#singapore gp 2008

[lewisarchive]

Sir Lewis Hamilton & Nico Rosberg (2008)

[schumigrace]

crashgate but it's just brocedes mating rituals

[scatteredlight1]

"It would've been nice to share the podium with Fernando, maybe him winning and me second. But then we had - we got a bit lucky with the safety car, but then we, like I said, it didn't work out for us. So, yeah, we had some good pace in that second stint and it was gonna work out really well for us. Unbelievable." ~ Mark Webber, Singapore GP 2008

[umseb]

sebastian vettel and lewis hamilton in the paddock on qualifying day, singapore - september 27, 2008 📷 frank may / alamy

[umlewis]

lewis hamilton, p3, during the post-race press conference, singapore // september 28, 2008

[greyg4rdens]

2 by Scanner

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bostonscanner/2221319217/

[iceman7raikkonen]

[backmarkerr]

Kimi Räikkönen | Singapore GP | 2008

[boxboxblog]

Driver Profiles: Carlos Sainz

Updated December 2024

Name: Carlos Sainz Vázquez de Castro

Age: 30

Nationality: Spanish

Years in F1: 9 ( Toro Rosso 2015- Oct 2017, Renault Oct 2017-2018, Mclaren 2019-2020, Ferrari 2021-2024, Williams 2025)

Number: 55

WDCs: N/A

Driving Style: Sainz is most well known for his strategy more than anything. Regularly during races it is his suggestions on strat that are chosen, and most often they yield positive results. Beyond strategy, he has a calm and effective tire management and calculate decision making skills. All of this together leads to very intelligent driver, and allows him to be one of the smoothest drivers on the track. While he can be aggressive when needed, it is tempered by his patience (similar to teammate Charles Leclerc). The negatives about Sainz is that he tends to overthink in races. This is mostly due to his strategic and cautious way of racing, but it does not let him make split-second decisions very easily. He tends to not rely on his instinct very much.

History:

Sainz is the son of Rally World Champion Carlos Sainz Sr., and with his fathers racing fame came pressure at a young age. Sainz started his career in karting in 2006, after participating in smaller series in Spain. In 2008, he won the Asia-Pacific KF3 title, as well as finishing runner-up in the Spanish Championship In 2009, he also won the Junior Monaco Kart Cup, and was runner-up in the European KF3 Championship. In 2010 at age 16 Sainz raced in Formula BMW, and was added to the Red Bull Junior Program. He finished his season in Formula BMW in 4th place.

(Young Sainz sitting in Fernando Alonso's Renault)

During 2012, Sainz raced in both the Euro Series and British F3 Championships. He did well in both series, gaining multiple pole positions and podiums, but did not get particularly close to winning the championships.

In 2013 Sainz signed with a GP3 team to compete in that years championship. He was a midfielder during this time, and his highest finish was P7. He then competed in Formula Renault 3.5 the same year, and had a difficult year there as well.

In 2015 Sainz was brought up to Formula 1 to drive for Toro Rosso, Red Bull's junior team, opposite Max Verstappen. His time with Toro Rosso was difficult for Sainz, regularly experiencing mechanical problems and crashes. His first season with them he would find himself 15th in the championship. 2016 would see Sainz get his best career finish of P6, but still is counted as a rather negative year for the Spainard. 2017 was Sainz's best year with Toro Rosso, finishing at the Singapore GP in 4th place. Shortly before this race it was announced Sainz would be on loan to Renualt for the last 4 races and the 2018 season. Sainz stated it was unlikely he would return to Toro Ross. He never did.

(Sainz with teammate Verstappen)

The 2018 season with Renault saw Sainz have significantly more positive results. He qualified in the top ten for the beginning races, and finished in the points for all but one. For the next races, he would consistently score points. however, this was not enough for Renault and he was replace by Daniel Riccardo for the 2019 season. Happily for Sainz, he was able to sign a contract with Mclaren to replace his one with Renault.

