F1 Championship Leader Lewis Hamilton Eyes Hat-Trick In Hazy Singapore GP
18th September 2019
The National Environment Agency is forecasting pollution at the "low end of the unhealthy range" for Sunday's showpiece night race after dense smog last weekend
- Lewis Hamilton will be hoping his march towards a sixth Formula One world title around the streets of hazy Singapore this week is not affected by smoke from wildfires raging in neighbouring Indonesia
- Formula One bosses are reported to have a contingency plan in place should the "highly changeable" air quality deteriorate, though the race weekend is still scheduled to go ahead as planned
- Hamilton, who has a 63-point lead in the title race over teammate Valterri Bottas after winning eight grands prix this season, and Mercedes have prospered in the past at the Marina Bay Circuit
SINGAPORE, Singapore-
Lewis Hamilton will be hoping his march towards a sixth Formula One world title
around the streets of hazy Singapore this week is not affected by smoke from
wildfires raging in neighbouring Indonesia.
The National Environment Agency is forecasting pollution at
the "low end of the unhealthy range" for Sunday's showpiece night
race after dense smog last weekend.
Formula One bosses are reported to have a contingency plan
in place should the "highly changeable" air quality deteriorate,
though the race weekend is still scheduled to go ahead as planned.
Hamilton, who has a 63-point lead in the title race over
teammate Valterri Bottas after winning eight grands prix this season, and
Mercedes have prospered in the past at the Marina Bay Circuit.
But they could do little to prevent Ferrari's Charles
Leclerc from storming to consecutive victories on power-friendly layouts in
Belgium and Italy in the two races since the summer break.
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Hamilton has taken four of Mercedes' five victories at the
demanding 23-turn city-centre street circuit and is looking for a third
consecutive triumph in race that even without the threat of smog is
traditionally draining because of heat and high humidity.
But Hamilton remains wary of Leclerc, who has outshone his
error-prone Ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel since joining the Italian team at
the start of the season.
"I am not looking forward to the next race thinking it
will swing our way," Hamilton said of the 21-year-old from Monaco. "I
hope that it is competitive between us -- I want this battle to continue."
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff also expects Ferrari to
be in the shake-up in Singapore, despite the Italian marque struggling on
circuits lacking long straights this season.
"We knew that Spa and Monza would be difficult for
us," Wolff said of the previous two races.
"On paper, we should be strong in Singapore -- as
should Red Bull. Let's see if we are really demolishing them there.
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"But I have no doubt that Ferrari will have learned and
will have a good package."
Red Bull have enjoyed 12 podium finishes in Singapore since
2008, including three wins, and the Milton Keynes-based outfit will be hoping
Max Verstappen can improve on his second-place finish from a year ago to stay
ahead of Leclerc in their battle for third in the overall standings.
Vettel knows his chances of recording a first victory since
Belgium last year will have diminished due to the nature of the remaining
circuits on the calendar, but the German four-times world champion will be
looking to seize on any opportunities that may fall his way.
"I think we still have some races coming where we will
be probably more competitive than others, but overall it's just about getting a
good weekend," Vettel said.