Race Report: Singapore GP

Race Report: Singapore GP

Seven races remain ahead of the Singapore GP. Although Max Verstappen still has a rather comfortable lead in the season's points, Lando Norris is hot on his heels, boasting the added confidence booster of being the constructor's championship leader after last week's performance in Baku. Daniel Ricciardo also felt the pressure ahead of this race, as the question still stands of whether this is his last season and race in Formula 1. It was clear that the racing would remain exciting heading into the Singapore weekend, but being such a tight circuit with little overtaking opportunity, it was set to be another thriller.

Qualifying began after the sun set on the beautiful Asian nation of Singapore. The cars headed on track and began the battle for the fastest lap. Q1 saw Ricciardo fall out of the top 15, while Norris showed early potential and led after the first round of qualifying. Q2 showed face to a couple of gremlins as the drivers began to push harder. The dust off the racing lines nearly spelt disaster for Verstappen after losing his tail through a fast right-hander, but he managed to wrestle the car back into submission. Unfortunately for the Red Bull team, Perez fell short and was handed a 13th-place start.

Q3 spelled disaster for Ferrari and, more specifically, Carlos Sainz. Sainz failed to maintain enough heat in his tyres and as he attempted to gain speed ahead of the last turn to start his first flying lap of the session, his cold tyres paired with the dusty surface that Max encountered earlier, he lost the back end and found himself in the barriers. The red flag brought with it a one-lap opportunity for the remaining drivers, which Lando claimed pole with a determined Verstappen in tow. Lewis Hamilton secured third with his partner, George Russell, closely behind, and Oscar Piastri fell into fifth.

As the sun set on race day, the world was expecting a battle up front early on. As the lights went out, Norris had a good start and led through the first turn. Verstappen and Hamilton were wheel to wheel into the first corner, with Piastri attempting to overtake Russell around the outside, which was defended well. Oscar lost his fifth place position to an eager Nico Hulkenberg, but shortly after, a lunge down the inside of the following corner he managed to resecure fifth.

The first 15 laps proved to be uneventful for the time being, but the unfortunate mechanical failure in the Williams of Alex Albon ended his race. Up ahead, Norris was pulling away from the pack and had developed quite the lead early on. By lap 29, his rhythm was interrupted by what can only be a lapse of concentration as he overshot a tight right-hander and made subtle contact with the barrier, which immediately raised concerns of possible wing damage. Due to the tight nature of the Singapore GP track, this barrier-clipping trend would become ever more apparent as the race continued.

It was around this point on lap 30 that the pitstops commenced; Max's earlier pit proved to be ineffective against Norris, as the McLaren left with new rubber and a 23-second lead. Piastri followed eight laps later, which was arguably too late to pit on his fading tyres. Piastri managed to climb his way up to third behind Verstappen, but this stop cost him two positions, and he fell behind both Mercedes.

As we have seen recently, Piastri isn’t a fan of staring at the back of a Formula 1 car, so he swiftly overtook Hamilton on lap 40. Sometimes the best racing is found further back in the pack. This time Charles Leclerc and Fernando Alonso displayed quality driving, and after a short battle back and forth, Leclerc secured his place ahead of the Alonso and began his charge on his teammate in sixth, four seconds ahead.

Lap 45 rolled in as Piatris' next victim was in the crosshairs. Russell had a consistent race up to this point, but the pace at which Piastri was showing off exceeded his ability to maintain the position. Oscar executed a textbook dive down the inside to secure a podium position. Further ahead on the same lap, Lando clipped another barrier and surely woke him up after a not-so-stressful lead.

Singapore provides a technical track, and as the laps ticked over, Leclerc was finding his pace as he slowly crept towards Hamilton. Eventually overtaking Lewis under DRS and moving him up to fifth.

Driver concentration began to fade as lap 57 approached, and the barriers claimed their next driver. This time causing a puncture to Kevin Magnussen’s car and forced the Haas driver to retire.

McLaren has a point to prove, and they just keep getting faster. The race drew to a close with the lead four drivers individually separated by around 20 seconds. Norris crossed the line 21 seconds ahead of Verstappen in second, with Piastri in third. Russell, Leclerc, Hamilton, and Sainz followed respectively shortly after.

In a turn of events that nobody foresaw, Daniel Ricciardo had a late pit for a soft tyre and sealed the fastest lap of the race and the fastest lap ever in Formula 1 in Singapore. The more surprising element was the fact that he was in last place. This spelled an emotional end to his race and possibly his career, as his seat for next season has been filled and his future in the sport is on the edge.

The Singapore GP was another good race on an improving calendar performance. Lando continues to hunt down the current champ, but it's set to be a tight championship finish. McLaren is thrilled with their recent results and is on track to claim the constructors championship.

But this is a moment to remember for Daniel Ricciardo, as the poor performance this weekend is close to putting the nail in the coffin. He has given us laughs and smiles over the years and has become a character the world loves and will miss. We hope to see him racing again next year, but if his career as a driver is coming to an end, we have cherished seeing the lovable Aussie in action. We here at TopGear SA have loved watching you over the years, so from us, thank you for being you.

Here are the Singapore GP results from F1s official website.

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