Friday. Singapore. SQ1 of sprint qualifying. I was not at the post, there is no post 14 at Marina Bay. I read The Race’s report at my kitchen table in Stavelot, with the folder open beside me.
Red flag. Reason: the broken front wing on Sergio Perez’s Cadillac. During the stoppage, overtake mode is disabled. I note it. I wave the flag. I don’t judge.
Restart. Six minutes remaining. Enough for two flying laps. Overtake mode is not reactivated. Human error by race control.
Observation. The error is discovered. The mode is switched on for 27 seconds. Then switched off again. During those 27 seconds, some cars had extra top speed, others did not, depending on their position on track and whether they were on a flying lap or not.
At the post, when the red flag comes in, it does not get forgotten in the crate. Jean-Luc checks, and that is more or less his only job for thirty years. I have never seen a flag brought back out for twenty-seven seconds to be fair, then put away.
On the radio, several drivers did not understand. Mercedes’ car was told it was an FIA settings problem. Others were told it affected all cars. It is an honest radio sentence. It does not say how.
Carlos Sainz, Williams, slowest of the session, was certain of a significant impact. Quoted by The Race, he said: “Half of the cars did the lap with half a second quicker engine than the others.” He also admitted brake problems. The available data suggests Williams lost no time on the straights against its immediate neighbours. The FIA admitted an impact on performance. The error does not appear to have directly caused the eliminations.
Second incident, unrelated: not all lap times were recorded at the end of SQ1. SQ2 was briefly delayed while the FIA validated the order. At the post, the order is noted in biro on the folder. It does not rub out.
Nothing further to report.
It’s true, we checked: The Race.
