Federico Albano

Federico Albano wrote that at the Singapore GP, a new phase of dominance for Max Verstappen and Red Bull had begun. According to him, the RB22 had become more predictable after stabilizing its aerodynamics, and Verstappen had continued to perform at his best. Albano attributed the competitiveness of the car also to the low-end power of the RB-Ford PU, low drag, and the Dutch driver's tire management. Albano considered Ferrari's weekend positive, stating that they were only second to Verstappen. He wrote that Charles Leclerc had almost overtaken the Dutchman at the start, but the Ferrari had bounced after going off the curb at the pit lane exit, causing him to lose the necessary margin for a more decisive attack. According to Albano, the rear-limited characteristics of the circuit highlighted the weakness of the SF26's rear, explaining both the extreme setup chosen for Leclerc in the Sprint and the difficulties in preserving the tires during the race. He added that the updates expected for Austin would indicate the direction Ferrari was taking. Regarding Lewis Hamilton, Albano wrote that the driver could have achieved third place with a double pit stop, but chose to stay on track, perhaps to attempt to overtake Leclerc. He praised his apologies and described the potential double podium for Ferrari as a missed opportunity, which would have brought points in the Constructors' Championship; he also noted that Hamilton had finished sixth after a weekend where, in his opinion, he had been in great form. Albano also congratulated Kimi Antonelli for the podium and criticized Lando Norris's lack of responsiveness. However, he argued that Mercedes still had a weak front end and that, despite the characteristics of the circuit and the updated PU, they had only achieved the result of the third force. He concluded by indicating Austin as an important appointment for Mercedes and Ferrari, while Verstappen, according to him, would continue to aim for dominance in the final phase of the season. #Formula1 #SingaporeGP #Verstappen (translated)

Federico Albano wrote that, after Leclerc's great start, which seemed to have secured him the first position, nine out of ten drivers had moved from the first curve to the second place. The only exception, he added, had been Max Verstappen. #SingaporeGP #F1 #Formula1 #SingaporeGP (translated)

Federico Albano described Ferrari as very competitive in the Singapore GP qualifying. He wrote that Lewis Hamilton, after an "idyllic" session, had the potential for pole but failed to complete the perfect lap in Q3, ending up with a deficit of 151 thousandths. According to Albano, Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, and Kimi Antonelli had instead converted their ideal lap into the fastest lap. Albano praised Verstappen and Red Bull's performance, noting that they had to push to the limit because the Ferraris were competitive. He added that Leclerc, after struggling for most of the qualifying, had found a very strong lap at the end, stopping just half a tenth from pole. In his opinion, in the third sector, the driver had failed to counter the Red Bull's recovery on the straights, but his performance had shown the potential of the SF26. Albano finally wrote that in Marina Bay, overtaking could only happen in the pits and that Ferrari was the only team able to field two cars against one of their closest rivals. #F1 #SingaporeGP #Ferrari (translated)

Federico Albano wrote that, from the data shown, Hamilton seemed to gain in all phases of braking and corner entry. According to him, he was losing ground in the straight, but not enough to let others get in front of him. Albano described Lewis as being in incredible shape and added that it remained to be seen how Q3 of the SingaporeGP would turn out. #SingaporeGP https://t.co/m7Xtui69hA #Formula1 #F1 #SingaporeGP (translated)

Federico Albano wrote that Max Verstappen had rightly won the Sprint at the SingaporeGP, thanks to a consistent pace and managing the tires and lack of grip. He described Lewis Hamilton, in second place, as having a very effective start and a good pace, despite experiencing a phase of tire overheating mid-race. According to Albano, Hamilton had then returned to the window and recorded two fast laps in the last three; he also praised Ferrari in wet conditions. Albano added that Charles Leclerc managed the first part well, but then suffered from extreme balancing and loss of front grip, yet managed to maintain third place. He called the McLaren incident incredible, which in his view had cost the team more points. He wrote that Andrea Kimi Antonelli had not made mistakes despite Mercedes' difficulties and warned against overrating the performance on intermediates, arguing that that tire favored the car in that configuration. Albano also said that George Russell wasted a good start with an immediate error and praised Oliver Bearman and Liam Lawson. Finally, he anticipated that qualifying would start soon. #F1 #SingaporeGP #Motorsport (translated)

Federico Albano wrote that Max Verstappen had not received penalties. According to reports from the stewards, the driver had completely lifted his foot off the accelerator and was already 70 km/h slower compared to a flying lap. Albano added that Lewis Hamilton was braking and that, to avoid surpassing Verstappen, he would have had to brake sharply, creating an even more dangerous situation. Albano stated that he believed the decision was logically correct, but he did not recall similar cases and still had some doubts. He finally observed that Verstappen would start from pole the following day and that, in his opinion, he already had the sprint in the bag. #SingaporeGP #F1 #Verstappen #SingaporeGP (translated)

Federico Albano wrote that Ferrari had been very quick with the medium tires, but in SQ3 they lost the necessary tenths to fight for pole when it was crucial to extract the maximum from the tires and especially from the engine. In his view, the car was competitive in various phases and direction changes, but it lost speed on the straights due to aerodynamic drag and low power. He added that the gap to Mercedes and Red Bull increased on the straights and decreased in parts of the mixed sections. Albano called Leclerc's lap “super” and wrote that Hamilton had risked everything in SQ3 but had made several mistakes. Until that moment, according to him, Lewis seemed to have an even better pace than Charles, but the Monegasque finished with two very strong laps. The author attributed pole to Verstappen, noting it had yet to be confirmed, and described Red Bull as the strongest team at the moment. According to his analysis, the car was very fast on the straights, stable in the mixed sections, and capable of limiting losses in slow corners. Verstappen had gained 0.3 seconds on Leclerc already at the end of the first sector, all on the straights, Albano wrote. In his opinion, Red Bull had found the right setup, and the data reminded him of 2022: the car had less downforce, but Verstappen's driving style hid the effect, while speed on the straights remained decisive. Albano described Mercedes as disappointed: Russell had clocked 0.5 seconds faster than Antonelli, but the update package, which he described as extensive, costly, and awaited, was not working. He added that Kimi had also refused the new wing. According to the data he examined, the front end was no longer functioning well, exhibiting understeer in medium-speed corners and difficulty turning the car in slow corners; the increase in aerodynamic drag also hindered deployment. Albano wrote that Antonelli struggled even under braking because he no longer trusted the front end and that, despite the differences between the Singapore and Sepang tracks, what he had seen so far reminded him of the same script. According to Albano, McLaren was not far off but had disappointed in terms of track characteristics and seemed to struggle with a lack of grip, especially when maximum performance was needed. He noted that Ferrari and McLaren, on one side, and Red Bull and Mercedes, on the other, were developing different concepts that ended up producing similar characteristics, except for the Mercedes updates, which in his view were not working. Finally, Albano wrote that the sprint would show whether those cars would be able to create overtaking opportunities or if the race would turn into a train, awaiting the decisive qualifying for Sunday. #Formula1 #SingaporeGP #Motorsport (translated)

Federico Albano wrote that, at the moment, Ferrari had shown a clear advantage in the second sector of the Singapore GP, characterized by close curves. According to him, the car was losing ground on the straights but was recovering under braking. Albano wondered if the use of soft tires in SQ3 would have changed the balance and judged Ferrari to be the best on track that day with the mediums. #SingaporeGP https://t.co/zwGy78JMs3 #Formula1 #Motorsport #SingaporeGP (translated)

Federico Albano wrote that, in the first free practice session of the Singapore Grand Prix, the balance on a dry lap was still difficult to assess, also because the track was at 50°C. He noted very small gaps: in the second sector, the top three were separated by 0.017 seconds. Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes, according to him, seemed to have a good baseline setup. Albano reported that Mercedes looked more comfortable with George Russell, both in terms of times and feelings, although the English driver had some rigidity issues. Andrea Kimi Antonelli, with the new package, had good overall balance but seemed to have little front grip; using soft tires in qualifying could have made the problem less evident, as he had run with hard and medium tires in practice. The Ferrari SF-26 seemed competitive in terms of pace as well, with Lewis Hamilton slightly heavier but with contained differences. Albano found Charles Leclerc's feedback very positive both in the last lap and in the pace simulations, adding that it would be important to understand how much the rivals would increase power in qualifying. According to Albano, McLaren was showing the expected performance, without the misleading impression of soft tires seen in Malaysia, and seemed effective under braking. Red Bull, on the other hand, was difficult to assess because it was engaged in testing and still far off; in his opinion, it could use the Sprint as a practice session and reveal its potential later. He finally predicted a competitive and entertaining qualifying session. #Formula1 #SingaporeGP #Motorsport (translated)

Federico Albano wrote that in the comparison between Russell and Antonelli, the Englishman always took the last corner at a significantly higher speed. Even in Kimi's best lap at that point, Russell had a 10 km/h advantage. Albano wondered whether it was due to Russell's stiffness or Kimi's lack of front-end grip. #SingaporeGP https://t.co/ovYLxAdsbc #Formula1 #Motorsport #SingaporeGP (translated)

