What did you think of the today’s race? Share your verdict on the Singapore Grand Prix.
F1 Fanatic holds polls on each race to find out which fans thought of every race during the season.
Please vote based on how entertaining and exciting you thought the race was, not on how your preferred driver or team performed.
Rate the race out of ten and leave a comment below:
Rate the 2013 Singapore Grand Prix out of ten
- 10 (3%)
- 9 (4%)
- 8 (15%)
- 7 (23%)
- 6 (20%)
- 5 (12%)
- 4 (8%)
- 3 (6%)
- 2 (2%)
- 1 (6%)
Total Voters: 633
1 = ‘Terrible’, 10 = ‘Perfect’
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See the results for past seasons here:
- Rate the race results 2012
- Rate the race results 2011
- Rate the race results 2010
- Rate the race results 2009
- Rate the race results 2008
2013 Singapore Grand Prix
- Penalty for third reprimand “disappointing” – Webber
- Di Resta still unsure over cause of Singapore crash
- Fourth Driver of the Weekend win for Vettel
- Second-lowest ever rating for Singapore Grand Prix
- 2013 Singapore Grand Prix team radio transcript
Image © Pirelli/LAT
Scalextric (@scalextric)
22nd September 2013, 15:07
The circuit always looks good, some nice battles away from P1, but no overarching drame. 7
F1 Noob (@noob)
22nd September 2013, 21:43
Mercedes eyes Massa for DTM seat Toto Wolff has admitted Felipe Massa
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
23rd September 2013, 22:06
7 seems to be my baseline now. Actually for once I think Vettel romping away put front actually improved the race in a contrived way – his sheer pace was just mesmerising. It was better than a “standard” 10 second win I’d say.
TMF (@)
22nd September 2013, 15:07
8/10 – SC and different strategies made it extremely interesting in the end. But Vettel is unstoppable in this form.
dennis (@dennis)
23rd September 2013, 8:14
I don’t think the safety car did much to improve the race… But the strategies were indeed quite interesting. Overall the race was rather boring, allthough the last 10 laps had a redeeming character.
bezza695 (@bezza695)
22nd September 2013, 15:08
7 maybe there wasn’t a fight for the lead but the safety car made for some great midfield racing and I loved watching the 2 Mercs and Webber fight through the field,
Also brilliant move by the Raikkonen on Button
jackal40 (@jackal40)
22nd September 2013, 15:08
I feel bad for Mark Webber. How can one car be so good and the other so bad?
Paul2013
22nd September 2013, 15:09
Team mysteries.
Chad (@chaddy)
22nd September 2013, 15:11
The better you are, the luckier you get
andy
22nd September 2013, 18:38
its true..
Diego (@ironcito)
22nd September 2013, 15:13
Both had trouble during the last race. Vettel’s gearbox problems were all the talk before the race. He was being warned of brake vibrations near the end. And he retired with gearbox problems in Britain. But alas, people see what they want to see.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
22nd September 2013, 15:17
@jackal40
It isn’t.
hunocsi (@hunocsi)
22nd September 2013, 16:02
I don’t think he meant the difference in the technical problems, but on the (race) pace. We all know Vettel is faster than Webber, but by about two seconds each lap? Seems a bit unreal.
MuzzleFlash (@muzzleflash)
22nd September 2013, 16:12
Seb books it at the start and gets away in clear air whereas Mark gets held up in traffic, makes a lot of the difference.
Breno (@austus)
22nd September 2013, 22:09
Hasnt Vettel been qualifying over 1s faster than everyone, bar Mercedes, all year long?
andy
22nd September 2013, 18:40
well we can say the same to Alonso and Massa or Raikkonen and Grosjean
DC (@dujedcv)
22nd September 2013, 19:53
Let’s be honest – this year Webber has had a lot more unreliable car than Vettel, as if there are two Red Bull teams
Mike Dee (@mike-dee)
23rd September 2013, 0:25
Not really before this race. I think it was pretty even.
Joao (@johnmilk)
22nd September 2013, 15:26
the man behind it makes the difference, that’s all
Chris (@tophercheese21)
22nd September 2013, 15:33
So you’re saying that Webber was the reason for his water pressure dropping and killing the engine?
David Margono (@woshidavid95)
22nd September 2013, 15:38
I’m pretty sure you know that he means the substantial performance deficit between him and Webber… no excuse for it, either Vettel is just that good and/or Webber is underperforming.
Joao (@johnmilk)
22nd September 2013, 23:15
C’mon are you serious? Do you really think that I wanted to say that… there are a awful lot of occasions that Vettel was superior to Webber, even when he had a problem free car
jackal40 (@jackal40)
22nd September 2013, 15:38
Sorry, I don’t buy that. Were that the case, Alonso, Hamilton, and Kimi would never have any problems. I just find it odd that Mark seems to have more problems than Vettel.
Oletros (@oletros)
22nd September 2013, 15:40
That is the word, seems, but reality is that he doesn’t have more problems than Vettel
David Margono (@woshidavid95)
22nd September 2013, 15:41
@jackal40
So you’re going to deny cold hard statistics? Doesn’t matter what it appears to be, what matters is what it actually is, which in this case is that Webber does not bear the brunt of Red Bull’s reliability issues and that he has nothing on Vettel.
LawFish (@lawfish)
22nd September 2013, 15:41
Agreed. I don’t see how SV can get so far ahead of everyone after the safety car, and how his team mate can be so far behind (in the same car). It smacks of… …and I like SV.
yellowsapphire (@yellowsapphire)
22nd September 2013, 15:50
There is no conspiracy. I’m not sure why anyone, the face of statistics, still wants to suggest there is. Why would *any* team, much less one that’s currently first in the WCC, purposely sabotage, or whatever you want to call it, one of their drivers?
Anyone who seriously believes this to be the case needs to go and educate themselves. Please. For your own sake.
Either way: race 8/10 for me!
yellowsapphire (@yellowsapphire)
22nd September 2013, 15:51
*in the face of statistics, rather
Todfod (@todfod)
22nd September 2013, 15:59
I dont think its a conspiracy. Its obvious that Vettel is in great form and Mark really isn’t motivated to do anything much for the rest of the season.
yenjaiken (@yenjaiken)
22nd September 2013, 15:47
Don’t overlook one important fact.
Vettel was running in clear air for the majority of the race. Webber was in some way or another stuck behind another car.
David Margono (@woshidavid95)
22nd September 2013, 15:55
Then he has no one to blame but himself for not qualifying better, the score-card is already 13-0.
LawFish (@lawfish)
22nd September 2013, 16:00
Yes, this makes sense, but then that means the front runner will rarely be challenged and something should be done to ensure cars can race/follow closely without the issue of running in “Dirty Air”. How many races in the last few years have we seen where the leader has been challenged?!
dkpioe
22nd September 2013, 17:15
maybe we should start to acknowledge that Vettel is the best driver in F1. a lot of people refuse to believe that, but all the signs are there – consistency in high level results
, always beating teammate, fast in qualifying and in race, no tyre wear issues ever, and the most obvious sign HE IS FASTER THEN EVERYONE ELSE. he is the modern master. From what I have seen in the past 3 years in driver speed and consistency and especially speed during the race, Alonso, in a third best car is his closest equal, he would produce similar results to vettel in the same car, I do not believe any of the others would, raikonnen, hamilton, buton – they would be closer to Webbers level.
JCost (@jcost)
23rd September 2013, 7:34
In a dominant car, Jenson Button made everybody bar Barrichleo look like GP3 drivers.
Paul2013
22nd September 2013, 15:08
Alonso was amazing today, from 7th to 2nd with an unbelievable start. Good fight at the end for 5th place, good 7/10
Verstappen GP (@verstappengp)
22nd September 2013, 15:12
If you call from 7th to second amazing what would you call from 13th to third?
