Hamilton heavier than the Red Bulls (Singapore Grand Prix fuel strategies)
Sebastian Vettel will pit up to three laps before Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton is in a strong position heading into tomorrow’s Singapore Grand Prix as he is fuelled more heavily than the cars behind him.
Nico Rosberg will pit later than Sebastian Vettel, but both of them as well as Mark Webber will make their first pit stops sooner than Hamilton.
Here are the drivers’ fuel weights in full and my thoughts on the start of the race:
Fuel strategies
| Grid | Qualifying | Name | Weight | Fuel (kg) | First stint (laps) |
| 1 | 1 | Lewis Hamilton | 660.5 | 55.5 | 20 |
| 2 | 2 | Sebastian Vettel | 651 | 46 | 17 |
| 3 | 3 | Nico Rosberg | 657.5 | 52.5 | 19 |
| 4 | 4 | Mark Webber | 654.5 | 49.5 | 18 |
| 5 | 6 | Fernando Alonso | 658 | 53 | 19 |
| 6 | 7 | Timo Glock | 660.5 | 55.5 | 20 |
| 7 | 8 | Nick Heidfeld | 650 | 45 | 16 |
| 8 | 9 | Robert Kubica | 664 | 59 | 22 |
| 9 | 10 | Heikki Kovalainen | 664.5 | 59.5 | 22 |
| 10 | 5 | Rubens Barrichello | 655.5 | 50.5 | 18 |
| 11 | 11 | Kazuki Nakajima | 680.7 | 75.7 | 28 |
| 12 | 12 | Jenson Button | 683 | 78 | 29 |
| 13 | 13 | Kimi Raikkonen | 680.5 | 75.5 | 28 |
| 14 | 14 | Sebastien Buemi | 678 | 73 | 27 |
| 15 | 15 | Jarno Trulli | 690.9 | 85.9 | 32 |
| 16 | 16 | Adrian Sutil | 693 | 88 | 33 |
| 17 | 17 | Jaime Alguersuari | 683.5 | 78.5 | 29 |
| 18 | 18 | Giancarlo Fisichella | 678.5 | 73.5 | 28 |
| 19 | 19 | Romain Grosjean | 683 | 78 | 29 |
| 20 | 20 | Vitantonio Liuzzi | 656 | 51 | 19 |
Robert Kubica and Heikki Kovalainen should be able to use their longer first stints to pick up a decent points finish tomorrow.
Button is carrying almost 30kg more fuel than team mate Barrichello, but will be starting only two places behind him.
Estimated fuel use per lap: 2.533kg
The start
Hamilton starts from pole position for the third time in the last four races. Once again, with KERS at his disposal, he looks likely to be unbeatable getting away from the line.
Several drivers have been complaining about how dusty the track is the weekend. As the racing line passes down the odd-numbered side of the grid, it seems likely those drivers in even-numbered grid slots will be at a disadvantage.
That’s bad news for the Red Bull drivers. Rosberg will fancy his chances of getting past Vettel, and Webber will come under threat from Fernando Alonso.
Last year we saw Alonso purposefully use the run-off area at the entrance to turn one to avoid other drivers. But as the kerbs have been changed at the first corner, that may no longer be possible.
Aside from Hamilton, the other KERS runners are starting in the pack and will be hoping to pass some of the cars in front of them. Kovalainen will challenge the BMW duo, and Kimi Raikkonen should be able to pass Button and possibly also Barrichello.
How well the Brawns get away at the start will have a significant bearing on how this races changes the complexion of the championship. Certainly Button cannot afford to get involved in the kind of first-lap incident that ruined his race at Spa.
How do you think the Singapore Grand Prix will unfold? And who’s your tip for the win?
Update: Nick Heidfeld was found to be running underweight in qualifying and was sent to the back of the grid.
Singapore Grand Prix
Dorian said on 27th September 2009, 11:19
I think you’re right there Keith. If for some reason Hamilton falters, I think Rosberg could snatch the victory. How nice would that be for Williams.
