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Formula 1 completed its European tour and is all set to kick-start its Asia campaign with the Singapore Grand Prix. On Friday, the two practice sessions showed us plenty of glimpses of what one could expect this weekend, especially during the qualifying session.
The first free practice session saw Daniel Ricciardo in first place, followed by his teammate Max Verstappen. The Ferraris settled for third and fourth, while the Mercedes drivers failed to put up decent lap times.
The second session marked improvements for Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton taking a brilliant second place. Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen finished on top while both the Red Bulls ensured Bottas was no higher than the fifth place. Sebastian Vettel hit the wall in FP2 and finished the day in the ninth place.
With two free practise sessions done and dusted, the teams would be looking to make those final all-important changes to their machines in FP3 before setting the lap times in qualifying on Saturday, and in this article, let us look closer on how the grid could shape up for the race on 16 September 2018.
#5 Both the Saubers make it to the top 10
Sauber had a lacklustre weekend at Monza, where the team failed to secure any points, which could partly be blamed on long straights of the circuit. With the way the season has progressed so far, Sauber seems to perform better at street circuits that have enough complexity to the circuit, and the same was evident at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix when Leclerc finished the race in the sixth place. The team repeated those results at Monaco and Canada as well.
Sauber showed decent pace in both free practise sessions held on Friday and occupied the midfield positions with relative ease. Both the drivers seem comfortable with the Marina Bay street circuit and could well make an appearance in Q3.
#4 Toro Rosso fails to make it to Q2
Toro Rosso had an instantly forgettable race weekend at Monza, and the upcoming Singapore Grand Prix could turn out to become another disaster for the team.
Nothing seems to work for Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley at the Marina Bay Street Circut as both the drivers consistently failed to put up decent lap times on the board. The lap times set by the team using Ultra Softs in FP1 were over a second slower than their nearest competition Sauber. The results didn't improve in F2 as Toro Rosso trails Sauber's Leclerc by over a second.
With the way weekend is playing out Toro Rosso, it is highly unlikely that the team would do any better, and might even exit the qualifying session in Q1 itself.
#3 Renault has an edge in the midfield
Throughout the season, Renault has proved that it is one of the most consistent teams in the midfield, with the team securing points in all but two races held so far. Like Sauber, Renault machines seem to work better at street circuits as it partially offsets the team's problems with tyre wear.
Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg put on a good show during the practice sessions and were loads faster than their immediate opposition. Interestingly, in FP1, Hulkenberg was quicker than the championship leader Lewis Hamilton while Sainz had a very good FP2 session that saw him finish the day in the fifth place.
If this continues for Renault, the team could well put faster laps than Haas and Force India during the qualifying session on Saturday and cement their place just outside the top 5.
#2 Red Bull splits Mercedes - Hamilton ahead of Verstappen and Ricciardo ahead of Bottas
Both the Red Bull drivers showed good pace in FP1 and FP2, challenging the Silver Arrows. Ricciardo and Verstappen finished FP1 with a brilliant one-two, edging past the Ferraris. In FP2, the Dutch and the Australian drivers displayed similar pace and split the Mercedes drivers with brilliant third and fourth place finishes.
The Prancing Horse is the favourite to win this Grand Prix, while the Red Bull's pace could put them in with a tight battle with the Mercedes in the qualifying session. The championship leader, Lewis Hamilton, will most likely come out on top while the other two Red Bull drivers could slip past Bottas and start higher on the grid than the Finn.
#1 Raikkonen takes pole
Kimi Raikkonen is on his way out of the Ferrari team at the end of the season, but the Finn has shown time and time again this season that he has got the speed to compete with the best. This was clearly evident during the Italian Grand Prix, where he took the pole and finished the race in the second place.
Raikkonen finished FP1 in the fourth place, less than a second behind Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo. However, the Finn bettered himself in the second session and took the top spot, signalling his intention to secure the second pole position in as many races.
