UNDER PRESSURE VETTEL LOOKS TO BRIDGE GAP WITH HAMILTON
SINGAPORE: Error-prone Ferrari will have to execute a perfect race in the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend to narrow the widening gap between Sebastian Vettel and championship leader Lewis Hamilton.
Lead Mercedes driver Hamilton topped an intense battle with Vettel in the early stages of the Italian Grand Prix on September 2 before passing polesitter Kimi Raikkonen to win on the highspeed Monza track, extending his championship lead to 30 points with seven races remaining.
Ferrari have had the faster car than the Mercedes of late but they have failed to come up with the consistency required to win titles. However, it is still far from over for the Italian outfit which is 25 points adrift of leader Mercedes in the team standings.
What should give Ferrari additional confidence going into the night race on Sunday is that they have been the faster than Mercedes on the slow and twisty Marina Bay Street Circuit in recent times. Red Bull too have been strong on the high downforce track.
Vettel was on pole here last year but a freak accident saw him, Raikkonen and Max Verstappen being taken out of the race on the very first lap.
It was a sudden disaster for the four-time world champion and Ferrari as Hamilton won the incident-packed race to create a 28-point cushion in the drivers’ standings from a tiny three-point advantage over Vettel before the start of that weekend.
Ferrari will have to make a conscious effort to stay out of on track trouble and will also be hoping for luck to go their way in a race that has seen the intervention of a safety car at least once since 2008.
Hamilton, on the other hand, will be gunning for his fourth win in the last five races, bringing him a step closer to a fifth world championship crown.
“Singapore has features that we’ve struggled with in the past. The short straights, the slow, tight corners and the bumpy surface all make the Marina Bay Street Circuit one of the trickiest tracks of the season for us,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
felicitation for Swapna Barman felt different because of the presence of another Asian Games gold medallist and a phone call from an Olympian who narrowly missed the podium in Rio.
“It is amazing that you have achieved this with so many injuries,” Dipa Karmakar told Barman over the phone from Agartala. “I would want you to do well in Tokyo now,” said Karmakar.
It sparked a conversation about Barman and the Olympics. “If Sir shows me the way, I will start dreaming about it,” said Barman. Subash Sarkar, Barman’s heptathlon teacher and life coach, didn’t react.
That’s because now fixing Barman’s body will take precedence over everything. “Hopefully, she will slowly get back to training early next year,” said Sarkar.
Also present was Saraswati Saha, who won the 200m gold in the 2002 Asian Games. “I didn’t think I would have to wait 16 years for another one,” said Saha.