(Sainz when he was with Renault)

The 2019 season and his first year with Mclaren saw Sainz achieve even better results. While his first three races were unfortunate, after he consistently scored high points right behind the top 3 teams and finished above his teammate, Lando Norris. He would go on to get his maiden podium at the Brazilian GP after Lewis Hamilton received a post race time penalty. Unfortunately the rest of the season was rather negative for Sainz, encountering engine problems, pit problems, and other things that made him DNF multiple races. 2020 was a more positive year, which saw him achieve more podiums and finish 6th in the championship.

(Sainz in his Mclaren)

In 2021 Sainz joined Ferrari opposite Charles Leclerc, by the far the most successful team he has been a part of. While he had some issues during the year, he also had a majority of his highest results, finishing the season in fifth and ahead of his teammate. 2022 saw his maiden win at the British GP. Won in a difficult rain race, he showed that he had the chops to keep up with his Championship battling teammate, and had a variety of positive results that year. He ended in fifth in the championship that year, this time behind his teammate. 2023 was a rough year for every team but Red Bull, however Sainz was the only non-Redbull winner that year at the Singapore GP, which was a mark of honor that year.

(Sainz after securing maiden win)

2024 Sainz had a relatively positive year, with a few standout performances and a few terrible results. Notably he crashed out of both Baku and Brazil. However, he won in Australia and Mexico, so kind of a mixed bag. He finished 5th in the standings.

He is set to join Williams for the 2025 season.

(Sainz getting champagne poured on his head by teammate Charles Leclerc at the 2024 Australian GP)

Major Races:

2019 Brazilian GP - Sainz first podium finish, he achieved it after Lewis Hamilton received a time penalty post race. Regardless, he has a strong race and was able to compete with top teams ina. midfield car.

2020 Italian GP - Driving withe Mclaren, he achieved a P2 finish, his highest at the time. Again, we see Sainz has a talent for pulling the maximum out of his car.

2021 Monaco GP - His first podium with Ferrari, the Monaco GP is a prestigious and difficult race. On top of that, it is an early race, and displayed how fast Sainz adapted to the Ferrari car.

2022 British GP - His first win, this race was a wet one which saw multiple DNF's from other drivers. His skill in wet weather allowed him to battle with top drivers like Hamilton and take the win.

2023 Singapore GP - As the only non-Red Bull winner that year, this race result will always show how strong his race craft is. Whiel he held the lead for most of the race, a late safety car threatened his position. In a spur of genius he used Mclaren driver Lando Norris as a buffer to the attacking cars behind, keeping Norris within DRS range but not allowing him by. By far the most impressive use of DRS I have seen from a front car.

2024 Australian GP - Shortly after his appendix surgery, Sainz won through pure race skill, and got Ferrari there first 1-2 of the season, giving them a major lead in the championships.

Cheers!

-B

[lewisarchive]

Sir Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel at Singapore Grand prix (2008)

[schumigrace]

nico rosberg | 2nd place | Singapore 2008 | podium no.2

[sebinwhite]

Sebastian Vettel after the 2008 Singapore GP qualifying session

watch here

[umseb]

sebastian vettel mlems during qualifying, singapore - september 27, 2008 📷 sutton images / motorsport images

[umlewis]

singapore, p3 // september 28, 2008

[everybodyisaferrarifan]

will buxton apparently compared the checo's car crash at the canadian gp to the infamous singapore 2008 crashgate!!!??

is this the year we've all been waiting for??

[chequeredandreas]

The Upcoming Singapore Grand Prix

Facts

The Singapore Grand Prix has been held yearly at the Marina Bay Street Circuit (aka Singapore Street Circuit) since 2008. The first Singaporean Grand Prix was held in 1966 at the Thomson Road, it was the first ever F1 race held at nighttime. It remained on the race calendar until 1973 before rejoining the calendar in 2008.

There are 62 laps in the current circuit, with 19 turns. With a track length of 4.940km (3.070 mi) long, and a race length of 306.143km (190.228 mi) in total.

For 2024, they added a 4th DRS zone to the track. This is the second track in F1 history to feature as many as four DRS zones.

