With just one point separating Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa in the Drivers Championship, qualifying at Singapore could play a crucial role in the outcome of the Drivers World Championship. As with most street circuits, overtaking becomes very difficult due to the narrow nature of these venues.
Given that this is the first race in the history of Formula 1 to be held under floodlights and with the possibilty of rain the entire weekend, qualifying could either make it or break it for Hamilton and Massa.
Lewis Hamilton agrees with his chief championship rival Felipe Massa that qualifying for this weekend’s Singapore night race will be crucial.
“I’ve never driven on the Singapore track, but it’ll be even more difficult to overtake compared to Valencia,” Brazilian Massa, who drives for Ferrari, said.
McLaren’s Hamilton, one point ahead of Massa in the drivers’ standings with four races to go, agrees.
“Overtaking is going to be very tricky, as it is at all street circuits,” the Briton said on Thursday. “There will be a little bit less overtaking than at the other circuits we have.”
“It’s going to come down to qualifying.”
On a dry track, Ferrari and McLaren’s respective single-seaters are very closely matched for pace, and both teams now feature second drivers that are effectively racing in support.
F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone thinks Sunday’s race is key to the championship battle.
“Whoever wins this, where it’s Hamilton or Massa, will probably be the champion,” he told the local Straits Times.
However, with the championsip standings so close and three more races to come after Singapore, anything can still happen. The season has seen its share of surprises…
Source – f1live
