Rate the Race Result: 2012 Singapore Grand Prix

2012 Singapore Grand Prix

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An average rating of 5.9 out of ten meant the Singapore Grand Prix ranked among the least exciting races of the season so far.

Sebastian Vettel took victory after Lewis Hamilton retired, becoming the closest challenger to Fernando Alonso in the drivers’ championship.

The Singapore Grand Prix was rated third from bottom ahead of the Monaco and Hungarian events. Nor did it compare well to other Singapore Grands Prix.

For some, Hamilton’s retirement ended the prospect of a contest for first place:

The race died as a spectacle when Hamilton retired. He and Vettel were a long way ahead and we were deprived of a good battle between them at the front.
Debaser91

However, others enjoyed what the Marina Bay provided:

Seven out of ten. I found the race interesting and I never got bored. For a track like Marina Bay, this was a good race.
Slr

Why is everyone saying boring? The race was full of drama, battles and tension. I enjoyed the race despite being disappointed in the result.
Yorricksfriend

PedroCosta thought the safety car intervention saved the race:

The first part of the race was a procession. After the safety car things got better, and we could watch some really nice wheel-to-wheel battles.
PedroCosta

The race was ended two laps early when the time limit was reached. This left some wondering whether the race should be shortened:

An unnecessary duration for an extremely boring race. Please make the race shorter, no driver can race there.
Dimitris1395

The Grand Prix was pretty dull, and two hours is quite a long, long time.
Fer no.65

Xivizmath believes Formula 1 should look to other motor sport classes for the solution:

I think shortening races in general would be a huge benefit for Formula 1. Or even having two races per round like WTCC or World Superbike.
Xivizmath

It wasn’t just the viewers who here left hoping for more. Kimi Raikkonen complained about the difficulty of passing on his radio after the race:

Raikkonen was just saying it’s boring because you can’t overtake. Well, other people managed to (and by no means all under DRS).

Hamilton’s retirement stripping us of an interesting battle and too long under safety car the only negatives for me.
SimBri

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2012 Singapore Grand Prix

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Image © Singapore GP/Sutton

33 comments on “Rate the Race Result: 2012 Singapore Grand Prix”

  1. With 4 of the lowest 5 scores, its clear people don’t like Red Bull winning. I’m amazed they didn’t rate Hungary higher, given that was quite a close battle for the win.

    1. @91jb12 There seems to always be a knee-jerk assumption from some that the races are only ever rated on who wins them, not on how entertaining they are.

      This assumption seems to change to fit the results. Previously it was that the races where the McLaren drivers did well were always rated more highly. But as it’s become more obvious that isn’t the case (Hamilton’s Hungary win is second from bottom this year; though there are other previous instances of low-rated races won by McLaren drivers) the assumption has had to change.

      So I’m not any more convinced by this new one about Red Bull than I was of the one about McLaren. Particularly because, if you read the comments, the vast majority of them refer to the specifics of what happened in the race and how enjoyable it was to watch.

    2. It used to be like that, but not anymore. There are people that vote because their driver won or something, but I think most understand that it’s better to watch a great race and a dull race with your driver winning.

    3. Here’s an alternate hypothesis:

      – Red Bull have produced a car which has high downforce, but not a great top speed.
      – Most races which are considered boring are those held at tracks where it is difficult to overtake.
      – Tracks at which overtaking is difficult tend to reward high downforce set-ups.
      – Therefore, Red Bull win boring races relatively frequently (four out of five, you say).

      I’m not saying that that’s right, merely pointing out that there is more than one possible explanation for your observed correlation – including complete coincidence. Unless you can definitively prove your hypothesis, it’s probably best to refrain from making such sweeping statements (“people don’t like Red Bull winning”).

      1. Maybe it was boring cos the safety car was out too long. With the 2 lap reduction this was just under 20% of the race.

        The safety car could be abandoned for a lot of circumstances and the cars just drive to a reduced delta speed. We waste at least a couple of laps forming up behind the safety car (after cars dart into pits), now more time as the lapped cars unlap themselves “when deemed safe”.

        1. @thejudge13
          The major problem with replacing the safety car with a delta speed minimum, is that the crews that work around the car won’t know when the track is clear. There will always come cars around, slowly, but they will be there, and they can get in the way. Especially if you need to recover a car around Monaco or Singapore where space is minimal.
          The train formed behind the safety car means that the marshalls can wait until that train has passed, and then they will have 2 – 3 minutes completely free of cars to do whatever they need to do, before the train comes around again.

          1. @mads

            But there are a number of occasions where the incident is no where near the racing line and there are no debris matters, but its true if the drivers were travelling at full speed, it would be dangerous for the marshalls if a car went out of control. By reducing the speed of the cars, this problem is solved.

            Alternatively, stick out one of those trucks they use for putting out cones with a big arrow on it, protecting physically and visually part of the track requiring clearance.

            The cars can have their DRS de-activated by race controll – and in this case for the part of the circuit requiring the marshalls attention stick an overide out from race control restricting each cars speed through that zone.