This is a track dominated by Ferrari, being the team with the most wins. The driver with the most wins in the Singapore Grand Prix so far is Sebastian Vettel. He has 5 victories in total. Lewis Hamilton follows with a total of 4.

The Singapore Grand Prix has been held 22 times before this year.

The Singapore Grand Prix is also well known as one of the toughest races in the F1 calendar because drivers undergo much strain due to factors like high humidity and high heat causing the drivers to feel hot and even dehydrated.

(Not-So)Fun Fact: Did you know that the Marina Bay Street Circuit is also known for featuring at least 1 safety car per race? In 2008, during the inaugural Grand Prix on the circuit, Fernando Alonso won while driving for Renault (now known as Alpine), this became controversial as it was revealed a year later that Nelson Piquet Jr. (who was Alonso's teammate then) was ordered to crash in order to bring out a safety car at a certain time to benefit the Spaniard, earning him a win. This went down in history as the Crashgate incident.

Thoughts

The Marina Bay Street Circuit is a track dominated by Ferrari. Although the Red Bulls also have had their podium moments, with Perez taking the win last 2022, Verstappen is yet to win in this track showing us that this isn't a track that heavily favors the Red Bulls.

Last year, we saw Sainz dominate the Grand Prix and eventually win! Norris took second place, while Hamilton took third. George Russell also almost took a podium spot if only he hadn't crashed on the last lap.

Putting all of that into thought, we are likely to see another Ferrari-McLaren dominance. Maybe even another Carlando podium.

Sainz and Leclerc have done well in this track previously, with both having been on podium a few times. Leclerc is good in street circuits, having proven that countless of times, even taking P2 after a race in the streets of Baku. We could see him aiming for P1 once more.

Simultaneously, his teammate is also talented in this circuit. Let's not forget that Sainz became the only non-Red Bull winner of 2023 after winning the Singapore GP that year. El matador it is. After crashing out in Baku, I'm sure he'll be aiming for better results in this Grand Prix.

The McLarens could also possibly win this race. Norris took P2 last year, and with McLaren's current pace, we could see him dominating this round. Being second in the current WDC, he'll be doing everything to close in on Verstappen.

Furthermore, Piastri is consistently improving, even winning ahead of the Ferraris and the Red Bulls last race. If he keeps that same pace, he could be taking back-to-back wins and the third victory in his F1 career.

At any rate, the two Papaya drivers have proved themselves to be fast, and they're not slowing down anytime soon.

The Mercs are also a possible wild card, Hamilton might be able to match Vettel's 5 Singapore GP victories should he win this year's round. On the other hand, Russell could've had a podium spot last year as well, but he crashed on the last lap. Maybe we could see the Mercs competing for another win this year.

The Red Bulls have been out of the podium since Zandvoort, with Perez losing his chances of podium last race after the incident with Sainz. Verstappen is still leading the championship, but he needs to hurry or Norris will be able to catch up to him. Could we have a new WDC this year?

But enough of the podium talk!

I’m excited to see how Williams will perform in this race. This isn’t a team that we see dominating often, but last race we got to see Albon and Colapinto scoring a total of 10 points. What other tricks up their sleeves could these two be hiding? With only a few more races left, rookie Colapinto is putting his best foot forward.

Meanwhile, with a back-to-back DNF for Tsunoda (both caused by colliding with another driver), I am hoping he stays away from incidents in Singapore and that we can see him actually perform. There are rumors circulating that the future of his teammate will be announced after the Grand Prix, will we still see Ricciardo next year? I sure hope so.

Stroll also had to retire his car in the Azerbaijan GP and wasn’t able to finish but was in P17 respectively before doing so. With Adrian Newey onboard, could we see a better result from the Canadian like we did from Alonso, in the last race?

Lastly, Kevin Magnussen is back! With 0 points now, he is definitely itching to gain any before this season ends. We will undoubtedly see him put on a show.

This Grand Prix will be a must-watch for sure. Stay tuned for future updates!

For more content like this, please follow me on Tumblr as @chequeredandreas. I am also on Instagram and Threads as @chequeredandreas.