Daniel Ricciardo would have made a deserving winner: Singapore GP talking points
September 18, 2016
Below, Graham Caygill lays out the key talking points after a Singapore Grand Prix that saw Nico Rosberg overtake Lewis Hamilton in the F1 drivers’ standings:
Ricciardo deserves more
Daniel Ricciardo was terrific in Singapore, out-performing Lewis Hamilton on his way to second place, and giving Nico Rosberg a real fright in the closing laps. The Australian fell just short, and that may well have been his last chance to win a race in 2016, but the Red Bull Racing man can be proud of his efforts and after a strong recent run of results he will hopefully have a championship-challenging car at his disposal next year.
See more
• Graham Caygill: In Singapore, Nico Rosberg shows he has the stuff of a Formula One champion
• In pictures: Nico Rosberg wins Singapore Grand Prix, overtakes Lewis Hamilton as F1 leader
Raikkonen still has got it
It has been easy to criticise Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 world champion, for some of his more subdued performances in recent years, but this has been a better season for the Finn and he highlighted it on Sunday. He passed Hamilton on track during the race, and the Ferrari man was only denied a podium by good strategy from Hamilton’s Mercedes-GP team, but still pressured the Briton until the end of the race.
Vettel’s damage limitation
Given he had started last after mechanical problems ruined his qualifying session, fifth was a great result for Sebastian Vettel as he made up 17 places. The four-time world champion has had a lot of bad luck this year and he is driving better than his results would indicate, with Singapore being another example of the performance the Ferrari man still has.
McLaren best of the rest
Considering they won in 2009 in Singapore, McLaren should, on paper, be looking down their noses at seventh-place finishes. But given how awful the British team were last year, seventh for Fernando Alonso, was a great result.
Better from Kvyat
Daniil Kvyat has had the look of a broken man after struggling to settle back in at Toro Rosso after being replaced at Red Bull by Max Verstappen. Sunday was a big improvement as he finished ninth, his best result since rejoining the team. He was close to getting eighth as he pushed Sergio Perez in the final laps.
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Published: September 18, 2016 04:00 AM