Paul2013
22nd September 2013, 15:16
Very good also, but the start of Alonso was really impressive.
Oletros (@oletros)
22nd September 2013, 15:26
So, one is amazing and the other very good? Who of them did pass their rivals on the track?
DaveF1 (@davef1)
22nd September 2013, 15:42
Pretty sure Alonso passed cars on the track too, unless he started his race in the sky…
Eric (@)
22nd September 2013, 15:46
@davef1
Passing cars at the start is not the same as passing cars when they’re going at full pelt. Raikkonen’s pass on Button was far more tricky than Alonso’s 3 car drive by at the start. Most of all because the cars in front of Alonso were fighting with each other and paid no attention to Alonso.
Oletros (@oletros)
22nd September 2013, 16:24
@baron-2
Exactly, Alonso’s start was amazing an awesome but Kimi’s race was also amazing so I don’t know why the OP tries to understimate it
Mike (@mike)
23rd September 2013, 4:43
@oletros
Oh come on man, he thinks Alonso’s start was impressive. He is allowed to think that.
Olivier42 (@olivier42)
22nd September 2013, 17:16
We know Vettel’s good results are all due to his fantastic car.
I think it’s obvious that Alonso is nothing special, and it’s just his car allowing him to have great starts.
Olivier42 (@olivier42)
22nd September 2013, 17:17
There was a *sarcasm* mention here but the comment system trimmed it off.
Shreyas Mohanty (@)
22nd September 2013, 15:21
@verstappengp If you look closely, he just appreciated Alonso. He didn’t mention Raikkonen. There is no meaning of a spiteful comment. If you didn’t hate Alonso, you would say “yeah, amazing job from kimi too gaining 10 places”
Jon Sandor (@jonsan)
22nd September 2013, 15:21
It was a normal Alonso GP – he botched qualifying and started behind where he should have been, then made up for it with a great start. You could write those same words about virtually every GP for the last few years.
BasCB (@bascb)
22nd September 2013, 15:36
Well, if you look back to his championship years, it was often a knack of him/renault too, so I guess either he has his team focus on starts or is just good at them.
bosyber (@bosyber)
22nd September 2013, 15:42
And likely both @bascb and @jonsan, he’s good at it, so knows it is useful to focus there. Especially when the team is lacking in ultimate pace, that is a smart choice, I’d say. And an exciting one to see too.
BasCB (@bascb)
22nd September 2013, 15:43
indeed. Wouldn’t we all love it if Vettel did something like that at times instead of just decimating the field by being 0,5-2 seconds faster a lap!
Eric (@)
22nd September 2013, 15:49
@bascb
I’m pretty sure if Vettel did qualify worse and made great starts people would still complain about either his lack of qualifying pace or his cars awesome traction off the line.
BasCB (@bascb)
22nd September 2013, 16:02
Yes, people are highly inventive when finding things to complain about @baron-2!
Kimialonso (@kimialonso)
22nd September 2013, 18:10
I think he is not quick enough over 1 lap .
Alexander (@)
22nd September 2013, 16:14
Yea Alonso was absolutely amazing through the first corner, after that nowhere near as what you would expect from him.
andy
22nd September 2013, 18:37
well, the other in front of him sucks..wey dont he get Vettel..
Mike (@mike)
23rd September 2013, 4:44
It’s gotta be one of the best starts I’ve ever seen.
Having said that, he problem with going for the outside is eventually someone will push you off.
He does make good use of the outside of the track however doesn’t he… I think other drivers should start taking note of this.
Kibblesworth (@kibblesworth)
22nd September 2013, 15:08
Great race! Excellent racing especially towards the end from the top 10 or so drivers. Excellent drive from Alonso and Kimi in particular, can’t believe either of them got a podium! Such a shame that Vettel was so dominant but you can’t fault him really. Its incredible how he gets all the luck with the car though, really feeling for Webber on the last lap.
7/10
Shreyas Mohanty (@)
22nd September 2013, 15:10
Luck?
Dmitry (@)
22nd September 2013, 15:08
If nothing will change with new regulations, F1 will lose another spectator. Teams really need to cut the budgets. One man drive.
David-A (@david-a)
22nd September 2013, 15:09
7/10 – It would have been good to see another face on the podium this year (Button). Otherwise, it definitely perked up in the second half of the race.
Vettel was just in a league of his own, Raikkonen with a great comeback drive with the bad back. They were drivers of the day.
Shreyas Mohanty (@)
22nd September 2013, 15:09
7/10. Plenty of overtaking and close fights. But one blingy car was 20s ahead of its opposition, so no fight for the most important position. I’m pretty sure Vettel fans are bored too.
Jon Sandor (@jonsan)
22nd September 2013, 15:09
Engrossing stuff. 8/10.
Ivan B (@njoydesign)
22nd September 2013, 15:09
I’m very tired of Vettel, but today’s race was fun. Safety Car spiced things up and stirred some strategy battle. Well done by Alonso!
2 of the drivers I predicted to be in top 5 didnt make it to the end, how sad…
Ivan B (@njoydesign)
22nd September 2013, 15:12
i rated it 7 btw
Mark Hitchcock (@mark-hitchcock)
22nd September 2013, 15:31
I don’t particularly enjoy Vettel domination either, but you’ve gotta admit that performances like today show how much he deserves to be a triple world champion. No-one else stood a chance.
q85
22nd September 2013, 17:40
Vettel drove amazing today. Its just such as shame this title will be tarnished due to his main competitor being crippled by the mid season tyre rule changes. Just like in 2003.
It takes nothing away from his performance, but does take away from the enjoyment of some great drives.
We had a close championship up until then. Which cant be denied.
taking nothing away from seb, isnt his fault. His team played the politics brilliantly. Just sad for the sport.
I sadly feel thats where many of the fans frustrations are coming from. Its hard to take the season seriously.
Alex (@korbendallas)
23rd September 2013, 0:52
Anything to take credit away from the man. It’s the tyres, it’s the car, it’s Horner “playing politics”. Ugh.
I used to dislike Vettel too. What helped change my mind, in addition to his incredible and seemingly growing talent, is the irrational disdain so many F1 fans seem to have for him. They hate him. Why? Because he’s good. Senna was good. Schumacher was good. Both of them, at times, had incredibly dominant cars. Both of them, at times, tried to run other drivers off the road or are suspected to have deliberately rammed them. Vettel has never done that. He’s as clean a racer as anyone in the field. His car is good, but nowhere near Senna’s McLaren of Schumacher’s Ferrari in comparison to the rest of the current field. The crushing victories he’s enjoyed, including this most recent one, have been his (and his team’s) because they’ve earnt them. By being better than everyone else, and doing it within the rules.
Naomi Gluckstein (@nome)
22nd September 2013, 15:10
last 10 laps were excellent, like everyone woke up suddenly…
Bob (@bobthevulcan)
22nd September 2013, 15:10
The beginning was dreadfully uneventful, save for the brief skirmish between Perez and Hulkenberg. Safety car didn’t really help matters, but the ending stages did redeem it somewhat – lots of tension, position-swapping and a sudden fire. On balance, however, it’s hard to overlook the opening half. 4/10 for me.
@HoHum (@hohum)
22nd September 2013, 15:48
Pretty much how I saw it, another race ruined by tyre conservation, those opening laps should have been a great battle between Alonso & Webber instead it was “maintain a 2 second gap Mark”, only Kimi was racing in the 1st.stint, showing that you can pass if you sacrifice your tyres. Safety car livened up 2nd. half but I can’t get excited by drivers with shot tyres holding up drivers for a lap or two before they inevitably get passed.
