THE DAY ON TRACK
Carlos Sainz took pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix, the fifth of his career and the second in a row, following on from the one in Monza a fortnight ago. The Ferrari driver beat second placed George Russell (Mercedes) by 72 thousandths of a second and was 79 thousandths quicker than Charles Leclerc, third in the other Ferrari.

As was entirely predictable, the C5, the softest compound tyre in use at this Grand Prix, was the one to run today, right from the free practice session when the teams paid particular attention to preparing for qualifying. The Alfa Romeo drivers also did a long run on the Soft, proving that it could be a possible option for the race. However, the fastest strategy is clearly the one that favours the use of the Medium tyre for the start, before a switch to the Hard, from around lap 20 of the 62 lap race distance.

The other leitmotiv of the day was track evolution, with it becoming quicker and quicker as the track gradually rubbered-in, as could be seen from the way all the drivers improved from one run to the next.

The Pirelli Pole Position Award was presented to Carlos Sainz by the singer Eric Nam. Born and raised in America, Nam became an established singer-songwriter in the Republic of Korea after being invited to take part in a television talent show, thanks to the popularity of his YouTube channel. He was named Man of the Year by GQ Korea and was included in the Forbes Under 30 Asia list. Nam has recently made his acting debut in the film “Transplant” and his latest album is “House on a hill.”

MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF F1 AND CAR RACING
“It was a very spectacular session offering up several surprises, producing a grid that few would have predicted going into this Grand Prix. It means that all Formula 1 fans are in for a very unpredictable race, which will make it even more interesting. On this track, a one-stop to change tyres is usually the quickest strategy, given that time lost in the pit lane is one of the highest on the calendar. On paper, the best combination involves the Medium and the Hard. From what we have seen, one cannot rule out the Soft completely, but one must consider that the advantage it has in terms of grip over the Medium at the start is significantly reduced because of the short run to the first corner. In addition, this compound requires careful management on a full fuel load in the first stint. However, the Soft could be worth considering in case there is a Safety Car period in the second part of the race.

Usually, Singapore can also throw up some surprises in terms of the weather, with sudden rain showers, some of them heavy, as was the case last year. At the moment, the risk of rain is very low according to the forecast, although more likely in the afternoon: that could potentially affect tyre behaviour if there were to be storms strong enough to wash away the rubber that has been laid down on the track so far up until this evening.”