I have to hand it to Hamilton though, he’s showing some real pace out there. Posting some dynamite lap times with all that fuel. I think he’s really dialled into that car.
p.s. really wish Ferrari weren’t looking so poxy…..it’s borderline embarrassing :-(
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 27th September 2009, 11:41
I think it’ll pay off in March at Sakhir…
Dorian said on 27th September 2009, 12:22
Yeah, you’re probably right
martinb said on 27th September 2009, 19:45
Singapore GP (Marina Bay): Comparing predicted and actual pit stops.
Grid . . kg . .Pred. Actual . . . . Fin
.. . . . . . . La. T La T La T La T 61Laps
01k HAM 55.5 20 m -- - 21 m 47 s 01
02 VET 46.0 17 m 18 m 40 s 44d 04
03 ROS 52.5 19 m 19 m 28d 35 s 11
04 WEB 49.5 18 m 19 m 45 s 46# STOP
05 ALO 53.0 19 m -- - 22 m 50 s 03
06 GLO 55.5 20 m -- - 20 m 46 s 02
07 KUB 59.0 22 m -- - 21 - 43 - 08
08 KOV 59.5 22 m -- - 22 - 47 - 07
09 BAR 50.5 18 m -- - 20 - 47 - 06
10 NAK 75.7 28 m -- - 22 - 47 - 09
11 BUT 78.0 29 m -- - 22 m 52 s 05
12k RAI 75.5 28 m -- - 22 m 53 s 10
13 BUE 73.0 27 m 22 39 40! 49r RET
14 TRU 85.9 32 m -- - 22 - 52 - 12
15 SUT 88.0 33 m 21! 25r -- - RET
16 ALG 78.5 29 m 22 - 47 - 49r RET
17k FIS 73.5 28 m -- - 19 - 47 - 13
18 GRO 78.0 29 m 04r -- - -- - RET
19 LIU 51.0 19 s -- - 19 - 47 - 14
20k HEI 45.0 16 m 21# -- - -- - STOP
k = KERS, m = soft tyres, s = super-soft tyres
soft tyres favoured at start
BAR qualified 5 started 10 (new gearbox)
HEI qualified 8 started from pit lane (underweight in quali, new engine and gearbox)
Safety car: Lap 22, 23, 24, 25.
Fine and dry. Night race.
Temp. air: 30 C, track: 30 C
Wind: 2 m/s
Order at end of first lap:
HAM(0), ROS(+1), VET(-1), WEB(0), GLO(+1), ALO(-1), BAR(+2), KUB(-1), KOV(-1), BUT(+1), NAK(-1), BUE(+1), RAI(-1), ALG(+2), SUT(0), FIS(+1), TRU(-3), LIU(+1), GRO(-1), HEI(0)
KERS on 1st lap: HAM(0), KOV(-1), RAI(-1), FIS(+1). Ave -1/4 place.
INCIDENTS
(5)HAM disables KERS for brief time; (10)SUT engine overheating; (14)GLO loses mirror, lies on track under yellow for four laps; (19)FIS pits although fuelled for 28 laps; (19)ROS crooses white line on pit exit, gets drive through penalty; (21)SUT passes ALG and knocks HEI off track on cutting in, HEI stop, S/C deployed; (22)ALG leaves pit with fuel hose attached; (26)S/C in; (38)VET right hand mirror falls off; (39)VET loses something under car; (40)VET speeds in pit lane, gets drive through penalty; (45)WEB pitstop shows lots of brake dust; (46)WEB stop, hit barrier (brake failure); (47)BAR stalls engine on pit stop
UNSCHEDULED PIT STOPS
(4)GRO retires (brakes); (21)SUT pits after contact; (25)SUT retires (?); (28)ROS takes drive through penalty, loses 11 places; (40)BUE pits as a result of fuel rig probs on prev lap; (44)VET takes drive through penalty, loses five places; (49)ALG retires (brakes); BUE retires (gearbox)