2 Renault engine failures!!!!
5 points, only because of the Webber, Rosberg, Hamilton carve up, 4 without.
Diego (@ironcito)
22nd September 2013, 15:10
I used to want Vettel to win because I liked him. Now I also want him to win because everyone wants him to lose :D
Traverse (@)
22nd September 2013, 15:21
lol
manu
22nd September 2013, 15:10
It says something when the commentators choose to talk about the 40th anniversary of the safety car than the race itself. I think F1 is gonna loose a lot of viewers after this year.
UTBowler0407 (@utbowler0407)
22nd September 2013, 15:10
Every time I think “well, surely the next race can’t be more boring than that,” it is somehow even more boring. 3/10.
BasCB (@bascb)
22nd September 2013, 15:37
I think must have switched off before the last 15 minutes, those did a lot to give it a solid ending
UTBowler0407 (@utbowler0407)
22nd September 2013, 15:41
I watched the last 15 minutes, and thought they were great. Unfortunately, an hour and 45 minutes of “zzzzzz” isn’t offset by 15 minutes of great racing.
tmekt (@tmekt)
22nd September 2013, 15:45
Huh? Did you even watch the whole race?
UTBowler0407 (@utbowler0407)
22nd September 2013, 15:52
Yes I did, thank you very much. Last 7-8 laps were great, first ~50-55 were horribly boring.
Grosjean's smile (@testacorsa)
22nd September 2013, 16:12
I can only agree, but that track is just not prone for a good race. It is sooo hard to overtake on, and if it wasn´t for tires falling of the cliff, and the different strategies, very few overtakes would have been made. Even the DRS was almost without effect this year. 4/10 for me – one big star for alonso’s start, and 3 stars for the last 9-10 laps.
Ratboy (@ratboy)
23rd September 2013, 0:36
when David Croft was talking about Webber passing Hulkenberg he said
“That is his last chance till turn 7 on the next lap” that is a sign of a bad track nearly 9/10 turns of procession before he can press a button to overtake.
Spa and Monza are good tracks but had dull races, this place hadn’t a hope in shell of being average let alone good. don’t worry though because Korea is next :D the home of motorsport…oh wait
ferrox glideh (@ferrox-glideh)
22nd September 2013, 16:02
Aside form watching the safety car for half a dozen laps, what did you find boring? There was always close racing somewhere on track and plenty of random drama on top of a faultless Vettel and a courageous Kimi. 8 out of 10!
safeeuropeanhome (@debaser91)
22nd September 2013, 15:12
9. That was the best race for ages, lots of action all through the field with the safety car causing the split in strategy and making the second half of the race very entertaining. Whatever you think of Vettel you surely have to marvel at the ridiculous speed he and Red Bull displayed today. I know Rosberg was holding the field up but to pull a 30 second lead in 10 laps or whatever it was was incredible.
Billy (@)
22nd September 2013, 15:12
The multi-billion pound one man show continues. Ferrari, Mercedes, Lotus and McLaren should be ashamed of themselves.
Formula 1 is Number 1 in raking in money, that’s about it, add the horrible tracks and you have the best Motorsport in the world…;) yeah right. ZZZZzzzzzzZZZZZZ
PhilEReid (@philereid)
22nd September 2013, 15:13
4/10
The excitement in the final 10 or so laps does not make up for having 50 laps of procession and tyre/heat management.
Guilherme (@guilherme)
22nd September 2013, 15:20
@philereid Agreed, the first half was absolutely woeful. 5/10 for me.
Hamilfan (@hamilfan)
22nd September 2013, 15:33
@philereid to see cars trodding along saving their tyres instead of attacking is getting to be very boring .
Giuseppe (@giuseppe)
22nd September 2013, 15:55
Yeah, a good end doesn’t change the fact it was one of the most boring races of the season. 4/10
Martin (@aardvark)
22nd September 2013, 19:01
Agreed. +1 for no or very few DRS passes. 5/10.
Paul2013
22nd September 2013, 15:14
Ha ha, “he made”? You should say “his car”, come the first lap he already had 2 seconds over the following car.
Sankalp Sharma (@sankalp88)
22nd September 2013, 15:16
I don’t recall WEB using “his car” to do the same!
Shreyas Mohanty (@)
22nd September 2013, 16:10
@sankalp88 Vettel is obviously better than Webber. The stark difference between the two owes much to Webber’s poor starts because of which he has the job of recovering and hence a LOT of dirty air – and RBR’s main strength is aero, which is hampered due to a lack of clean air in case of Webber. Vettel, however, is mostly either on pole or on P2, hardly even P3 and he is in the lead within the first 2 laps, thus getting excellent clean air. Vettel is a great driver for not making mistakes – but then, is he really fighting for positions that he will make mistakes? Basically what I am saying is Webber can dominate that way too, if not for his poor starts. Credit where it is due though – Vettel is very consistent.
uan (@uan)
23rd September 2013, 1:56
@shreyasf1fan
but then Webber comes out in clean air after his last pit stop and doesn’t shine either. He didn’t even mount any serious attacks on Alonso in the first couple of laps, and you know Vettel would have (and Alonso would have – Spain being an excellent example of pressuring cars in front and getting past them).
Webber may be complaining about the tire management, but he’s either fallen off in form (mentally at least), or Vettel really is that much better than him now (being 26, Vettel still is still getting better year after year), or Vettel flatters the RB. Probably a combination of those things.
Feuerdrache (@xenomorph91)
22nd September 2013, 19:05
In most people’s mind, Webber must be the worst driver ever in F1 if they call Vettel an average driver in the best car. Can’t explain the logic of other people otherwise.
Albert
22nd September 2013, 15:32
He pushed his car to the very limit. How does that have any less limit than what Raikkonen and Alonso did?
It’s not Vettel’s fault Alonso and Raikkonen had mediocre qualifying sessions.
David-A (@david-a)
22nd September 2013, 15:32
Webber never does the same, Webber beat Rosberg in the same machinery, you work out the rest.
Bruno (@brunes)
22nd September 2013, 15:40
good point…
Nick (@npf1)
22nd September 2013, 15:49
That must be why they’ve got Vettel instead of a random nobody who they could pay nothing. Heck, they could put Taki Inoue in the car and he would win. But what does that make Mark Webber, he must be a terrible driver.
Eric (@)
22nd September 2013, 15:52
Yet Webber wasn’t capable of overtaking cars despite the supposedly 2-3 second advantage the car gave him.
bosyber (@bosyber)
22nd September 2013, 16:16
Hardly anyone was able to overtake despite a supposedly big advantage, until the end when it became more like 5s a lap though, by which time Webber was trying to nurse that gearbox, so that alone doesn’t mean much @baron-2 …
not that I mean to step into the ‘Vettel won because the car is so great’ – if it wasn’t so great he wouldn’t have been over half a minute ahead, sure, but even then, he wouldn’t be 3rd time, going for a 4th, WDC if he wasn’t something special.
Luis Conde (@luchingador)
22nd September 2013, 16:48
there are 2 of those cars on track..
maxthecat
22nd September 2013, 15:15
5/10
I think this year is even duller than Schumacher’s years of domination. It’s almost as though no one wants to race. Next year will be even worse with fuel saving etc. Hopefully Renault will be so fed up with Red Bull side-lining them in team name and sponsor logos they may put their efforts elsewhere.
Jonny Edwards
22nd September 2013, 15:33
Its not that they don’t want to race but rather the lack of options to do something different from the opposition. Refueling, no PARC ferme and proper tyres and you would have seen an interesting race today.
Dizzy
22nd September 2013, 15:38
Refueling would have made the race worse as then all the racing woudl have been done in the pits via the refueling strategy.
