Almost the entire field started the Singapore Grand Prix on the faster super-soft tyre – but their strategies diverged from that point on.
When it came to the choice of tyre for the second stint the field was split almost exactly down the middle – 12 stuck with the super-soft tyres, the rest opted for mediums.
When the Safety Car came out almost all the drivers still on super-soft tyres switched to mediums in an attempt to reach the end of the race without making a further stop. It worked better for some than others.
Sergio Perez enjoyed the fastest pit stop of the race courtesy of the McLaren pit crew. But Red Bull’s consistent speed impressed again: the next four quickest pit stops all belonged to them, and all were within less than a quarter of a second of each other.
Not all the pit stops were standard four-tyre changes: Jules Bianchi came in on lap 11 to have his steering wheel replaced to cure a gear shift problem. And Romain Grosjean had a long pit stop as Lotus tried in vain to cure a fault on his engine’s pneumatic system.
Singapore Grand Prix tyre strategies
The tyre strategies for each driver:
| Stint 1 | Stint 2 | Stint 3 | Stint 4 | Stint 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sebastian Vettel | Super soft (17) | Medium (27) | Super soft (17) | ||
| Fernando Alonso | Super soft (14) | Medium (11) | Medium (36) | ||
| Kimi Raikkonen | Super soft (10) | Super soft (15) | Medium (36) | ||
| Nico Rosberg | Super soft (15) | Medium (26) | Medium (20) | ||
| Lewis Hamilton | Super soft (15) | Medium (28) | Medium (18) | ||
| Felipe Massa | Super soft (12) | Medium (13) | Super soft (17) | Medium (19) | |
| Jenson Button | Super soft (13) | Super soft (12) | Medium (36) | ||
| Sergio Perez | Super soft (14) | Super soft (11) | Medium (36) | ||
| Nico Hulkenberg | Super soft (13) | Super soft (12) | Medium (36) | ||
| Adrian Sutil | Medium (12) | Super soft (13) | Super soft (15) | Super soft (21) | |
| Pastor Maldonado | Super soft (16) | Super soft (9) | Medium (16) | Super soft (20) | |
| Esteban Gutierrez | Super soft (11) | Super soft (14) | Medium (36) | ||
| Valtteri Bottas | Super soft (13) | Super soft (11) | Medium (18) | Super soft (19) | |
| Jean-Eric Vergne | Super soft (11) | Medium (13) | Medium (15) | Super soft (22) | |
| Mark Webber | Super soft (13) | Medium (27) | Medium (20) | ||
| Giedo van der Garde | Super soft (13) | Medium (13) | Medium (16) | Medium (18) | |
| Max Chilton | Super soft (11) | Super soft (13) | Medium (17) | Medium (19) | |
| Jules Bianchi | Super soft (10) | Super soft (1) | Super soft (12) | Medium (17) | Medium (20) |
| Charles Pic | Super soft (11) | Medium (14) | Medium (29) | Super soft (6) | |
| Paul di Resta | Super soft (20) | Super soft (22) | Medium (12) | ||
| Romain Grosjean | Super soft (15) | Super soft (10) | Medium (8) | Medium (4) | |
| Daniel Ricciardo | Super soft (15) | Medium (8) |
Singapore Grand Prix pit stop times
How long each driver’s pit stops took:
| Driver | Team | Pit stop time | Gap | On lap | |
| 1 | Sergio Perez | McLaren | 28.709 | 14 | |
| 2 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 28.787 | 0.078 | 17 |
| 3 | Mark Webber | Red Bull | 28.909 | 0.200 | 40 |
| 4 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 28.934 | 0.225 | 44 |
| 5 | Mark Webber | Red Bull | 29.031 | 0.322 | 13 |
| 6 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 29.032 | 0.323 | 15 |
| 7 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 29.040 | 0.331 | 12 |
| 8 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 29.136 | 0.427 | 25 |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 29.176 | 0.467 | 25 |
| 10 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 29.212 | 0.503 | 15 |
| 11 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 29.284 | 0.575 | 13 |
| 12 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber | 29.364 | 0.655 | 11 |
| 13 | Sergio Perez | McLaren | 29.396 | 0.687 | 25 |
| 14 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia | 29.421 | 0.712 | 40 |
