F1 2015 | Vettel wins Singapore Grand Prix

SINGAPORE — Sebastian Vettel recovered from a heart-stopping track invasion by an unidentified fan on Sunday as he convincingly won the Singapore Grand Prix and closed the gap on Mercedes.

Ferrari’s Vettel led wire-to-wire for his third win this year, ahead of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo, with championship leader Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes forced out with mechanical problems.

But Germany’s Vettel had a major shock on lap 36 when he spotted a man walking on the track, a bizarre incident which brought the race to a temporary halt.

“There’s a man on the track!” he yelled over the team radio, as the safety car came out for the second time in the floodlit night race.

The disruption was the closest Vettel came to an upset and there were echoes of his quadruple world title romp with Red Bull as he calmly won by 1.4 seconds.

source: interaksyon.com

New Formula One rules ‘unacceptable’, change needed – Ecclestone

MANAMA — Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone claimed on Sunday that this season’s controversial new Formula One rules were “unacceptable” to fans and changes were needed.

“I don’t think the way things are at the moment are acceptable to the public,” Ecclestone told www.autosport.com ahead of Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix.

“People buying tickets to come here expect to see what Formula 1 used to be,” he said.

The engineering marvels that are propelling F1 cars faster than before, but at a fraction of the noise and with less fuel, have not been widely welcomed in a world that revels in the roar of machinery.

World champion Sebastian Vettel has led the chorus of disapproval against the new quieter 1.6-litre turbo engines, with the reduced noise they make being compared to that of a vacuum cleaner.

When asked if things needed to change Ecclestone replied: “I think we have to, for sure.”

Ecclestone is in Bahrain to discuss the current F1 landscape with the sports chiefs and Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo.

While a big fan of the new engines he felt that they were out of place in F1.

“What is wrong is these fantastic engines,” he said.

“The engines are without a doubt incredible, the amount of power they produce for the small amount of fuel.

“But I don’t think it is F1 business. They should do it in touring cars or something – not in F1.”

He believes tweaking the engines to create more ear-splitting noise and revising the fuel limitations is required.

“I think they can do something about the noise. If they need another 10kg of fuel or something like that then I thin k everyone will agree.”

He believes changes will not count against Mercedes, who have coped best of all their pitlane rivals in adapting to the new rules, with the team’s Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton on the front row in Bahrain.

He commented: “Mercedes without any doubt have done a better job. And they should not be punished for doing a good job – we should not change the regulations to punish them.

“I think everybody is complaining really – even Mercedes. They don’t like people not being happy.”

source: interaksyon.com

Brilliant Vettel storms to Singapore pole

SINGAPORE — Sebastian Vettel stormed to his fifth pole position of the season at the Singapore Grand Prix Saturday as the brilliant young German stepped closer to his fourth world title in a row.

Red Bull’s German pilot timed a scorching 1min 42.841sec around the spot-lit Marina Bay street circuit to take first place on the grid ahead of Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg.

Lotus driver Romain Grosjean will start third, ahead of Vettel’s Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes and Ferrari’s Felipe Massa.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, second in the overall standings behind Vettel, could only manage seventh fastest ahead of McLaren’s Jenson Button, Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Gutierrez.

But the evening belonged, once again, to Vettel, who set the two fastest times and will now be favourite to claim his third win in a row in Singapore and his fourth out of the last five races.

Vettel’s final time was so quick that he could afford to return to the garage early and watch the others — but he was a relieved man when team-mate Webber just fell short.

“It’s a great feeling because it could go wrong, but I’m very happy with the result,” said Vettel.

Hamilton topped the standings in a swiftly shifting first qualifying period, ahead of Button, Alonso, Sergio Perez and Rosberg.

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa escaped the drop with a late lap which pushed him from 18th to 13th. Paul Di Resta and Pastor Maldonado, and both Caterhams and both Marussias, missed out.

Rosberg was leading Q2 from his team-mate Hamilton with a super-fast 1:43.892 — until Vettel started his flying lap.

The young German, bouncing over kerbs and speeding just inches (centimetres) from the track walls, obliterated Rosberg’s time by nearly a second as he screamed round in 1:42.905.

Vettel, Webber, Rosberg and Hamilton led the cars into the Q3 shoot-out, with Nico Hulkenberg, Ferrari-bound Kimi Raikkonen and McLaren’s Perez outside the top 10.

It was no surprise that Vettel stayed fastest, but he did it in astounding style, lowering his previous time and earning enough breathing space to garage early.

However, there were some nervy moments when Webber threatened his time — and a relieved Vettel punched the air as he watched his Australian team-mate finish in a slower time.

The 26-year-old has a 53-point lead in the standings and victory on Sunday will put him closer to matching Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio by winning four championships in a row.

“It’s one of the toughest races we face all year, I would say the toughest physically and mentally. It’s so long and there’s so many corners, there’s hardly any room for mistakes,” he said.

“Pole is the best position to start from, I’m very happy with that as it’s tricky to pass on this track. But because it’s such a long race I think there’s plenty of opportunities for all of us.”

source: interaksyon.com