I still fail to understand why anyone would ever want refueling to come back seeing how badly it hurt the racing when we last had it.
The number of on track overtakes plummeted as soon as refueling was introduced in 1994 & then they shot back up when it was banned & 2010 featured the most on track overtakes since 1989 as a result.
Everything about refueling in f1 from 1994-2009 was boring, Wathing cars pass in the pits was dull, watching cars sitting in the pits for 10 seconds been refueling was dull & the entire fuel strategy thing was rubbish.
I’d honestly quit watching f1 rather than have to sit through that agian.
@HoHum (@hohum)
22nd September 2013, 15:58
Too right Dizzy, Kimi was the only one racing in the 1st. half and he was the 1st. to ruin his tyres, he got lucky with the safety car though, but showed in those 1st. 10 laps that passing is not impossible, it just ruins your tyres.@phillereid, agree with you also.
Jonny Edwards (@racectrl)
22nd September 2013, 16:44
1994-2009 were some of the best years of F1. Anyone of those years beats 2013 hands down(even 2009) but i suppose that’s a matter of opinion. Anyway, flat-out racing is what the drivers want and i tend to agree with them(see Webber’s post-race comments). For me overtaking created by different fuel strategies is infinitely more interesting that what we saw today, with the drivers on old tyres going up to 3 seconds slower than those on fresher tyres. How is that satisfyingly on ANY level? To make it worst they are DRS assisted. It really is pathetic that this is acceptable to fans.
In regards to 2010 that was a blip, just one of those great competitive years. Everything after that has been DRS assisted so its pointless to compare earlier years in terms of overtaking.
Dizzy
22nd September 2013, 19:47
But there was hardly any overtaking creating by different fuel strategies because in the refueling days most of the passing was done in the pits.
Through the refueling-era how many times did the race winner take the lead without having to even try to overtake anyone?
Races like Schumacher’s 2004 French Gp 4-stop winning strategy was boring, You had the 2 drivers fighting for the lead/win never anywhere close to each other after the 2nd stops as they went onto different strategies & then after the stops ended Schumacher ended up in the lead, No good fight, no on-track overtake, it was dull.
Many other races similar to that through that era, no on-track fighting/overtaking because it was all fuel strategy & passing via the pit stops & that was zero fun to watch.
I like watching cars fighting it out on-track, Pushing one another hard & then for any overtaking to be done on the track, Like it used to be Pre-refueling.
All the focus should be on the on-track product & during the refeuling era the focus was on the pit lane as thats where all the strategy & most of the passing was done.
I think back to the very 1st race we had refueling at Brazil in 1994, A thrilling on-track fight for the lead between Senna & Schumacher. They take there 1st pit stops with senna leading & Schumacher not far behind, Schumacher comes out the pits ahead & then runs away into the distance & the rest of the race ended up been completely boring.
That race woudl have been so much better the year before when there was no refueling as the 2 of them woudl have had to fight it out on-track & Schumacher would have had to overtake Senna on the track instead, Much more exciting.
You only have to look at the overtaking stats to see how much refueling hurt the racing. Pre-refueling overtaking stats were high, In 1994 there was over 100 less on-track overtakes & the figure remained low up until 2010 when the figures shot back upto pre-refueling levels.
Even taking away all DRS assisted/generated passes, The overtaking stats are still higher than they were during the refueling era & on-par with the pre-refueling stats.
Deb Luhi (@debeluhi)
23rd September 2013, 9:29
Infinity is a Nisan brand which in turn is owned (or at least have a controlling stake) by Renault.
Swindle94 (@swindle94)
22nd September 2013, 15:15
Great start, especially by Alonso. Excellent drive by Kimi with a bad back. Last 15 or so laps were great to watch, sadly vettel was perfect and made it boring at the front. 7.
Dizzy
22nd September 2013, 15:15
3/10.
Low rating not because vettel dominated but simply because it was another ‘tyre management’ race. everyone was cruising around managing tyres, been told not to get too close to the car ahead to help look after the tyres, you had drivers not bothering to fight with other cars so as to not hurt there tyres.
then at the end you had drivers dropping back like a rock because there tyres hit the cliff. the ‘racing’ seen at the end with drivers on old/new tyres was dull as those on old tyres had nothing to fight with, thats not racing & certainly isn’t fun to watch & the ‘passing’ it produces certainly isn’t exciting to watch either (at least for me).
then you had the marbles, so many offline that drivers were reluctant to move onto them & they get stuck in the front wings & hinder drivers races.
bring back hard tyres, tyres that drivers can push on & tyres that drivers can actually race with!
tmekt (@tmekt)
22nd September 2013, 16:03
No thanks.
Drivers being able to push would not make any difference at all. The cars and circuits are so much easier to drive (on) these days that if you minimized the strategic aspects (which tyre consumption or refuelling brings) there would be no on-track action at all, everyone would get the maximum out of the car and we would see only maybe see some Red Bull – Mercedes battles once a year but that would be it basically. Wouldn’t be much better, in fact, I’ve been rewatching some races from the early to mid 2000s and, to be honest, I’m glad those days are over.
It’s just a different approach to racing that we have currently and that in itself doesn’t make it any worse. It’s still the best all-round car that wins and I don’t think it’s any different to what we’ve had in the past, now you just have to conserve your tyres much more, which only adds to the sport. …unless of course you think that PUSHING!!!! is the only thing we need.
Nick.UK (@)
22nd September 2013, 15:16
Maybe their all driving 2nd rate cars…
I rated 3/10. It would have been 1 if not for the last 10 laps, but all that tension was for places that simply didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. No fight at the front, another tragic display of silly safety car rules and a terrible penalty applied to Hulkenberg. For the record, I would rate it the same if anyone else won that uncontested.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
23rd September 2013, 2:05
I agree today I was only admiring the cars on this special one time setting. The level of traction drive style that Vet and Red and the new Red Pirelis used today made their unbelievable australia pace real for the 61 laps.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
22nd September 2013, 15:16
5/10. Good ending, but the winner was never challenged. Vettel is just impressive, isn’t he? how could he pull out a lap 2.2 seconds faster than anyone else after the restart?
It’s good they got so many fireworks, otherwise none of the drivers would’ve seen them. We did, of course, because the footage showed them while there were battles on track. Obviously, that’s what we want to see… jeez.
Fantastic drive by Alonso. His start was superb. Hats off to him for trying so hard. But it’ll never be enough. Good drive for Kimi too, considering the characteristics of this track and his bad back, massive effort.
Anyway, roll on 2014.
Hamilfan (@hamilfan)
22nd September 2013, 15:36
@fer-no65 Another valid point . The race director was waiting for the big gap between vettel and alonso . Why can’t he just show us some onboards instead .
David Margono (@woshidavid95)
22nd September 2013, 15:17
6… midfield scrap kept the race alive. The other teams should seriously do something about Vettel’s dominance, it’s becoming such a bore. Grosjean was super unlucky, I felt that should be him at the podium instead of Raikkonen.
Dion (@infinitygc)
22nd September 2013, 15:59
Considering he was driving the same car as Raikkonen, and was on more or less the same strategy as Alonso, I wondered where he could’ve finished if it wasn’t for his misfortune…
David Margono (@woshidavid95)
22nd September 2013, 16:15
I wouldn’t even call it the same car, it’s been made explicit that Raikkonen gets updates before him (Such as in Sepang and in the FP sessions of Monza) but despite that he has been able to outqualify Raikkonen on merit quite a number of times. At least his Lotus seat for 2014 is more or less safe, but this unfortunate DNF means that Button is right behind him in thr WDC standings.
Kimi4WDC
23rd September 2013, 2:10
Grosjean’s seat safe? If I was team principle my hair would raise from the prospects of 2014 after looking at the point difference between Kimi and Romain.
