Maranello, 15 September – The Formula 1 World Championship now leaves Europe and sets sail for Asia. Sunday actually sees the seventh running of the Singapore Grand Prix, round 14 of 19 this season. The race has always been run at the Marina Bay street circuit and its biggest claim to fame is that it is always run at night. The race starts at 8pm, with the track completely floodlit. Scuderia Ferrari can boast one win, two podiums and two poles here.
The win. It came in 2010, when Fernando Alonso dominated the Grand Prix, winning from pole, as well as securing a memorable triple, as he also set the race fastest lap. All race long, the Spaniard had to fend off the attentions of Sebastian Vettel, who never managed to get past, as they crossed the line separated by less than three tenths of a second.
A bitter memory. Singapore is also the scene of a bitter memory for the Scuderia. In 2008, Felipe Massa was leading, having started from pole, but at the refueling stop, he drove away before the mechanics had finished the procedure on the F2008. The Brazilian thus dragged the fuel line behind him and only realised at the end of pit lane. The mechanics had to run the length of the pit lane to get Felipe back in the race and so he could finish no higher than 13th in a race won, somewhat surprisingly, by Fernando Alonso in the Renault.
Long race. The Grand Prix is 61 laps long, equivalent to almost 309 kilometres and the race usually comes very close to the maximum time allowed of two hours. When it comes to the Ferrari drivers, Fernando Alonso loves this track and has won here twice, while Kimi Raikkonen’s best result is a third place last year. - See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/singapo...h.noOqGsQD.dpuf
quote FIA press conference schedule - Singapore 17 Sep 2014
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, who finished on the Singapore podium with Lotus last year, will be among the six drivers taking part in the official FIA press conference at the Marina Bay circuit on Thursday. Force India's Sergio Perez and Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne will also be present alongside three men yet to score points in 2014 - Lotus's Pastor Maldonado, Sauber's Adrian Sutil and Caterham's Marcus Ericsson.
A bit disappointed with the line-up to be honest... Kimi will be bored
I expect Ferrari to be Ok in Singapore. I'd guess P4 or P5 will be the maximum on Sunday. I think Merc and Red Bull will be strong. I'm not convinced Williams has the best aero, so Ferrari may be strong enough to beat them on Sunday.
quote@KimiFanPage #Kimi talks about the pain he had in Singapore last year + how he thinks this weekend will go in interview with Kulta pic.twitter.com/wTqhOYhb6i
quoteRaikkonen expects stronger Ferrari in Singapore ESPN Staff
Kimi Raikkonen expects Ferrari to put its performances woes from Monza behind it in Singapore but admits the team still has plenty of work to secure a competitive weekend.
Raikkonen took his best result of the season in Spa when he finished fourth, but Ferrari's lack of straight-line speed was brutally exposed at Monza as the team collected just two points on home soil. The disappointing weekend in front of the tifosi capped what has been a frustrating 2014 for Ferrari but Raikkonen is hoping to bounce back on the streets of Singapore.
"Obviously we will try to do as well as we can and try and score a good result for myself and the team," Raikkonen said. "I expect it to be difficult. That said the team didn't expect to have so many difficulties overall so we expect to be stronger overall.
"But [problems] are part of the game and we have to try to sort things out and I think we have made pretty good improvements compared to where we started as a team. I'm getting more happy with things, but we're still not where we want to be and there's a lot of work to do."
Raikkonen, who has never won in Singapore, thinks the V6 turbo cars will make this year's race less physically challenging than previous years.
"Everybody has their own feeling on that," Raikkonen said when asked about whether he struggles in the closing laps due to the heat and humidity in Singapore. "In the past it's not been a problem, it doesn't feel as hot or humid as in previous years. Plus the cars are slower than in previous years so I don't think it should be a big problem."
quote Radio changes “might get complicated” – Raikkonen 2014 Singapore Grand Prix September 18, 2014 at 11:53 am by Keith Collantine
Kimi Raikkonen says the new restrictions on what teams can tell their drivers on the radio could make it more difficult to manage technical problems during races.
“Obviously we don’t speak a lot in the radio in my case,” said the Ferrari driver, “usually when there is no issues”.
“But obviously it might get quite complicated if there’s some problems with the car and they have to change certain things to try to finish the race so I don’t know how the rule goes on those times.
“It makes it more complicated for us but it’s part of the game so it’s OK.”
Sergio Perez added it had been a surprise to see the rules change so dramatically between races but expects drivers will be able to cope with it.
“I don’t think it’s ideal that suddenly from one race to another they change it dramatically that you cannot get certain calls,” he said. “But it doesn’t influence much – I don’t see it as a big deal that we as drivers need to get more used to.”
