Provisional grid for the Singapore Grand Prix - MotorSportsTalk

Despite dominating practice and the early stages of qualifying, Sebastian Vettel was somewhat fortunate to have secured pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix after opting not to run twice in Q3. This allowed Nico Rosberg, Mark Webber and Romain Grosjean to take advantage of the grippier track, but none of them could overthrow the German driver at the top of the timesheets when it mattered.

Further down the grid, Fernando Alonso was forced to settle for P7 behind teammate Felipe Massa, whilst Esteban Gutierrez hit the headlines by getting into Q3 for the first time in his F1 career thanks to an aggressive strategy. Things were less encouraging for Kimi Raikkonen, who could only finish thirteenth after a back injury nearly forced him to miss qualifying altogether. He is however expected to race today.

Following qualifying, there have been no changes to the grid due to penalties handed out in Singapore or pre-existing penalties. However, the stewards did fine Giedo van der Garde, Esteban Gutierrez and Sebastian Vettel after all three drivers were judged to have broken the pit lane speed limit during practice on Friday.

Provisional grid for the Singapore Grand Prix

1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull
2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes
3 Romain Grosjean Lotus
4 Mark Webber Red Bull
5 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
6 Felipe Massa Ferrari
7 Fernando Alonso Ferrari
8 Jenson Button McLaren
9 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso
10 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber
11 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber
12 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso
13 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus
14 Sergio Perez McLaren
15 Adrian Sutil Force India
16 Valtteri Bottas Williams
17 Paul di Resta Force India
18 Pastor Maldonado Williams
19 Charles Pic Caterham
20 Giedo van der Garde Caterham
21 Jules Bianchi Marussia
22 Max Chilton Marussia

Ryan Hunter-Reay was named to replace Conor Daly in Ed Carpenter Racing’s No. 20 Dallara-Chevrolet, starting in the NTT IndyCar Series event next week at Road America.

Hunter-Reay is the 2012 series champion and 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner. He finished 11th for Dreyer & Reinbold last month in the 107th Indy 500, his first start since the 2021 season finale. He drove full time for Andretti Autosport from 2010-21.

“We need to improve our competitiveness and I wanted to add a fresh perspective from a driver like Ryan who has a massive amount of experience and success as well as a reputation as a team leader. I am excited to welcome Ryan to the team,” team owner Ed Carpenter said in a team release. “We have worked together in the past as teammates and he tested for ECR at Barber Motorsports Park in October 2021, where he made an immediate impact as we were able to qualify one of our cars on the pole following that test. I am confident that his experience and technical abilities will be an asset to ECR as we move forward toward our goals as a team.”

Hunter-Reay has 18 IndyCar victories, most recently in 2018. He also is a winner in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, having been a part of winning entries in the 2020 Twelve Hours of Sebring and 2018 Petit Le Mans. Last year, he was an endurance driver for Cadillac Racing while being on standby for Chip Ganassi Racing.

He replaces Daly, whose departure was announced a day earlier in what the driver and team said was a mutual decision.

“I was surprised when I got the call from Ed,” Hunter-Reay said in a team release. “He described how frustrated he was that his team has not been able to realize its potential despite their efforts, investments, as well as technical and personnel changes over the past few years and asked for my help. Ed and I are very close friends and have been for a long time. I’ve worked with the team in the past and they are a very talented group with high expectations and a committed partner in BITNILE.COM.

“This will certainly be a challenge for me as well. It’s a tough situation jumping in a car in the middle of the season without any testing in what I believe to be the most competitive series in the world. Certainly, part of my motivation in saying ‘yes’ to Ed is the great challenge ahead. The last time I turned right driving an NTT IndyCar Series car was in October of 2021 with this team at Barber. However, I remain very confident in both my driving and technical abilities and believe by working with the talented people at ECR and Team Chevy, while representing BITNILE.COM, we will make progress. I am going to do everything I can do to help the team achieve its long-term objectives.”

Said Milton “Todd” Ault, the chairman of sponsor BitNile.com: “It is great for BitNile.com to be aligned with an Indy 500 Winner and an NTT IndyCar Series champion. I have followed Ryan’s career for years and I am confident he will challenge the entire ECR team to perform at higher levels. I wish everyone luck at Road America.”