There is luck issue, but other the season it becomes facts.
tmekt (@tmekt)
23rd September 2013, 9:34
@woshidavid95
Räikkönen does sometimes get updates first but not always. They can sometimes bring the updates only for the other car but I think that’s pretty evenly matched. Romain got the new rear bodywork first (in Silverstone) for example.
Kimi has been struggling in some qualis for many reasons but he still leads Grosjean on qualification results if I’m not mistaken. Beating Kimi ‘quite a number of times on merit’ doesn’t take away the fact that Grosjean has usually been a disappointment in the race.
David Margono (@woshidavid95)
23rd September 2013, 9:37
@tmekt
Well true, but ever since Germany he has been on pretty good form, although I do understand that it will take more time to improve his reputation; ‘Irv the Swerve’ didn’t become ‘Steady Eddie’ overnight after all.
Sankalp Sharma (@sankalp88)
22nd September 2013, 15:17
7 — VET pretty much walked it. It’s a good thing that WEB-ROS-HAM were out of place at the end. It would have been a dull 5 otherwise!
JCost (@jcost)
22nd September 2013, 15:18
Vettel was brilliant today but I gotta take my hat off for Red Bull engineering team. Once again, Red Bull buil a great car to start the season and out-developed the rest after the break and are now streets ahead everybody.
Seb managed to lap 2 seconds faster than Nico at a certain point on same tyres. This is too much. Adrian Newey deserves a Nobel Prize.
Jon Sandor (@jonsan)
22nd September 2013, 15:25
If Newey had anything to do with it, shouldn’t Webber have been at least a second faster than all the non-Red Bull cars?
nmsi (@nmsi)
22nd September 2013, 15:31
If Newey had nothing to do with it then why don’t they fire the man – taking up resources and precious sitting places in pit wall. I mean seriously?
Chris (@tophercheese21)
22nd September 2013, 15:36
I hate conspiracy theories, but I’m not convinced that Vettel and Webber are driving equal cars.
No question, Vettel is better than Webber. But he’s not THAT much better. This was an astronomical level of performance. Especially after the safety car was just ridiculous.
Albert
22nd September 2013, 15:43
That’s nonsense. I know it’s hard to accept, but after 3 (soon to be 4) maybe it’s time to accept Vettel is much better than Webber, in the same way Alonso is much better than Massa, Lewis was to Kovalainen.
About time to get over it.
Chris (@tophercheese21)
22nd September 2013, 15:46
@Albert
I said that Vettel is better than Webber. There’s no refuting it.
But I dont think he’s THIS much better. This was just crazy.
Credit to him though. He drove superbly.
Albert
22nd September 2013, 15:49
Correction: You don’t want to think it.
If I wanted, I could say the same about Alonso: “Since I don’t like him, he CAN’T be that much better than Massa. CONSPIRACY!!!!!!”
Nonsense.
Chris (@tophercheese21)
22nd September 2013, 15:58
@Albert
I never said I didn’t like Vettel, as you’re implying by trying to put words in my mouth.
Albert
22nd September 2013, 16:01
@tophercheese21
Regardless, that was just a minor part of the point ;)
Chris (@tophercheese21)
22nd September 2013, 16:08
@Albert
I don’t like Vettle, and I don’t dislike him either. I’m just offering my unbiased opinion.
You also have to ask, why none of the other members of the “Big 4” could lap anywhere near Vettels pace?
Ferrari, lotus and Mercedes aren’t as good as Redbull but many people say that Kimi, Alonso and Lewis are equal, if not better than Vettel.
So, then why couldn’t Kimi, Alonso or Hamilton lap even in the same stratosphere as Sebastian? Because it’s the same principal.
Albert
23rd September 2013, 6:16
@Chris
Because they were on different cars, strategies, tyre saving times and traffic situation. Not too mysterious.
Last year Hamilton had a couple of dominant wins while Button finished very far away. Sometimes some pilots are just that much better in certain cars and tracks. This is nothing we haven’t seen before.
Stop the conpiracy nonsense until you something real to show intead of (very) empty speculation please.
Billy (@)
22nd September 2013, 15:47
+1 Red Bulls David Coulthard was quick to defend Red Bull from possible conspiracy theories on the BBC when Marks car broke down, again.
Yoshisune (@yobo01)
22nd September 2013, 16:13
@tophercheese21 Webber has always been stuck in the traffic, and it’s extremely difficult to pass in Singapore, we saw Di Resta keeping behind Alonso on 15+ laps old supersofts for quite a few laps.
Of course Vettel is not 2 seconds per lap faster than Webber, I honestly believe that it would have been an easy one-two for Red Bull if Webber had qualified better.
Todfod (@todfod)
22nd September 2013, 15:44
@jonsan
You’re right. Adrian Newey has absolutely nothing to with Red Bull being nearly 2 secs a lap faster than any other car.
I think Vettel designed the upgrades himself in the summer break, and then drove over a sec a lap faster than his teammate in identical machinery
JCost (@jcost)
22nd September 2013, 17:09
@todfod LOL!
Nobody can deny Vettel’s skills. He’s fast and precise but my fave adage on F1 still is “nobody wins a Formula 1 race in a Fiat Panda”.
The driver must be good but his talents alone will not make his car the class of the field, that’s why I think Newey and his team deserve our props.
iAltair (@)
22nd September 2013, 17:46
I have to say that this might be true. You always see Vettel in the cockpit looking at things and understanding the car. Who knows he and Newey are the two lead designers?
@HoHum (@hohum)
22nd September 2013, 16:04
Webber was told to stay 2 seconds back from Nando, it;s the World Tyre Conservation Championship, remember.
JCost (@jcost)
22nd September 2013, 17:04
@jonsan you can say Seb makes the difference because he was much faster than Mark too (who had cars ahead of him) but you cannot ignore the brilliant job of their engineers, I’d eat a shoe if Vettel could be 2 seconds faster than Nico if he was driving Lewis Hamilton’s car.
Chris (@tophercheese21)
22nd September 2013, 15:19
6.
First 40 laps were rubbish. Last 20 were brilliant.
PeterGH
22nd September 2013, 15:19
this will sadly be the last f1 race i will watch, this year at least because im fedup of the pirelli tyres dominating things with the tyre management been the biggest factor.
then you have the stupid drs (although today it wasn’t an issue) which in many races makes passing so easy that its dull.
f1 is no longer fun for me because there is none of the racing i used to love, its all too artificial & way too gimmickey for my liking so now after something like 35 years i will no longer watch.
i tried to stick with the pirelli/drs/kers era but no its finally killed off my interest in f1, goodbye old friend :(
Shreyas Mohanty (@)
22nd September 2013, 15:26
You will watch the next race anyway, I know.
Delta Golf Sierra (@cumulonimbus)
22nd September 2013, 15:19
I was thinking a 3 or 4 for most of the race (start was the only good part), but an exciting last 8 or so laps and an amazing effort from Raikonnen bumps it up to a 7.
Mike Dee (@mike-dee)
22nd September 2013, 15:20
The 12 or so laps after the safety car are the most dominant I have seen in a long time. Can’t even remember a race in 2011 where it was like this.
alofan (@alonsofan98)
22nd September 2013, 15:21
I gave it a 4. Very boring race but the last 10 laps and the battles from P3 to P10 made it quite interesting.
Joanna Bessey (@bernie-ecclescake)
22nd September 2013, 15:22
3/10. the only best part is the last 7-10 laps. Mostly boring.
Rocky (@rocky)
22nd September 2013, 16:04
+1 exactly very boring how can one car be that much better as it is.
