Singapore GP: Team Review – Mercedes

Nico Rosberg almost snatched pole position from Sebastian Vettel and managed to keep Romain Grosjean behind him. (Getty Images)

After a disappointing race at Monza, Mercedes showed some great form over the weekend in Singapore. The circuit seemed to suit the Mercedes setup as Lewis Hamilton set the pace in FP1 and both the drivers were able to match Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber in the Red Bulls for the remaining practice sessions.

In qualifying, Nico Rosberg almost got pole position as he narrowly missed Vettel’s time. Hamilton had to be content with fourth spot on the grid. While Rosberg had his share of brilliance at the start, managing to overtake Vettel, the defending champion squeezed his countryman on the inside of turn one, to take the lead by turn two.

A calculated risk from Ferrari and Lotus of pitting Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen during the safety car intervention meant both the drivers gained an upper hand ahead.

Lewis Hamilton

With his chances of catching Vettel ever diminishing, Hamilton hoped to manage a podium finish and turn the screw on Alonso. The Englishman, who retired due to a gearbox problem last year after leading from pole, was looking to set things straight at the Marina Bay Circuit.

But he was beaten for pace by his teammate and slipped to fifth – behind Webber – after the first lap. The pit stop strategy didn’t work well and the former drivers’ champion was stuck behind his teammate.

They had their own battle trying to find their way up through Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez before finally passing Jenson Button, who was done in the by the lack of pace of the McLaren-Mercedes and fast degrading tyres.

Webber’s retirement meant Hamilton finished fifth. He later admitted that Alonso was his target for the remaining races and the team would go after Ferrari with absolutely no hope of catching Vettel and Red Bull.

Nico Rosberg

Rosberg managed to stay ahead of Vettel briefly at the start of the race. (Getty Images)

A good qualifying time meant there was hope that Rosberg was in with a winning chance and repeat his performances of Monaco and Silverstone. The German was clearly the faster of the two Mercedes cars but heartbreakingly for him, had to be content with fourth after starting second on the grid.

With Rosberg staying out on track during the safety car intervention, it clearly reflected that Mercedes wanted to play it safe and weren’t sure whether their Pirelli’s would be able to survive the race distance.

After the safety car period, Rosberg wasn’t the fastest owing to a rubber build and a problem with his front wing, which resulted in a relatively slower pit-stop. And that helped Webber move ahead of him.

It didn’t get any better from there on but he and teammate Hamilton were able to overtake a bunch of drivers in the final laps of the race. In the end it was a disappointing finish to a very promising weekend, which meant that Mercedes stay behind Ferrari in the constructor’s table.