Race week review
F1 returned to the Marina Bay Circuit for the Singapore Grand Prix for the first time since pre COVID. The last time we were racing in Singapore Ferrari managed to get a 1-2. This was the toughest race of the year, and Alex Albon was cleared by doctors to race this weekend following his appendicitis diagnosis and surgery.
The week started with a lot of noise in the paddock; a rumour was floating around that two teams had allegedly exceeded the budget cap for 2021. Team principals Wolff and Binotto were very outspoken about the situation. Red Bull team principal was very unhappy about the accusations directed towards his team. The FIA are in the process of running an investigation where there are different possibilities of penalties that could be applied if found guilty.
Practice
In FP1 Lewis Hamilton showed that Mercedes did indeed have a good car for the weekend, one that would worry their rivals. Lance Stroll hit the barriers during the session which brought out red flags once he stopped around the run off area at Turn 7- he had been having a good session before his crash, ending it in P8. Verstappen and Leclerc completed the top 3.
Carlos Sainz headed the pack in FP2, leading his teammate Charles Leclerc and George Russell. The darkness on the circuit spotted with floodlights emulated the serene feeling that came from a night race. Verstappen didn’t get much time on track because of setup changes but still managed P4. It was another good session for Lance Stroll in P10, and Valtteri Bottas for Alfa Romeo.
Heavy rain fell in Singapore at the start of FP3 and no cars but the safety car was out on track for some time. About half an hour later, teams released their drivers into the wet conditions. The final practice session saw Charles Leclerc top the charts ahead of Verstappen and Sainz. Once more, in what looked like it could be a good weekend for the Aston Martin team, Stroll and Vettel found themselves in the top 10.
Qualifying
The rain from earlier meant that qualifying would start off wet, so all teams chose to put their drivers on intermediate tyres. The wet track caught some drivers out, Leclerc, for example, had to rescue his car as he slid. Times were getting faster as the drack was drying. Solid final flying laps from Vettel, Tsunoda and Gasly saved them from getting knocked out early in the session. Not so lucky to survive elimination were Bottas, Ricciardo, Ocon, Albon and Latifi.
The conditions for Q2 were even trickier. The track was drying up, but was it a good idea to put on slick tyres. Aston Martin told us it wasn’t. Leclerc wished to try the same strategy as the Aston Martin team but his team disagreed and sent him out on intermediate tyres. Stroll and Vettel lacked control on the slick tyres, as did Zhou with Alfa Romeo. Russell had a surprise exit in Q2, missing out by 0.006s after having a difficult session. Follwoing him out were Stroll, Schumacher, Vettel and Zhou.
Finally dry enough for slicks, Q3 saw the drivers put on soft tyres. Many drivers set impressive times as they familiarised themselves with these tyres, so provisional pole was swapped around several times. Leclerc beat Perez and Hamilton to the number one spot, while Verstappen abandoned two of his final flying laps leaving him in P8.
Top 10: Leclerc, Perez, Hamilton, Sainz, Alonso, Norris, Gasly, Verstappen, Magnussen, Tsunoda
Race Report
After a super Saturday qualifying, we were set up for a manic race to remember to on Sunday, and as always, Singapore delivered. With constant safety cars and DNF’s, it was hard to tell what would happen next, but in the end it was Sergio Perez who took the win for Red Bull, his first since Monaco earlier this year. His teammate and championship leader Max Verstappen finished in seventh place, meaning the championship continues over to Suzuka.
A good day for Ferrari saw Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz both on the podium in second and third respectively. The Italian team left Singapore with a drastic points haul which greatly helps them in the Constructor’s Championship with Mercedes, who at a time appeared to be drawing close to the Prancing Horses.
In comparison, it was an extremely weak showing this weekend for Mercedes, with Hamilton finishing in ninth place for the British team, and Russell finishing in fourteenth… out of fourteen cars that finished the race. The Silver Arrows will likely be happy to move on from this weekend and hopefully on to better things in Japan.
An absolutely excellent race for McLaren saw Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo finish in fourth and fifth place respectively, one of the largest points hauls the Papaya team has seen so far this season. After some really difficult times for the team this year, it’s a nice change to see them so high up in the finishing result.
One team that won’t be so thrilled with McLaren’s result is their direct competition in the championship, Alpine, who failed to finish in Singapore with either car. Both Alonso and Ocon suffered from what appeared to be engine issues in Singapore, which is a worrying issue for the French team.
It was a similarly dismal day for Williams, another team which failed to finish the race with either driver. After a battle with appendicitis it was wonderful to see Alex Albon back at the track, although a crash during the race forced him to retire due to the damage sustained. It was a similar incident for Nicholas Latifi, although he sustained damage as a result of an incident with Zhou Guanyu’s Alfa Romeo.
In contrast, it was a (rare) great day for Aston Martin, with both drivers finishing in the points – Lance Stroll finished in 6th place, and Sebastian Vettel bid farewell to Singapore with a truly remarkable race in which he finished in 8th place, showing the skills and talent the world knows he has.
Pierre Gasly was able to finish in tenth place for Alpha Tauri this weekend, ending a streak of point-less races for the French driver, which will help the Italian team in their three-way battle in the Constructor’s Championship. However, it was a DNF for Yuki Tsunoda after misjudging a braking point on what was his first race at Marina Bay.
Onto Japan for part 2 of our double header! Stay tuned for more updates across our social media.
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