Thibz
22nd September 2013, 15:23
Oh, and by the way, everytime people boo Vettel on the podium, I think it’s actually a boost for him. Every time he gets booed, the next weekend he’s even more crushing. ;)
PJ (@)
22nd September 2013, 15:25
I had no issue with Vettel running away with the race; what he did after the Safety Car (essentially 15 Qualifying laps to gain his pitstop back) was genuinely impressive.
That being said, outside of the battles near the end of the race, there really wasn’t a lot going on.
I gave it a 4 as it was a rather boring race overall.
Jonny Edwards
22nd September 2013, 15:27
F1 needs to act before 2014 as this non strategic racing is killing the sport. To be fair the safety car give the teams the chance to do one stop less but without the intervention of the safety car this was turning into another uninteresting race and it has nothing to do with Vettel winning. 5/10
@HoHum (@hohum)
22nd September 2013, 16:09
Surely you mean this
nonstrategic racing.Michael Brown (@)
22nd September 2013, 15:28
6/10 I really don’t like how the tires limited pushing except at the end.
Hamilfan (@hamilfan)
22nd September 2013, 15:31
4/10 . Some good battle in the end but again whats the big fun when Jenson has no tyres left and is being passed by everyone who has better tyres . Strategy wise okay but no big fun . The race was terrific in the first 2 corners after which it was boring till the last few laps . So no big deal for me .
Osvaldas31 (@osvaldas31)
22nd September 2013, 15:32
I gave 8. This circuit is really classic and always produces good races despite being a place, where overtaking is not easy. It’s like ‘new Monaco’. I sometimes think, that we should get rid of Monaco, because we have a replacement, which is much more exciting.
Dizzy
22nd September 2013, 15:33
Webber just slated the amount of tyre management been done on sky.
He looked less happy about the tyre management than he did the fact he got a DNF.
Juan Pablo Heidfeld (@juan-pablo-heidfeld-1)
22nd September 2013, 15:35
5/10
Horrendously dull for most of the race. Safety car split strategies and made it interesting for the last 10 laps or so
Bruno (@brunes)
22nd September 2013, 15:37
Driver’s Championship is over…
I will sell the car and put all the money on Vettel to win… maybe I’ll make 3 or 4%
mixwell (@mixwell)
22nd September 2013, 15:38
oh man. this could have been one of the best races but mark, gro’s failures really made the race boring. what a mighty drive from Seb and Alonso as well. as a seb fan, loved the race.
A.D. (@aks-das)
22nd September 2013, 15:40
without the SC, I feel Vettel would have lapped Alonso.
KaIIe (@kaiie)
22nd September 2013, 15:42
I definitely enjoyed it more than the few previous races. I think long races like this is exactly what F1 needs a few times per season: even if it feels boring after half an hour, there’s still plenty of time left.
Once again, the tyres themselves were probably enough to spice up the race, there was no need for DRS (Webber sailing past everyone in the end).
8/10, because it left me with a satisfied and happy feeling.
PaxJes (@paxjes)
22nd September 2013, 15:42
that’s it for me. I’ll pay attention again in 2014. there were 3 or 4 overtakes that were ok and that was it for this race. i don’t like this type of F1.
DaveF1 (@davef1)
22nd September 2013, 15:46
6/10 so just above average for me. 15 exciting laps out of 61 doesn’t suddenly make it that much better. But then again it felt like we spent an eternity behind the safety car. Lapped cars should just filter to the back instead of going round to catch up.
Sebas (@seabass)
22nd September 2013, 20:11
@davef1 A good idea which someone said in the chat on F1Fanatic Live. Let the backmarkers pass through the pits. Than they’re at the back without having any danger of them getting tangled with the ones who are passing. Easy and quick.
Zedd (@zedd)
22nd September 2013, 15:46
Good race, a little disappointing for the championship that Vettel ran away again but there was some good racing further down the field.
Howard (@howard)
22nd September 2013, 15:47
7.
SC saved the race.
Nick (@npf1)
22nd September 2013, 15:47
Gave it a 6. Too many times this year I find myself typing in the rate the race articles ‘it wasn’t much fun, but the last couple of laps were good and the midfield battles were interesting’.
I never really minded DRS and the way the tyres were until recently, but DRS was fairly useless on this track (it helped Raikkonen’s awesome overtake by about absolutely nothing) and at this point, I’d welcome ever-lasting tyres from Michelin; just so we can have a complete race, instead of 90% of the race being about tyre preservation; then having some fine racing.
Also, the booing has to stop. What kind of backwards person goes to spend a small fortune on going to a race and boo Vettel for winning. When you bought the ticket, you were fully aware you might not like the outcome. Man up and clap for a guy who destroyed the field, yet again.
Yoshisune (@yobo01)
22nd September 2013, 16:25
@npf1
Monza and Spa weren’t about tyre preservation at all, yet they received very low ratings, many people desperately wanted a more aggressive tyre choice.
The thing is, with Vettel’s and Red Bull’s form, with ever-lasting tyres they would dominate even more, their car is clearly the best. And the only reason why Vettel has “only” 60 points more than Alonso is that Red Bull was struggling a lot in the first part of the season with tyre degradation.
Nick (@npf1)
22nd September 2013, 17:31
@yobo01
Monza and Spa maybe not as much, but the tyre talk is getting to my head at this point. What we saw today was a driver like Alonso basically managing his tyres to secure second. Was it the right thing to do? Yes. Does it give us enjoyable races? Not so much.
The only reason there was any racing going on at the end, was because there were drivers with fresh tyres and older tyres. Of course tyres have always been instrumental in F1, as is strategy, but to see teams stretch out tyres that last 20 laps to 40 laps, because it’s faster to give 75% for 40 laps, than 100% for 2 stints of 20 laps, is not the kind of tyres I’m interested it.
To me, more aggressive tyres would mean tyres you have to push 20 laps on, going easy on them for 40 laps isn’t going to work. That is exactly what was going on earlier in the season, but now, they’ve managed to make the tyres last, while also slowing down the actual race pace.
I’d prefer early 2013 tyres (if they were safe) and ever-lasting Michelins to what we have now. Teams could still run into trouble with getting the tyres up to temperature, and I’m sure the overtaking committee could figure out some rule to have at least one pitstop in there.
I’ve always been against ‘rules-against-dominance’, when it was done to Ferrari, Michelin or Red Bull, so I don’t really think we need tyres to undermine Vettel or Red Bull.
Yoshisune (@yobo01)
22nd September 2013, 17:55
@npf1
I think we had to expect this kind of strategies in Singapore. In street circuits like this you don’t necessarily go for the fastest strategy, but the one that doesn’t get you into traffic. The only one who could push today was Vettel, but only because he had a very big advantage.
It was the same in Monaco, everyone was cruising around in order to do only one stop.
Nick (@npf1)
22nd September 2013, 17:33
Mind you, I don’t mind drivers not giving 100%, but giving in 2 seconds per lap isn’t exactly giving it 95% or even 90% either.
Slava (@)
23rd September 2013, 10:38
British people at Silverstone were booing Vettel. That’s okay. But when other do that – it is becoming unacceptable? Double standards.
R.J. O'Connell (@rjoconnell)
22nd September 2013, 15:49
This one shouldn’t be another 5/10 race.
Vettel blew away the field by 30 seconds which is unheard of in the current era, but you had really awesome battles from 3rd on down, a ludicrous pass from Raikkonen to take the final podium place with a bad back, a great closing drive by Massa to get to 6th, Alonso had another dynamic start that lead to him finishing 2nd. 7/10 race. Nothing insanely dramatic, but not the worst race of the year either.
Karthikeyan (@ridiculous)
22nd September 2013, 15:53
Vettel, Kimi and Alonso did what they do at best and then there were the rest. Hopefully Vettel does this next year as well just to see if anyone has change of hearts about Vettel’s ability.
