This weekend, the 10 arriving Formula One teams are facing what Mario Isola, Pirelli’s Head of F1 and Car racing, calls a “significant reset” when they visit Singapore. 

Pirelli’s Hard, Medium and Soft tyres are the compounds on offer at the F1 Singapore Grand Prix.

And the “reset” is because the spectacular Marina Bay Street Circuit this year has an additional drag reduction system zone after Turn 13. 

So this makes it three in total, with the others being the zones after Turns 5 and 23.

Physically Demanding Race

Said Haas driver Kevin Magnussen, “It’s the most physically demanding race of the year.”

He should know – he holds the lap record at 1 minute 41.905 seconds.

And if he sets the fastest race lap again and finishes the F1 Singapore GP in the top 10, Magnussen would score an extra point for that feat, a rule brought in this season that has already added late-race spice to several rounds of the 2019 World Championships.

Also added Magnussen, “Singapore is really a physical race for a few different reasons. One, it’s really hot. Two, you don’t ever really get any rest on the lap. You are constantly working the steering wheel. There is not a lot of straight line on the track. Three, because the average speed of a lap is so slow, the race usually goes to the two-hour limit.”

Verstappen Relishes The Challenges 

However Max Verstappen of Red Bull relishes the challenges that the Singapore race brings. He said, “I really like this kind of weekend as it’s so different to a normal race. The track is very demanding – it’s hot, physical and you sweat a lot, but it’s one of my favourites.”

Verstappen finished second in Singapore at last year’s edition.

Verstappen also added, “Overtaking is very tricky. So qualifying is the key. You have to nail it.”

Hamilton Eyeing Another Singapore Win

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, who currently leads the drivers’ standings on 63 points, has a total of four race wins in Singapore but was defeated in the last two rounds of the 2019 Championships. Yet he remains confident of making it five in Singapore.

Said Hamilton, “I am not looking to the next race thinking it will be easy for us. Instead, we are going to go to the factory and go through the same process, looking for ways to improve our car, improve our processes over a race weekend, and I hope that I can do a better job in Singapore.”

Ferrari Drivers Looking For the Victory 

However Hamilton will have stiff competition, in the form of Sebastian Vettel, who is also a four-time winner in Singapore but Vettel now sits in fifth place in the drivers’ standings behind his new Ferrari partner Charles Leclerc.

Said Vettel, “The speed is there, so I am not worried. It is just a matter of putting things together on race day.”

Still only 21 years old, Leclerc has put things together so well in his maiden season with Ferrari and currently sits just three points behind Verstappen, heading into the final, fly-away phase of the race season.

Fresh from his Monza victory, where Leclerc became the first Ferrari man to win there since 2010, and he remains coy about winning in Singapore. Said Leclerc, “When I arrive at a race weekend, I usually do not think about winning. I just try and do the best job possible and tell myself that the results will come.”

He may not admit it, but Leclerc is, no doubt, secretly eyeing the win in Singapore, with the midfield battle in the drivers’ standings growing fiercer with each race. McLaren are the “best of the rest” behind Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull, with Renault determined to hunt down the leaders as recent results have shown.

Photos are courtesy of Singapore GP Pte Ltd.