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Added on the 15/09/2023 07:04:10 - Copyright : Auto Moto EN
Kimi Raikkonen is a man in the spotlight at the Singapore Grand Prix after confirming that he will depart Ferrari for Sauber at the end of 2018. The Iceman came close to ending his race win drought in Italy last time out, so can he go one better at Marina Bay?
After an absence of two years, the Singapore Grand Prix is back, run as usual at the 5.063 kilometre-long Marina Bay circuit. As always since its inception in 2008, Sunday’s 61 lap race, equivalent to 308.706 kilometres will be run entirely at night. Singapore was the very first Formula 1 race to be run from start to finish under floodlights, with over 1700 of them around the track. Even though the sun has set, it is one of the toughest races of the season for drivers, engineers and mechanics because of the heat and high humidity, while the ever present threat of rain can make for unpredictability on track.Characteristics. The street circuit is very slow and twisty, with the unforgiving walls right up against the side of the track. A high aerodynamic downforce is the order of the day, but despite that, top speeds exceed 310 km/h, thanks in part to the DRS system which can be used at three points: on the main straight, between turns 5 and 7 and between 13 and 14.Critical points. The track is very hard on the braking system, given that the drivers hit the brake pedal for about 22 seconds per lap. On the other hand, engine power is less important, with drivers only spending 44% of the lap at full throttle, but the internal combustion engine still comes under significant stress because of heat and high humidity levels. Another key element is fuel consumption with drivers often being advised to “lift and coast”, getting off the throttle early, rather than braking hard, to avoid running out of fuel in the closing stages.
The hardest braking point on the Marina Bay Street Circuit is in front of turn 1. The driver has to slow down around 160 km/h over just 98 meters. The calculated brake energy involved is 1,932 kW. The driver is subjected to 4.8 g, while he pushes with 141 kg onto the brake.
It’s time for the Japanese Grand Prix, one of the most popular events on the calendar for enthusiasts and F1 folk alike. Suzuka first featured on the World Championship trail almost four decades ago and along with two races at Fuji in the mid-70s and again in 2007 and 2008 and with two Pacific Grands Prix in the Nineties, the Land of the Rising Sun has played an important part in the history of the sport. Suzuka is special, not just because of the beautiful figure-of-eight track, but also because of the electrifying atmosphere around the circuit, the grandstands packed with local fans, both young and old who love to dress up in race suits, often wearing the most bizarre home-made caps made to look like the race cars, as they wander around the track and even in the paddock.If the 18 corners that make up Suzuka circuit could talk, they would tell the tale of some of the most memorable moments in the history of the sport. So many world championships have been decided here, many of them in favour of Scuderia Ferrari. In 2000 came the “Red Dawn” as the tifosi called it, when Michael Schumacher won the race to clinch his first title in red, repeating the feat in Japan in 2003. There were also moments of disappointment for the Prancing Horse, in 1990 when Alain Prost was beaten to the crown by Ayrton Senna and in 1998, when Schumacher was bested by Mika Häkkinen.
The Barcelona-Catalunya circuit returns to the layout used up until 2006, doing away with the chicane in the third sector, as it hosts the seventh round of the season, the Spanish Grand Prix. It is Carlos Sainz’s home race, at which he finished fourth last year, his best ever home result in Spain.
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