Thanks Mark for the fireworks. 30 second gap after 2 safety cars? What better way to mock the opposition. 8/10
Colossal Squid (@colossal-squid)
22nd September 2013, 15:54
I gave it an 8. True Vettel’s lead was never in doubt after turn two, but the safety car really spiced things up as teams went on divergent strategies. There was plenty of tension and drama further down the field to make up for the processional way Vettel went about securing victory.
Yoshisune (@yobo01)
22nd September 2013, 15:57
7.
The second part of the race was quite interesting. The Safety Car mixed everything up, and it was very cool to see Vettel pushing to open the gap and the different strategies. Shame about Grosjean, he was ahead of Raikkonen and on the same strategy, it would have been good to see him fighting for a podium position.
Singapore looks stunning as always, too.
Win7Golf (@win7golf)
22nd September 2013, 16:01
About this race… Looking forward to next year for engine failures and driver errors… F1 is getting TOO boring… I loved the sport for years and always saw all the races, even during the ‘Black’ schumacher era… for the beauty of it – the cars, the speed, the overtakes, the crashes…. and will continue to do so, but I hope to see greater fights on track and for both Championships…
petebaldwin (@)
22nd September 2013, 16:02
For the first 30 laps, I’d have struggled to give it over a 2. I started watching late and found myself fast-forwarding on Sky+. Brundle got it spot on when he commented on the collective groan when Rosberg ran wide and let Vettel past.
The second half was good though and was much more enjoyable. It was great to see cars catch up to each other and race instead of just waiting until the DRS zone.
Purely for the 2nd half and the lack of DRS influence, it deserves a decent rating.
f12007v (@f1fan-2000)
22nd September 2013, 16:03
What happened to Webber in the end? I did not catch what the commentators were saying about it. All I saw and heard was that some kind of pressure was dropping in his car, and with 1 lap to go, his engines just when on flames.
Rocky (@rocky)
22nd September 2013, 16:05
Maybe AN should design one car for everyone level the playing field.
Rigi (@rigi)
22nd September 2013, 16:08
the low rating trend shall continue.
this time however we had some interesting battles at the end of the race!
what a shame to see grosjean retire, it would’ve been intresting to see what he could’ve done with a spare set of unused super softs. possibly a podium.
bosyber (@bosyber)
22nd September 2013, 16:10
I thought that compared to some of the great races we had in years past , it was bleak and boring. I did the laundry in between, and missed not a thing (probably makes me think less bad of it because I didn’t sit through 90 minutes of nothing much happening waiting for it to happen). But compared to the worst, and with the start and end it had, it wasn’t all bad, nor was it the worst race I have seen at all.
So I have to say, somewhere between a 6, adequate, to a 7, thanks mainly to ROS’s great start, some small fights here and there, and RAI, but also the reliably great Ferrari starts; no thanks to Mercedes having a naieve strategy (though yeah, it did give us ROS,HAM tyre-advantaging through the field at the end), GRO having an unreliable car, and Vettel in his Red Bull being just impressively much too fast for anyone to catch him.
I am not quite sure if I should be glad that DRS did absolutely nothing or annoyed that on a track for which it was introduced to mitigate trouble overtaking (in the race here really only RAI earlier on, then tyre-difference allowed that) it didn’t do a thing but still isn’t dropped for something better like changes to fight the cause of that.
If races were like this all year I’d have a problem, but I’ll consider this one of those races that make me hope for better ones – no likely not until Brazil I agree – and train me to be again more appreciative of someone leading with a car a second faster then the rest
I did after all enjoy those races in the early 90ties when a occasionally car would lap the field when the single team/driver competition had a bad day. Yeah, I do really hope Newey screws up next year or others do a stellar job, seeing Vettel fight for wins with the others is more fun.
zippyone (@zippyone)
22nd September 2013, 16:11
It was ok – a 7 – bit of excitement towards the end with WEB, ROS and HAM coming through but that was just tyres, got a bit bored again, think I am loosing my obsessive passion for F1…..
zzkiper (@zzkiper)
22nd September 2013, 16:17
I gave it a 3/10 based on the winner, who we all knew beforehand and lack of overtaking (read, tyre preservation). There was a solid 15 laps of racing but that couldn’t cut it for the poor spectacle before that. Tough for the Mclarens that couldn’t keep up and Webber pulling the shortest straw yet again.
Also I’m a bit surprised of how the booing is perceived. I do not second it but I find it an viable reaction from paying spectators and team fans praising one team or a driver in particular.
Evidently, locale plays little in the equation, Singapore doesn’t have a racing tradition like Italy, which was widely the claim two weeks ago with the same phenomenon in Monza
Luis Conde (@luchingador)
22nd September 2013, 16:47
JB fighting for a podium did it for me.
bowdowntome
22nd September 2013, 19:45
Oh yeah, was cheering for him to get a podium!
COrrado (@)
22nd September 2013, 16:48
Weak race. 5/10. If it wasn’t for Ricciardo, probably the worst race of the season. The first 10 cars (except Vettel) were just following each other. Nobody wanted to attack anybody. Pure parade for the first 10 cars ! The race was saved by Alonso’s start (which contributed a lot to his P2), Kimi’s P3 (from P13) but the SC helped him without doubt, and the last 10 laps action (thanks to SC too). Man of the race for me: Alonso. He managed (with some little luck too) to finish 2nd with obviously the 4th fastest car on this track or 2013. Kimi was great too, but he benefited a lot from the SC period, while Lotus was somehow faster than Ferrari here (Grosjean pre-race times are proof enough).
Yorricksfriend (@yorricksfriend)
22nd September 2013, 16:49
The first half of the race was about as interesting a wallpaper conference – 1/10, the second half picked up considerably, 8/10.
I have to average that out so it only makes a 5/10.
Ron (@rcorporon)
22nd September 2013, 16:52
Good race IMO. Safety car was out for quite some time but the last 1/4 of the race was just thrilling.
Great drives by Seb, Fred & Kimi… was gutted for Grosjean & Webber (although seeing Web hitch a ride with Fred was awesome)
8/10 for me.
JackySteeg (@jackysteeg)
22nd September 2013, 16:55
Tremendously uneventful up front and for a 2 hour race it didn’t seem like much happened elsewhere. But there was some great battles and excitement further down the field towards the end, so I’m giving it 6/10.
Sir Teukka (@merioksa)
22nd September 2013, 16:55
This race was about as interesting as a race can get, without a battle for the win. 8/10
KiwiUK (@kiwiuk)
22nd September 2013, 17:00
6/10 – The battles in the last 10 laps were exciting to watch, but this was hardly a consolation for the 50 preceding parade laps with Vettel scampering off into the distance unchallenged. The battles were for points positions but Alonso and Vettel were too far away for any big points dramas
Alex McFarlane
22nd September 2013, 17:05
3/10. I grew up watching MotoGP, World Superbike and more recently British Superbikes. I quit watching F1 the first time in the late 90’s because it had become such a borefest, and by and large it hasn’t changed since I started watching again around ’07 except by artificial means like DRS and manipulated tyre life. Apples and oranges but motorbikes provide a far better spectacle than Boremula 1, and yet the recent developments in Indycar suggest this shouldn’t necessarily be so. The cars need to be designed to allow closer racing but Formula 1 has become so safety-conscious it will never happen.
