Singapore GP: Race Notebook
motorsport-live.com October 15th, 2017
With three races to go, the
Lotus Racing team is mounting a serious challenge, pole position, and race win for
Iker Vidal. The Spaniard drove a magnificent race, using the right tyre at the right time, and nursing them to make the pit stop at the right time for a race win, and a similar approach brought
Jeremy Woodford into fifth place... and the squad is now 12 points behind the
Windsor outfit in the constructors championship.
The Wrong Choice:
Was made by a number of runners, basically all supersoft starters, pitted onto another set of dry tyres... and therefore were surprised by the rain and lost out big time. Prominent victims:
Harry Chapman and
Dieter Wexler who finished ways away from points. That would've been the chance for one of those two to score.
Lady Luck:
Shined on
Iker Vidal. When
Rick De Graaf lost his
Espirit on a damp track and crashed into the barriers on the exit of the Grand Hotel Curve,
Vidal's tyres were dying on him. "He saved that strategy, as sad as it sounds. We would've lost out to the soft runners." Sometimes, you are fast, sometimes, you are lucky.
The Braking Point:
Was missed by
Samuel Blanc in turn three as he ran his
Kitano into the back of
Jonathan Navarro's
Espirit GP vehicle. He was not happy with the resulting penalty though. "Ridiculous. I misjudged their braking point, but I did not brake later than normal. No reason for a drive through. Ridiculous."
The race director disagreed after analyzing his previous lap data.
After Thirdteen Races:
The Championship race is virtually unchanged... unless you believe in
Iker Vidal's chance to make this a three horse race.
Race Result:
Standings: