F1 Paddock Notebook - Singapore GP Thursday

Recapping all of the added news and notes in Singapore on Thursday, Crash.net F1 Digital Editor Luke Smith brings you his paddock notebook.

- Fernando Alonso continues to nurse an injury to his right hand sustained during the start-line crash at Spa at the end of August. Alonso had strapping applied to his right hand on Thursday, but said it had no bearing on him racing, only getting in the way of day-to-day tasks such as brushing his teeth. “I thought that it could be OK by now, but it’s more or less at the same level of pain,” Alonso said. “It’s strange. Probably next week I will do some further checks.”

- Since Monza, Alonso has also taken part in an IndyCar test, but the Spaniard stressed it would have no bearing on deciding his racing plans for next year. Alonso added that it is unlikely he will test an Indy car again before the end of the year due to his busy schedule that will see him combine the final seven F1 races with two additional WEC rounds.

- Kimi Raikkonen was on form during Thursday’s FIA press conference, batting back questions about his move to Sauber. The Finn joked that he decided to continue in F1 as he was “I'm just playing head games with you guys [the media], deciding to sign for two years and not be happy” when questioned about his passion for racing.

- Raikkonen did however confirm that he was told over the Monza race weekend that he would not be racing for Ferrari next year, while Charles Leclerc learned of his promotion from team principal Maurizio Arrivabene last Saturday before coming to Singapore.

- Raikkonen denied reports suggesting his Sauber deal had included a possible management role or a stake in the team, with talks with the Swiss marque starting at Monza when his exit from Ferrari was confirmed. Raikkonen confirmed he expects Sauber to be his last team in F1, bookending his career after starting with the team in 2001.

- The other driver confirmed to be on the move for 2018 since Monza, Stoffel Vandoorne, confirmed that he is exploring options both inside and outside of F1. Vandoorne said he was yet to receive a clear explanation from McLaren as to why he had been jettisoned, and called Zak Brown’s comments about wanting Toro Rosso to sign him “strange” given his decision to drop him.

- Esteban Ocon spoke the most openly he has this season about his current plight as he continues to look for a seat, admitting that there was less and less chance of him landing an F1 drive for 2019. Ocon said he had not considered cutting ties with Mercedes to land a seat, but was also yet to consider any options outside of F1.

- When asked if he felt let down by Renault - the team he was all set to join prior to Daniel Ricciardo’s shock move - Ocon said: “I’m not going to comment on this.” He was also coy when asked if he’d turned down the chance to join McLaren in favour of Renault back in July.

- The most likely course of action for Ocon now appears to be a year in a reserve role at Mercedes before trying to return to F1 for 2020. Williams is the only team with a free seat that would realistically take Ocon, but it may seek a second driver with backing to replace the Force India-bound Lance Stroll.

- Sergio Perez reiterated that his racing plans for 2019 were all sewn up, with an announcement a “matter of days or weeks”. Perez also said the decision was made prior to McLaren showing an interest in him, but when asked if the team always seemed set on promoting Lando Norris, the Mexican said: “Not in the beginning, no.”

- Force India has brought a sizeable upgrade package to Singapore, The team has been able to accelerate updates since its takeover by the Lawrence Stroll-led consortium and exit from administration. However, the team was always planning to introduce the updates on the Marina Bay weekend, according to Perez.

- Brendon Hartley said in the press conference he is yet to really discuss future plans with Toro Rosso as he instead focuses on turning his own form around, and elaborated on his hopes for the future in an interview with Crash.net on Thursday night.

- However, it is understood that a driver announcement from Toro Rosso for 2019 could be imminent, potentially coming this weekend in Singapore.

- Red Bull and Toro Rosso reserve driver Sebastien Buemi was in the paddock on Thursday in Singapore, wearing Red Bull gear. Buemi underwent a seat fitting in the Toro Rosso STR13 earlier this month, fanning flames suggesting he could make an F1 return in the future.

- The FIA issued a track map on Wednesday confirming the layout is two metres shorter this year, coming as a result of track realignments around Turn 16 and Turn 17. The track has also been resurfaced at Turn 1, Turn 5 to Turn 7, Turn 15 to Turn 17 and Turn 23.

- FIA race director Charlie Whiting also confirmed in the race notes that any driver who runs wide at Turn 2 must return to the track after sticking to the right of an orange bollard at exit, in order to try and prevent an advantage being gained, and rejoin on the outside of Turn 3.

- One of the most noticeable changes to the paddock in Singapore was the introduction of new two-tier structures as the teams’ hospitality units for the weekend, giving them more space to host guests and the media.

- There is also a new hospitality space called ‘Twenty3’ overlooking Turn 23 at the track this year, featuring a number of restaurants and bars that will entertain VIPs across the course of the race weekend.