Fixy (@)
22nd September 2013, 17:31
7/10
The whole race was boring, but I waited till the end hoping for something. The Safety Car period gave us that, but until not long before the end it didn’t look like it. Vettel remained miles ahead, but then when the tyres went off we had some interesting, albeit predictable, battles, such as Button vs. everyone, Perez vs. everyone and the poor Gutierrez dropping out of the points. Webber’s problems at the end spiced things further up, but when his car caught fire we weren’t meant to see it, unfortunately. In the end, no surprises, but for a few laps towards the end I wasn’t sure there wouldn’t be.
sasho (@ferrist)
22nd September 2013, 17:44
1/10 Boring race. Vettel looks more a tourist, than like a race driver.He is not interested into driving, he looking after something. F1 is not race anymore, this is like a walking in the park.
Oletros (@oletros)
22nd September 2013, 20:58
I think we’re seeing different races then.
ajokay (@)
22nd September 2013, 17:51
1/10. I turned off once Vettel stormed away from the pack after the safety car. Dull as dishwater. If I wanted to watch a load of cars at high speed maintaining a 2 second gap, I’ll go stand on the hard shoulder of a motorway.
wasiF1 (@wasif1)
22nd September 2013, 17:56
5 those last 11 laps were good but the first 50 was the worst of the season.
Bobby (@f1bobby)
22nd September 2013, 18:12
Was I watching a different race? I can’t understand anyone giving it 7/10 or better, it was abysmal. 10 fairly exciting laps at the end don’t salvage it from the 51 utterly boring ones.
tmax (@tmax)
22nd September 2013, 18:22
First Hat trick wins of the Year,
Hat Trick in SGP and
A Grand Chelem……. That calls for a special mention for Seb !!!!!!!
WOW That is Amazing for the young man.
marcus (@wombat1m)
22nd September 2013, 18:51
5/10 – sat in the stands and simply most boring race I’ve watched live – start exciting, by lap 10, thinking already this race seriously needs a safety car, mid-race we get one, makes very little difference, last 10 laps pretty exciting – the rest well lets not talk about that shall we….
HK (@me4me)
22nd September 2013, 18:55
4/10. Pretty boring race to be honest. People simply keeping a gap, hard to overtake. And in my oppinion unjustice (some people got lucky, some the very opposite). Felt the same way today as after the Monaco grand prix .. bored.
crr917 (@crr917)
22nd September 2013, 19:08
Dominating! People used that word a lot in recent years and now they get to know what it means.
(What’s to follow? “unstoppable”, “godlike” and “wicked sick” maybe :D )
10/10
bowdowntome
22nd September 2013, 19:53
Haha! Can we say Vettel’s on a “rampage”? :D
Deej92 (@deej92)
22nd September 2013, 19:26
In terms of the 2013 season, it was quite good to watch. The safety car helped and the different strategies made the end interesting. A generous 7/10 for this as the previous couple of races were dire.
Jarnooo (@jarnooo)
22nd September 2013, 19:53
An average rating of 7? This season has become so boring that people must have forgotten what a good race is really like! The last 6 laps saved this from being a 2 for me.
Bobby (@f1bobby)
22nd September 2013, 23:12
I agree with you. It was flippin’ awful.
Matthew (@f1matt)
22nd September 2013, 20:09
4/10
Thought the race was pretty poor as was Monza & Spa.
As much as I like F1, I’m finding paying for Sky to watch these boring processions a bit galling now.
Going to sack off Sky ASAP as not finding the races interesting anymore.
Keamo
22nd September 2013, 21:17
5/10 for me. Not as exciting as I thought it’d be.
Andrew VanderLei (@andrewvanderlei)
22nd September 2013, 22:04
Could not believe Kimi pulled off a podium. Amazing.
Bforth (@bforth)
22nd September 2013, 22:05
Utterly frustrated with the lack of intelligence displayed by the Mercedes’ strategy–milling about in a futile effort to save the tyres when Seb was flying 1-2 seconds a lap quicker than Nico was never going to work. Pushing might have been a better move.
Great battles and bold passes for P 3-10 in the closing stages, and some intriguing dramas. I’m absolutely gutted for Webber and more so for Grosjean. He looked set for at least a third place before his pneumatic troubles.
It gets a 7 for the slow bits and lack of challenge for first–and a case of beers for Grosjean and Webber.
Rodrrico (@rodrrico)
22nd September 2013, 23:36
After the Webber penalty…
Toro Stevo (@toro-stevo)
23rd September 2013, 0:06
For the second race running I cannot rate the race, as I didn’t watch a significant part of it.
I can pinpoint the moment I lost interest, when Webber’s engineer told him to maintain a 2 second gap to Alonso in front. It was a big eureka moment. If the regulations, cars and tyres are in such a state that drivers are being told to deliberately not challenge the driver in front, then I just don’t see the point anymore. Sorry to be so glum, but that’s how I feel about it. I even watched the last 10 minutes, but the racing was like men against boys with the large difference in the performance of the cars chasing relative to the cars being chased.
Hairs (@hairs)
23rd September 2013, 0:42
Woefully tedious. Really, really, really boring. Singapore is always boring. Boring on track, boring in the championship, Even watching the highlights was boring. Not quite as processional as Monaco, but still boring. Some tyre wear crossover, and some DRS makes for a boring race.
I was quite bored. I may not bother watching the next one.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
23rd September 2013, 2:00
6- It was okay, I’ve seen worse this season. I’m not a big fan of the night race, even though it’s unique I’d prefer to be like in Abu Dhabi.
graham228221 (@graham228221)
23rd September 2013, 6:47
My second ever live race and overall the weekend was fantastic – awesome experience in an amazing city.
The race though was another disappointment really. It was really exciting for me in the stands, but that’s just from being so close to the cars.
6/10 for me and watching live actually reinforced my feelings on current era F1 – 61 laps watching turns 1/2/3 and I saw just one person mess up, and that was Max Chilton behind the safety car! You could easily tell Vettel was taking it easy each and every lap and had tons of time in hand. It was rare to see anyone really push to be honest.
And yet again DRS was exposed as a lame gimmick and is holding F1 back from finding a better overtaking solution. I think the change to DRS qualifying rules was a horrendous decision – there’s even less difference between qualifying and race set ups so of course the quickest cars on Saturday should carry that over to Sunday with tyre management the only differentiator.
F1 is just not doing itself any favours, and I’m beginning to worry the rest of this season will only get more boring as Vettel extends his lead and everyone else writes off 2013.
BlackJack (@danieljaksa)
23rd September 2013, 7:06
I was fortunate enough to be at the Singapore GP last night. It’s clearly more exciting watching from the pit straight stand and breathing in the humidity than on TV, that’s one reason I rated it a 10.
I stood under the podium and watched the presentations. The booing of SV has got to stop – I have this view even though I’m a Webber fan! Watching Seb’s determination last night convinced me that he has a talent that should be respected. I was astounded how after each lap, the second placed driver was taking longer and longer to arrive after Vettel.
I’m determined to make it here next year – I hope Daniel will have more luck than MW seems to have.
Paul (@frankjaeger)
23rd September 2013, 12:25
6. wasn’t expecting much for the win with Vettel on pole. Few ok scraps in the back, the best being one between Perez, Hulk and Gutierrez maybe?
Gustavo (@gus71)
23rd September 2013, 15:02
The broadcast was the worst i ever seen… too many aerial views.
PJA (@pja)
24th September 2013, 19:46
I only gave it a 4, which may be the lowest rating I have given a race, I think I was bored by the entire race weekend.
After practice it was obvious that Vettel was going to dominate qualifying and the race again.
On Sunday when I was avoiding the news waiting for the BBC highlights I was not looking forward to the race, it seemed more like it was a chore that would have to be endured.
I hope the other teams can get their act together next season and stop Vettel and Red Bull running away with the championships again, because at the moment F1 does not hold much entertainment for me.
In my opinion, domination by one driver for such a sustained period is only exciting for fans of that driver.