Singapore GP: Strategy Summary

The Singapore Grand Prix – held at night in temperatures above 30°C and humidity close to 80% – is one of the most challenging races of the season. This year again, it was the longest race of the season, run with some of the highest fuel loads. The tires were particularly put to the test, with constant impacts against the curbs and 23 corners pushing traction to the limit.

The top 10 on the grid had qualified on super soft red sidewall tires, but Paul di Resta (Force India), free to choose his compound because he didn’t run in Q3 on Saturday, opted to start on yellow sidewall softs. This strategy allowed him to complete 19 laps in his first stint on softs with a full tank, before switching to super softs and finishing the race again on softs. The rookie thus achieved his best result of the season and managed to make his last set of yellow sidewall soft tires last no less than 33 laps. He was the highest-ranked driver on a two-stop strategy with his sixth place, which is also the best result of his career to date.

Vettel sealed the victory on his side with a three-stop strategy, starting on super softs before switching to softs twice for long stints in the middle of the race. On the verge of becoming the youngest double World Champion in history, the German finished the race on super softs and controlled the strategic aspect of the race from start to finish.

Just after halfway through the race, an accident brought the safety car onto the track, as it does every year since the Grand Prix was introduced to the calendar. Vettel’s 22-second lead vanished, and we saw a change in strategies among the leaders, who decided to pit for fresh tires. Another factor affecting the strategic aspect was the length of a pit stop in Singapore: with a 404-meter pit lane and the slowest passage speed, a tire change cost a total of 30 seconds, even though the operation itself only took three to four seconds!

The difference in speed between the soft and super soft compounds was just over a second per lap and created numerous overtaking opportunities during the race, with spectacular action from start to finish. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) dropped in the standings following a contact with Felipe Massa (Ferrari) and was forced to go through the pits to serve a penalty. Despite five pit lane visits during the race, the Briton managed to salvage fifth position by juggling between the soft and super soft tires.

Paul Hembery, Director of Pirelli Motorsport: « We witnessed a spectacular race under the lights of Singapore, where strategy was the key to the Grand Prix. The heat, humidity, and duration of the race made it a challenging event for our tires, but both compounds delivered flawless performance for over two hours. There were no particular issues to note, and the degradation was not excessive given the characteristics of this race. It was one of the most complicated rounds in terms of strategy, and we saw a wide range of tactics from the teams. Once again, we witnessed a close finish, with Jenson Button chasing Sebastian Vettel right up to the checkered flag. The organizers did a fantastic job here, making Singapore one of the standout events of the season ».

[From the Pirelli press release]

To better understand this chart, you can use the FIA lap-by-lap summary by clicking here.