By: The final Sprint Race of the year could prove far from uneventful. The Marina Bay circuit is often described as an Asian Monte Carlo, but something entirely beyond the teams’ control could affect Saturday’s shortened race: it could rain.
At present, there is a good chance of rain in Singapore during the early local morning, while cloud cover is expected to linger over the city throughout the day. The risk of rain drops sharply for the remainder of the day, but returns, albeit with low probability in the late afternoon/evening — precisely when the drivers will return to the track for the Sprint Race (11:00 Italian time, 17:00 local time).
Soft and Medium equally viable for the 21-lap Sprint Race
If the weather ultimately remains stable and dry, the race will probably be straightforward and without pit stops, with teams expected to complete it on a single set of tyres, choosing between the C5 Soft and C4 Medium. The C5 Soft could also be a valid option, and would become even more so if it rains during the day. Teams and drivers unwilling to take risks can fit the C4 Medium. Even a set already used during Sprint Qualifying should be more than adequate.
The risks of the C5 and the advantages of the C4
The Sprint Race will be run over 21 laps — one third of Sunday’s Grand Prix distance, which totals 62 laps — and given that overtaking is expected to be extremely difficult, opting for the Soft to save used Medium sets for Sunday’s race should not represent too great a risk. Conversely, if the C5 loses some performance in the closing stages, those who choose to start on the C4 Medium could hold an advantage. Everything will depend, however, on the possibility of overtaking and on the performance gap created by degradation between the two compounds.
Based on the indications we have received from Pirelli, the differences should not be so pronounced. For this reason, we expect a good variety of strategies, particularly to gain a better understanding of which compound will form the basis of Sunday’s race strategy. Should it rain instead, the strategic plan will change, with strategists and drivers assessing their options according to the conditions on track.
Unfortunately, very few drivers had the opportunity to complete race-pace simulations in FP1. We therefore have no option but to wait for tomorrow’s Sprint to assess the true potential of these cars around the demanding Marina Bay street circuit.
Cover photo by Peter Kiss / WHYOUT Images
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