saw the 35-year-old slip back from his front row starting position. He then had to play a game of cat and mouse with Fernando Alonso, covering him during all of his three stops.
After the race, Webber plainly admitted that it was more for traffic reasons rather than tyre strategy that helped him pass Alonso, explaining: "The second time (I overtook him) looked more spectacular, into the Turn 10 chicane, which is not normally a passing place. I heard a few people saying I caught Fernando napping but, to be fair, he was blocked by the Toro Rosso in front of us."
Alonso was also fairly philosophical about the events, explaining that finishing on the podium was never going to be a realistic target for the Scuderia ahead of the race. The Spaniard played he undercut on Webber during his first two stops, having opted for the standard Option-Prime-Prime-Option plan, but his final stop saw him pit later and ultimately settle for a lonely fourth place.
Moving back to McLaren, Lewis Hamilton endured another controversial race courtesy of an incident with Ferrari’s Felipe Massa, one that would all but ruin his race. The pair collided on Lap 10, forcing Hamilton to rethink an already challenging strategy. The Briton had to make do with one less set of Super Softs before the incident, but an extra stop saw his tyre plan fall completely out of the window.
Just behind, possibly one of the best performers inside the top ten was Paul di Resta. Changeable conditions and the deployment of the Safety Car almost helped the Scot deliver a fine result in Canada, but a costly error late in the race put pay to his efforts. However, this time out, di Resta was sublime. A large opening stint on the Prime tyres established his place at the front, before completing two more controlled stints that helped him keep Mercedes GP driver Nico Rosberg comfortably at bay.
More Force India success was seen in the form of Adrian Sutil, the German narrowly losing out to Rosberg but ensuring that his team settled into sixth in the championship standings. In an opposing strategy to his team-mate, Sutil started on the Option tyres before completing two lengthy Prime runs, a plan which ultimately proved to be slightly too conservative.
Fellow South Americans Felipe Massa and Sergio Pérez are both worth mentioning for opposing reasons, with the former recovering from his early incident to claim two points, while Pérez put Sauber back in the points paying positions for the first time since Kamui Kobayashi grabbed a strong ninth place in the German Grand Prix.
Ferrari’s Massa made good use of the Option tyre in the middle of the race to regain some ground, setting his fastest lap on the 26th tour, well ahead of the cars around him. Pérez again utilised his calm style to keep the likes of Pastor Maldonado and Sébastien Buemi out of the points, a suitable reward for his normal Sunday tactics.
Looking at the battle between Formula 1’s newest teams, a superb effort from Heikki Kovalainen once again demonstrated that Lotus is the squad to beat. The Finn confidently outraced Renault's Vitaly Petrov with his slightly unusual Option-Prime-Prime-Prime approach and made light work of the men he was directly fighting.
Further behind, it was clear that rivals HRT struggled for outright speed and failed to possess the same tactical nouse of the teams around them, but the squad was able to take something out of the weekend by beating Spain’s Jaime Alguersuari, with the Toro Rosso driver pinned to the back of the field courtesy of a drive-through penalty.
Now the F1 fraternity heads to the Suzuka circuit in Japan for the start of an Asian back-to-back, a track that has already formed a successful relationship with Vettel. As mentioned, the 24-year-old needs just one point to become the sport’s youngest ever double World Champion, but the question remains as to whether Button and McLaren can spoil his party for another weekend…
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View GPUpdate.net's In-depth Tyre Analysis chart for the 2011 Singapore GP
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Some key facts uncovered at the Marina Bay Street Circuit:
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- 17 of the drivers started on the softer Option compound, with the remaining seven therefore choosing the Prime rubber.
- Paul di Resta went the furthest into the race without stopping, making his first pit lane visit on Lap 19 after an opening stint on the Prime tyre.
- The longest stint of the race was completed by di Resta, with the Scot toruing 32 times with the Prime compound.
- Six of the 21 finishers made two stops, 11 pitted three times and the remaining four changed tyres four times
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Analysis conducted by GPUpdate.net’s Mike Seymour
Twitter: @MikeSeymourF1
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  S. Vettel | Red Bull | 1:59:06.757 |
| 2. | J. Button | McLaren | +1.737 |
| 3. | M. Webber | Red Bull | +29.279 |
| 4. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | +55.449 |
| 5. | L. Hamilton | McLaren | +1:07.766 |
| 6. | P. di Resta | Force India | +1:51.067 |
| 7. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | +1 Lap |
| 8. | A. Sutil | Force India | +1 Lap |
| 9. | F. Massa | Ferrari | +1 Lap |
| 10. | S. Perez | Sauber | +1 Lap |
| Full results | |||
| 2011 Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix | |||
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| More 2011 Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix photos | |||
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