Both Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber showed good pace in the practice sessions at the Marina Bay circuit in Singapore earlier, with Vettel replacing Hamilton at the top of the time sheets in FP2 with a blisteringly quick time on the soft tyres that was over half a second quicker than team mate Webber, who was second fastest. However, Sebastian Vettel is still viewing Mercedes as a serious threat for pole position in Singapore; the Red Bull driver, despite being over a second faster than Mercedes duo Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, says although his pace was a surprise, the Silver Arrows will be “very strong” in qualifying.
“It was quite busy; it’s pretty hot out there, good fun and a nice place, but for all of us it’s quite hard work,” Vettel said after climbing out of the car after FP2. “The time we set was a surprise today. I got a good lap in, but I don’t think it’s completely representative.
“We seem to be quick, but I think Mercedes will be very strong in qualifying tomorrow.”
After a good showing in FP1, Lewis Hamilton dropped to 4th in FP2, citing handling issues which put him over a second behind the Red Bulls. Hamilton, who knows the importance of a good qualifying position at a circuit like Marina Bay where overtaking is hard, said that there was “a lot of hard work” which needed to be done overnight. However, the Mercedes driver still seems upbeat over his chances of a front row start.
The new changes to the circuit, which include changing Turn 10 (“the Singapore Sling”) from a 3 part chicane into a sweeping left hander and extensive resurfacing work on the track surface have reduced the lap time by several seconds, but whether or not they will have an effect during the race is still unknown.
