Sebastian Vettel justified his favourite tag for the Singapore Grand Prix when he stormedclear of his rivals in yesterday’s second free practice, lapping more than half a second quicker than Red Bull Racing team mate Mark Webber.
The German triple world champion is 53 points ahead of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso heading into tomorrow’s race and his dominant display around the Marina Bay Street Circuit suggests he will extend his already sizeable
Vettel, who is seeking a third successive victory in Singapore as he bids to move close to sealing his fourth world championship, clocked an unchallenged one min, 44.249 secs to leave all but Webber more than a second adrift.
The Australian, who is retiring from Formula One at the end of the season, finished 0.604 seconds off the pace with theMercedes-GP duo Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton enjoying a return to a high downforce track by securing the next two places.
Rosberg was 1.009 seconds down on Vettel in the second 90-minute session with Hamilton marginally slower after theBriton had been quickest in the first practice session ahead of the two Red Bulls.
When asked if he expected to be so far ahead of his rivals, Vettel offered a cautious response.
“No, it was a bit of a surprise,” the 26 year old said.
“I think we are quick but I think Mercedes will be very, very competitive tomorrow when we go into qualifying.”
Vettel believes today’s qualifying session, which begins at 4pm UAE time, will be crucial to deciding the outcome of tomorrow’s race.
“We know that overtaking is not the easiest of things here, so much will depend on qualifying and your race strategy,” he said.
Mercedes have often toiled on a Friday when it has come to setting up their car, yet found dramatic performance on a Saturday afternoon, something supported by the eight pole positions the team have won — five for Hamilton and three for Rosberg.
Hamilton acknowledged it would be a tall order for him to get the better of Vettel in today’s qualifying session.
“It wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t the best but a normal Fridayfor us,” the 2008 world champion said. “I think it (the gap) will reduce slightly perhaps but I might be wrong. As always every Friday night we have to try and pull a miracle out from nowhere, so we will have to do the same.”
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
