Motorsport TechnologyThe famous Scuderia Ferrari Formula One team heads to the bright lights of Singapore yet again with something to prove as the hunt for crucial points enters the final phase of the season.
Truth be told, it has been somewhat of a tricky year, with the team performing well below their own high standards. But with only four points separating themselves and second placed Mercedes, a shot at runners-up is still a distinct possibility.
One crumb of comfort will be that one of five of their 2025 podiums has come at Monaco, one of the closest of street circuits to Yas Marina courtesy of Charles Leclerc’s second position.
And, according to Ferrari race strategist Adam Nicholls, meticulous preparations on the softer C5 tyres leading into qualifying will be absolutely critical to gaining a good grid slot where overtaking chances are at a premium.
“Qualifying is indeed even more important here than at other tracks due to the difficulty of overtaking,” commented Nicholls on Ferrari’s official website. “Preparing for qualifying and understanding the Soft C5 tyres will absolutely be the focus during free practice, but like we have seen here in previous years we do expect most teams to do some high fuel runs at the end of FP1 and FP2.
“This will allow us to gather important information for the race such as the tyre degradation, our competitiveness relative to the other teams, and the effect of the new pit lane speed limit.
Another factor that could well help Ferrari maximise their chance of points will be the high propensity for a Safety Car situation, a factor that can allow teams to make huge gains if they react accordingly and have luck on their side.
“Singapore is always a challenging race for strategists, and this year the increased pit lane speed limit – from 60 to 80 km/h – adds another variable which may shift the balance between the one and two-stop strategies.
“There is of course a very high chance of a Safety Car here – last year was the first ever Singapore Grand Prix not to feature one – so we also use these simulations to understand how the race would change with a Safety Car on any given lap and make sure that we do not expose ourselves to too much risk.”
The Singapore GP offers one of the biggest tests for the drivers on the calendar for a variety of reasons. Because the race takes place at night, the drivers effectively have to adapt quickly back to European time and adjust their body clocks accordingly from the flight over from Baku.
That’s not all the drivers have to cope with. The extreme humidity and soaring cockpit temperatures mean the drivers have to take on plenty of fluid to compensate for the up to 3kg of body weight they can lose in the race.
Click here to read tech guru Craig Scarborough’s comprehensive guide to the mechanics and tech of the Singapore Grand Prix.
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Craig Scarborough
