Now Vettel has to light up title race
THE two men fighting for the world title here under a thousand lights briefly came together ahead of tomorrow’s night race.
Meeting at an autograph session, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel reached out a hand to touch the shoulder of Lewis Hamilton, the Mercedes man who leads the championship by three points.
But on the track, Vettel has to do more than stay in touch. For this is a strip of road that could have been designed in Maranello by old Enzo himself (or so the theory goes). With its 23 mostly slow corners it should suit the specification of the current scarlet car, and that fact almost compels Vettel to beat Hamilton and snatch back his numerical advantage.
After this race, only six rounds remain, and none slants in Ferrari’s favour so clearly. So if Hamilton wins here, it is hard to imagine anything other than the Briton dominating the battle to go level with Vettel on four world titles.
But yesterday a rogue ‘intruder’ popped up under the cover of night: namely, the Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo (below) and Max Verstappen. They were first and second quickest in practice and could yet complicate things in what is otherwise a private, silver-versus-red duel for the crown.
Hamilton was fourth quickest, seven-tenths of a second off the pace, and Vettel only 11th, though that is a slightly skewed figure because the German ran into traffic on a brisk lap and then collided with a Rolex sign moments later.
Hamilton said of his own preparation: ‘ We had a clean day and got through our sessions without problems. It was pretty hot out there. The conditions are pretty awesome to cope with, but the grip on the track is fairly good.
‘We were obviously close with the field today and we have still got some improvements to make with the car. We have some work to do but nothing is out of reach.’
The first requirement of the weekend’s competitive action could hardly be clearer: get pole. The pole-sitter has won seven of the nine races on these ordered, litter-free streets. The exceptions were the fixed race of 2008 and four years later when Hamilton’s McLaren gave up on him while he was leading.
‘You can’t really overtake here,’ added Hamilton. ‘Plus the cars this year are wider, so position is going to very important. Getting the car set up correctly for qualifying is one of the key matters.’
Hamilton, carrying the momentum of having notched back-to-back wins in Spa and Monza,Monza travelledtra elled here by a very different route from Vettel. The Briton flew from Monza to his home in Monaco to New York Fashion Week to London, before travelling to Brackley for a team meeting, then by air again to Frankfurt, back to London and then Singapore.
Vettel merely took in Ferrari’s 70th birthday celebrations in Maranello, doing some simulator work while he was there. Then, back to the family home in Switzerland, where he got out his push bike.
Since arriving in Asia, Hamilton has watched the pro- vegan Netflix programme What The
Health. And guess what? ‘I’m on a mission to go vegan,’ said the title favourite. ‘People, animal cruelty, global warming and our personal health are at stake.’
We can report that Vettel remains unswayed by such all-consuming concerns, one of his favourite meals being schnitzel with a side dish of caprese salad.
Although the Red Bulls were fast, Vettel can take heart from a wonderful record in Singapore: four wins and no finish lower than fifth. Hamilton’s fortunes are mixed — as well as his retirement five years ago, he has won twice.
Singapore was also the scene of a meeting that directly led him into his current streak of prolonged success. In one of the plush hotels surrounding the track Hamilton sat down for a deal clinching chat with Mercedes chairman Niki Lauda. Two world titles and 38 wins later, it is one of the shrewdest moves in F1. ‘I felt strongly about the decision I made and fully confident in it,’ said Hamilton. The McLaren team he left behind finally confirmed yesterday the open secret that they will be propelled by Renault, rather than Honda, next year.