Under the cover of darkness, and in the sweltering heat, 280,000 race fans lined the streets of Singapore to watch the 15th race of the Formula One season.
The 2019 The Haas F1 Team announced earlier in the week that they would be retaining both h Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean for the 2020 season. With that air of optimism, the two Haas cars qualified 13th and 17th respectively.
By the end of the first lap Magnussen had gained three positions and moved up to 10th position. Romain Grosjean lost one spot and dropped to 18th place when he took the bypass in turn 1 to avoid contact with a Williams car but ended up 16 after some bumps and grinds forced Hulkenberg’s Renault and Sainz’s McLaren to pit. One cannot help but wonder if Grosjean is curbing his competitive spirit and taking less risk during race starts. At the front of the pack was the pole sitting Ferrari of Charles Leclerc maintaining his first position, followed by the Mercedes of Hamilton, the Ferrari of Vettel, the Redbull of Max Verstappen, then the Mercedes of Valteri Bottas.
By the end of lap 2 Magnussen had moved up to 9th position. The field held their positions until lap 19 when Magnussen pitted and returned to the field in 14th position.
For the most part the race was boring as hell. The Singapore street circuit design does not allow for passing. And most of the excitement was among the Sky TV commentators creating excitement where none existed. George Russel hit the wall in lap 35 and caused a full course caution. When the race resumed at lap 41 magnussen found himself in 8th position while Grosjean languished in 17th.
Laps 35 through 51 were plagued with safety cars. When racing resumed, we saw Magnussen drop positions and was down to 14th position by lap 53. We will later learn that Magnussen picked up a plastic bag which was bocking his cooling and effecting his performance. And by lap 56 Magnussen had dropped to last position, 17th ahead of Raikkonen, Perez and Russel; all retired.
Kevin Magnussen pitted on lap 58 for new tires and claimed the fastest lap. He finished the race in 17th position. But since he did not finish in the top 10, he does not receive the point for the fastest lap.
Grosjean finished in 11th position. AGAIN!!!
The Haas F1Team failed to secure points.
Next up on the Formula 1 schedule is the Russian Grand prix in Sochi.