“We will have definitely more information and we’re going to be a bit more busy throughout the race to basically try to keep everything under control, fuel loads and engine modes, all that kind of stuff,” he added.
“But it’s something I don’t see a problem to get used to, it’s just a dramatic change from the last race to this one.”
Caterham’s Marcus Ericsson pointed out that those teams who use the smaller of the two available steering wheel information screens would be at a disadvantage.
“For us as a small team it’s a bit more trickier because our steering wheel, we don’t have a big display, a lot of the other teams have a big display so they can show a lot of stuff on this, whereas we have a very small one.”
“So it will be a bit more tricky but I like the idea,” he added. “I think it’s good to make us drivers a bit more in focus.”
But Jean-Eric Vergne expects it will be “more or less the same as before”.
“I like to do things by my own. Many times this year I changed the settings before my engineer told me. So I will be a bit more lonely on the radio but it should be fine.”
quoteScuderia Ferrari Driver, Kimi Räikkönen Wishes Hublot in Singapore Happy 5th Birthday! Thu, 18 September 2014 07:02
Celebrated driver makes an exclusive appearance at Hublot Boutique at Marina Bay Sands in conjunction with the adrenaline-charged 2014 Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix.
18 September 2014, Singapore Today, Hublot Boutique in Singapore had the privilege of having distinguished Scuderia Ferrari driver, Kimi Räikkönen visit, commemorating the boutique's fifth year at luxury destination Marina Bay Sands. A milestone to remember, there was no better way than to honour this special moment.
An exclusive private event to some of Hublot's top VIP guests, it not only celebrates Hublot's anniversary but also underlines Hublot's strong partnership with Ferrari. A watch enthusiast and friend of Hublot, Kimi Räikkönen showcased his skills by assembling Hublot's Manufacture UNICO movement a caliber engineered in all Big Bang Ferrari.
Hublot is the « Official Watch » and "Official Timekeeper" of Ferrari worldwide since 2011. A comprehensive collaboration covering all the activities of Ferrari with Hublot, both in terms of communication, motorsport and commercial activities with also an Hublot presence on the Scuderia Ferrari cars and drivers' gloves. The outcome is the creation of an exclusive range of bold timepieces that uniquely addresses the respective DNA of Hublot and Ferrari: innovation, performance, technology and exclusivity.
A comprehensive range of limited edition Ferrari timepieces were displayed in the boutique, showcasing the proliferating strength of Hublot and Ferrari's partnership. "I am happy to be representing Scuderia Ferrari to commemorate Hublot's anniversary as a mark of respect of both brand's illustrious affiliation. Here's wishing Hublot greater success in the future!" says Kimi Räikkönen.
quoteKimi Räikkönen’s All Geared Up for F1 Night Race in Singapore
After a press day with the dashing Kimi Räikkönen, the only thing that looks better than the power racer are Shell’s shiny new toy cars
Power racer - F1 World Champion Kimi Räikkönen with half-size scaled models of Ferrari race cars
Kimi Räikkönen is a man who loves his beauty sleep. Shortly after admitting that the F1 Night Race gets in the way of his tuck-in time, the Finnish racer fails to suppress a yawn while answering a question.
In that moment, his seemingly smug saunter and aloof mannerisms just became the quirks of a simply tired man.
When asked if the hot and humid weather in Singapore would affect his performance, Räikkönen curtly answered, “No. We practice whether it’s hot or cold.”
Well, isn’t he a hard-hitter! That’s F1 World Champion material right there.
Caught in the act - Räikkönen (right) smirks when he gets caught yawning on stage
And while he expresses appreciation towards the folks at Shell and Ferrari for helping him improve his performance, he is quick to lay down the cold facts. It’s his engine team who works with the machine, he says, so he doesn’t have much engagement with the technical end of things.
Personally, Räikkönen’s honesty is very refreshing.
What he does get hands-on with are the miniatures of Shell V-Power’s new Lego collection, which he takes for a race on the stage. That’s right – together with a lucky #readysetbuild contest winner, he raced the miniature against Shell’s Trackside and Logistics Manager Ian Albiston.
And of course, Räikkönen emerged on top.
Seasoned pro - Räikkönen (right) gets ready to race with Shell V-Power’s new Lego miniatures
Interestingly, he’s got some stringent standards on who should be playing Lego. He explained that he did play with building blocks when he was younger, “but not anymore,” he remarks with a cynical glint in his eyes.
“And it is only for those who are not too young,” he asserts, putting an age limit on the fun of Lego.
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Mon Sep 15, 2014 10:44 pm
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