Federico Albano wrote that Wolff had confirmed that the teams would compare the new and old packages this weekend, despite the sprint format. According to Albano, the decision further confirmed that the teams were little interested in the sprints. #F1 #Formula1 #SprintRace (translated)

Federico Albano wondered if Red Bull had become the best car. He wrote that an excellent power unit and low drag were essential everywhere that season, but that the greater choices in setups had recently changed the picture. In Sepang, in his opinion, the "Max factor" had emerged. https://t.co/7Pjwz7wOa9 #F1 #Formula1 #RedBull (translated)

Federico Albano described the race in Sepang as unpredictable and credited Max Verstappen with a well-deserved victory. According to him, the updates had made the Red Bull more predictable and suited to the characteristics required this season. He added that Verstappen had made the difference in the wet and that the Red Bull pit wall had managed the strategy flawlessly, even with the last pit stop, which in his opinion was the correct choice despite the driver relinquishing the first position. Albano assessed Kimi Antonelli's performance positively, finishing second: he described him as fast and mature and wrote that he had overtaken George Russell. He predicted that he would win the title. Regarding Russell's zero points, he noted that the risk related to the decision not to change the power unit in Baku had materialized, which had ended his championship bid. He also pointed to the Mercedes updates as a technical theme to be re-evaluated starting from Singapore. The commentator described Lewis Hamilton as "phenomenal" and praised his race, while criticizing Ferrari's management. He wrote that the team had misjudged the initial tire choice and questioned the decision to put medium tires on Hamilton after his first stint on softs. In his view, the safety car had given him the chance to secure a well-deserved podium. Albano also appreciated Charles Leclerc's comeback, although he considered him less competitive than Hamilton over the weekend, and noted that the Ferraris had finished third and fourth ahead of a McLaren that he deemed to be struggling in various aspects. He finally reminded that there were seven races left until the end. #F1 #Formula1 #Sepang (translated)

Federico Albano wrote that the problem had appeared on both Ferraris, but at a certain point it was resolved for Leclerc. For Hamilton, however, it had not been possible to unlock it before the reset. He added that the Bahrain GP should now be considered closed. #BahrainGP https://t.co/fCDz51hEwQ #Formula1 #Ferrari #BahrainGP (translated)

Federico Albano described the Sepang qualifying as a test on a circuit suitable for motorsport. According to him, Max Verstappen had secured a significant pole position and Isack Hadjar finished third. He attributed the speed of the Red Bull on the straights to the low levels of aerodynamic drag and the updates, which made the car more predictable for the drivers, even though it was not optimized for every corner. Albano emphasized that low drag would remain crucial for F1 26. Regarding Ferrari, Albano wrote that the car was the most competitive in corners, but lost a lot on the straights due to poor power. He rated Lewis Hamilton's lap as exceptional, especially in the middle sector: in those fast corners, he noted, the Brit gained 0.4 seconds on Charles Leclerc. He called Hamilton's car balance perfect and the lap, in his opinion, the best the driver had done since arriving in Maranello. Leclerc, on the other hand, overloaded the front end and suffered from tire overheating midway through the lap. Albano said it remained to be seen if during the race the thermal load would shift towards the front, helping the Monegasque. Albano pointed out Mercedes as the main technical case of the day. The updates would have increased downforce and improved the W17's behavior in fast corners, but would have weakened the front end too much, penalizing the car in slow corners or making it oversteer with more extreme setups. He also argued that the increase in aerodynamic drag had complicated energy management, causing a change in deployment strategy midway through Q2. In the race, he predicted that Kimi would be in the fight, but felt that for now the updates had shifted the balance more than produced a step forward. As for McLaren, Albano considered it not very competitive on a dry lap, lacking particular effectiveness in any type of corner and with marked time losses in braking. Looking ahead to the race, Albano indicated Verstappen as the favorite, predicting very high degradation, two pit stops, and different tire compounds available to the leading drivers. He also expected Hamilton to be aggressive from the start. He concluded by saying he was eager to follow a race he believed would be interesting from a technical standpoint. #F1 #Motorsport #Qualifica (translated)

Federico Albano wrote that, despite Verstappen's extraordinary pole, in his opinion the best lap was Hamilton's. He praised Lewis's performance and the SF26 in all corners, both slow and fast, but pointed out difficulties on the straight, where he believed the Red Bull was very fast. He added that the Mercedes appeared unbalanced and had more aerodynamic drag in the new package, and said that the situation needed to be analyzed more calmly. #BahrainGP #Sepang #Formula1 #F1 #Motorsport (translated)