| 15 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 29.436 | 0.727 | 14 |
| 16 | Kimi Raikkonen | Lotus | 29.469 | 0.760 | 10 |
| 17 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia | 29.573 | 0.864 | 10 |
| 18 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 29.573 | 0.864 | 42 |
| 19 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 29.616 | 0.907 | 41 |
| 20 | Paul di Resta | Force India | 29.667 | 0.958 | 20 |
| 21 | Adrian Sutil | Force India | 29.678 | 0.969 | 12 |
| 22 | Max Chilton | Marussia | 29.687 | 0.978 | 41 |
| 23 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | 29.702 | 0.993 | 15 |
| 24 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso | 29.736 | 1.027 | 11 |
| 25 | Paul di Resta | Force India | 29.777 | 1.068 | 42 |
| 26 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia | 29.823 | 1.114 | 23 |
| 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber | 29.910 | 1.201 | 13 |
| 28 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams | 29.966 | 1.257 | 16 |
| 29 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso | 29.999 | 1.290 | 39 |
| 30 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 30.085 | 1.376 | 25 |
| 31 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 30.085 | 1.376 | 43 |
| 32 | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham | 30.141 | 1.432 | 42 |
| 33 | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham | 30.161 | 1.452 | 13 |
| 34 | Adrian Sutil | Force India | 30.166 | 1.457 | 25 |
| 35 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams | 30.175 | 1.466 | 41 |
| 36 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber | 30.253 | 1.544 | 25 |
| 37 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | 30.293 | 1.584 | 25 |
| 38 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams | 30.444 | 1.735 | 25 |
| 39 | Max Chilton | Marussia | 30.497 | 1.788 | 11 |
| 40 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso | 30.714 | 2.005 | 24 |
| 41 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 30.790 | 2.081 | 24 |
| 42 | Max Chilton | Marussia | 31.173 | 2.464 | 24 |
| 43 | Adrian Sutil | Force India | 31.230 | 2.521 | 40 |
| 44 | Charles Pic | Caterham | 31.546 | 2.837 | 54 |
| 45 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber | 31.706 | 2.997 | 25 |
| 46 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 31.792 | 3.083 | 13 |
| 47 | Charles Pic | Caterham | 31.841 | 3.132 | 11 |
| 48 | Charles Pic | Caterham | 32.008 | 3.299 | 25 |
| 49 | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 32.097 | 3.388 | 15 |
| 50 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia | 32.243 | 3.534 | 11 |
| 51 | Kimi Raikkonen | Lotus | 33.013 | 4.304 | 25 |
| 52 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 33.836 | 5.127 | 42 |
| 53 | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham | 37.700 | 8.991 | 26 |
| 54 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | 73.009 | 44.300 | 33 |
2013 Singapore Grand Prix
- Penalty for third reprimand “disappointing” – Webber
- Di Resta still unsure over cause of Singapore crash
- Fourth Driver of the Weekend win for Vettel
- Second-lowest ever rating for Singapore Grand Prix
- 2013 Singapore Grand Prix team radio transcript
Image © Ferrari/Ercole Colombo
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
22nd September 2013, 22:16
Giving no one a chance… ! What a team… !
Yoshisune (@yobo01)
22nd September 2013, 22:17
Very strange strategy with Massa. He stopped during the safety car period and he put the super softs, of course he had to make another stop. I don’t understand what Ferrari was trying to do. Still, good job to get P6 with three stop.
72defender (@72defender)
23rd September 2013, 14:00
Agreed. My only thought is Ferrari didn’t want him finishing higher than Alonso. In effect, taking points from him as he battles Vettel for the WDC.
javlinsharp (@javlinsharp)
23rd September 2013, 16:17
As much as I love FM, I dont think anyone really considered that a danger