            20% of a race lost is ridiculous, particularly when you look at the 2 incidents in Singapore – they weren’t that bad.

          2. @thejudge13
            That is true. Having both would be a pretty solid option. But then it would also complicate things futher and it would mean that there are more things to potentially go wrong.
            I think we just have to live with the fact that safety car periods are common on street curcuits. But dropping the unlapping rule would defuinetely speed things up massively. Around Singapore it felt like a lifetime before those three backmarkers got themselves unlapped. To me, that is just unnessesary.

          3. Indy car have the lapped cars peel off and travel through the pits the lap before the restart.

            Could even be done immediately the snake behind the SC has been established.

            Just back on the marshall’s safety, I watched back the Singapore incidents, and there were between 4-5 laps (out of the 9 in once the SC had been called) where the cars were not all in the same part of the track – driving to delta times to either catch the safety car for the first time – or unlap themselves.

            The marshalls were working during those laps which was around 50% of the SC period.

          4. Monaco was a snooze-fest, Britain was alright and I don’t understand why it was rated so lowly, Singapore was so-so and Bahrain shouldn’t have happened.

  2. Interesting that Monaco has the lowest score and Valencia has the highest! The opposite of the hype attached to each race.

    1. That’s the mighty power of the rain for you

      1. what rain?

      2. Lol what rain?

        1. thats the might power of pirelli tires, multiple retirements, carnage and a driver charging through from a lowly grid position!

    2. @ogamii Just goes to show that circuits really aren’t as decisive as what people think they are when it comes to producing a good race.

      1. I rather think that surprise at a far better than expected race at Valencia played a big part in the ratings @andrewtanner

        1. @bascb Perhaps there is an element of that. I do honestly think though that a good or bad race is usually down to just how it goes on the day. So, so many variables pile into an F1 race so to pinpoint the circuit as a reason for dull/exciting race just doesn’t even cover half the story.

  3. It was an average race especially after Lewis is retirement. McLaren’s reliability was bulletproof. But since Sam Michael’s arrival it’s gone down. Retirements costing McLaren big time. They could have been leading both championships a way ahead.

    1. Ya it’s interesting that williams only started to do well when Sam Michaels left and McLaren seem to be faultering now that he’s joined them.
      I reckon his monotone voice and blank expressions are a blackhole for enthusiasm and creativity within a team. He’s like the F1 version of a casino “cooler”, harsh?

    2. @sainaa I don’t see how you can link that to Michael, he has little to do with engineering. He’s their sporting director. Everyone has suffered from reliability this year and it seems to be down to ever more aggressive aero routes compromising the mechanical parts of the cars.

    3. What do you say to sainaa’s comment,Keith?? Its obvious that this race would not have got such a low ranking had Vettel not won/Hamilton not retired…

      1. @chicanef1 If this is just a rehashing of the point made in the first comment then see my reply to the first comment.

  4. i think most of the problem lays with the circuit. it’s a bit like rallying at caerwent in south wales. 90L, 10m, 90R, 70m, 90R, 30m, 90R, 120m with the odd flowing corner thrown in. i appreciate there’s not much you can do with a street circuit, but some kind of variety is needed.

  5. Oh my, my comment is in there. Thanks.

    Well, about the voting, it’s a bit funny that we vote a boring race a 5.9, which is 0.9 ABOVE AVERAGE, where, in theory, 5.0 would be our normal, average race, nothing amazing, but not that boring either. This shows that not everyone in this world possess the capability of using 0-10 scale properly. Not that I care that much.

    1. For sure Valencia was a whole lot more than a mere 2.8 better than this one. Get your act together everyone!

    2. @xivizmath Or perhaps some people didn’t find it boring? (see my comment below)

      We’re spoiled these days, I’ve had to recalibrate upwards because some races in the last few years (since Pirelli) have been better than any F1 race I’d seen before. I have no problem giving a boring race a 3 or 4 if it deserves it. I guess I’d only give a race lower than that if it was something like the ’05 US GP.

  6. I actually enjoyed the race and gave it a 7, if Hamilton and Maldonado hadn’t retired it could have been a classic.

    I understand people disliking the circuit (I dislike Valencia for the same reasons), but this place feels more like a driver’s track to me for some reason.

  7. Valencia – Best race of the season. I’m still chuckling.

    1. I actually think Monaco was one of the best this year

  8. What can I say? We’ve all been proven wrong. Valencia rules. :)

    I think Alonso’s atomic drive for his home crowd might have something to do with that. :)

  9. I absaloutely loved it!!
    Just like Monaco last year; it was full of suspense, and the pleasure of watching it for me was seeing if anyone would make a mistake; that is hugely exciting.
    It might be called processional, but there’s no such thing as a boring F1 race.

  10. For whatever reason I could not find the link to rate the race…. I must be just stupid I guess.
    BUT this non-race at singapoor is just another place where there can be NO race by definition of a lack of a race track. Lights are a tecky marvel, F1 gathering is swell I suppose but a non race is a non race. Thanks, R & R

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