Singapore GP preview: History points at Red Bull hegemony

Sebastian Vettel in the Red Bull F1 car

This weekend takes us out of Europe and into Asia, where F1 will stay until the middle of November till the US GP comes around again.

Last year, Sebastian Vettel dominated this section of the season, where he got four wins and two other podiums in a row all the way up to the Brazilian GP, where he took sixth, which was enough for his third consecutive title.

Fast-forward a year and he is in an even better position than where he was last year. So if he dominates Asia as he did, then I think the rest of the season will be a mere formality.

Moving onto more pressing matters, this weekend is the time for the season’s only night race to show its hand, the Singapore Grand Prix. It’s a street circuit, with a relatively low average speed over the whole lap. It is one of the longest laps on the calendar in terms of lap time.

A track that has few straights and serpentine in nature, and which is raced in the evenings (albeit with the assistance of a few lights) is a mouth-watering prospect. However, since the race debuted in 2008, there have been few truly exciting races.

Interestingly, the infamous ‘Singapore Sling’, which was the nickname for the Turn 10 triple chicane has been converted into a tight left-hander, which will apparently reduce the lap time by around one second. Also, the tarmac in a few places has been redone, which will mean that the track will be even ‘greener’ and slippery than usual.

Over the past five seasons that the race has been held, it has been won by three drivers – Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel twice, and Lewis Hamilton once.

Going by form, either one of these drivers could add another win to their tally. Last year, as I mentioned earlier, Vettel won, and the Red Bull has traditionally been the dominant car around Marina Bay, so it looks ominously likely that the dominant German will notch another victory come Sunday. Vettel has won the last two races in Singapore, so he definitely knows how to get a car around this track ahead of everyone else. The T10 edit will give another advantage to the Red Bull, which performs well – perhaps better than all other cars – in medium-fast corners.

Many drivers need a good race this weekend. Vettel can, statistically, afford a bad race and still come out of the other end comfortably in the lead. Messrs Alonso, Raikkonen, Hamilton and Webber, all of whom are relatively in the title battle with Vettel could do with a good finish this weekend. This is definitely true for Alonso, who will not want to finish behind Vettel for the second year in a row.

The Mercedes could also do well around the tight track. In the (relatively) cooler temperatures at night, the tyres are less likely to overheat. Hamilton was on pole for the last race here, and was leading comfortably up until his McLaren developed a gearbox problem, so he will want to right that wrong and get back on top in Singapore.

The race will be at night, but a great time for us in Europe to watch the action, with the race starting at the usual time for European races (1pm). The season is truly winding down now, with only seven races left for the field to catch the rapidly shrinking-into-the-distance Red Bull, piloted by Vettel.

Can anyone do so? Can Alonso silence those demons? Can Hamilton? Can Raikkonen get his title bid back on track, to be in the best possible position for his move back to Ferrari next season?

All these questions, and many more will be answered over the coming months – starting with this weekend.