The last leg of a brutal triple-header can really go either way. As fatigue accumulates around the paddock, there is often the potential for political intrigue, bickering and human error.
Off the track, things were relatively well behaved over the Singapore weekend, but a few drivers will be wishing they had made different decisions.
Winner: Gianpiero Lambiase
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Clive Rose / Formula 1 via Getty Images
You may have rightly expected the name of Max Verstappen to headline this week’s edition, but on what may turn out to be a historic weekend for Red Bull, it’s fair to pass the flowers onto the Dutchman’s trusted race engineer.
As Verstappen put Red Bull’s vastly improved car to good use to snare a controlled victory on the team’s historical bogey track, Red Bull’s choice to push a tearful Lambiase onto the podium to receive the constructors’ trophy is significant because it may well be the Briton’s very last win as Verstappen’s race engineer.
As is well known by now, Lambiase will be phased out at Red Bull ahead of his eventual McLaren move, with Tom Hart his replacement. Hart will already take over the microphone for a number of races later this season, so despite Red Bull’s upturn in form there is no guarantee that the formidable Verstappen-Lambiase combo will add to its tally of 73 grand prix wins.
If this is it for one of the most successful pairings in F1 history, then Verstappen and Lambiase went out in style by sweeping the Singapore sprint weekend, with the radio system hiccup adding a comedic note to an emotional evening.
Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: Joe Portlock / Getty Images
Sat in a packed lounge in Ferrari’s hospitality, team boss Fred Vasseur clearly felt a bit cornered after the latest barrage of questions on the team’s Singapore strategy.
There appears to be no easier team to blame for its race strategy than Ferrari, and some of that reputation is of course steeped in precedent. But far from the madding crowd on social media, there was some logic to what Ferrari was trying to do in Singapore. It split the strategies of soft-starter Charles Leclerc and medium-runner to put some pressure on Verstappen, and when that proved in vain, it was still in a good position to consolidate a double podium.
The main problem was that the medium tyre was particularly rubbish in Singapore, something McLaren recognised by putting both of its drivers on softs, and perhaps something Ferrari could have snuffed out too. But getting Hamilton off the worn medium tyre early was therefore an inevitable consequence.
The main mistake today was made by Hamilton himself, who was called in for a double-stack pitstop under a virtual safety car by refusing to come in. If he had done so, the team would have likely secured second and third, with Hamilton instead taking responsibility for limping home in sixth on an excessively long stint on soft tyres.
“Did you ask this many questions to McLaren, yesterday?” Vasseur bristled.
Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
Actually… yes, Fred. We did!
This column is predominantly weighted towards the result on Sundays, and we don’t want to give sprint races any more importance than they really need to get. But Saturday’s coming together on the final lap of the 20-lap sprint, through a half-hearted lunge by Lando Norris on team-mate Oscar Piastri, was a very unwelcome return of the papaya rules saga and felt particularly unnecessary given what little was at stake.
On Sunday, Norris appeared to show more contrition and self-reflection, commenting on his first, botched overtake attempt on Hamilton that it was one of several poor decisions he had taken over the weekend.
Team principal Stella commented that the Norris he saw on Sunday – offering his services to help back Hamilton into Piastri – was a hell of a lot closer to the one he wanted to see going forward. Having said that, the Italian also confirmed there will be more conversations heading into the United States Grand Prix weekend to flush Singapore out of the team’s collective system.
“I can’t attempt what I did,” Norris told the press after the race. “I should never have attempted it in the first place, even if the move was on. I’ve got to think more of the team I represent than myself. It was a mistake on my part, and I let down the team.”
Winner: Kimi Antonelli
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Jayce Illman / Getty Images
Asked if he was happy Verstappen isn’t much closer to him in the standings than he is right now, Antonelli replied: “Yeah, I know, because it would be very scary. It would be very, very scary.”
Even when he’s on the verge of winning the championship, which he could theoretically pull off the next race in Austin, Kimi Antonelli refuses to get overly excited.
What we saw earlier in the season was the first phase of Kimi Antonelli’s coming of age. Pure domination from pole to flag with the best car in the field. The next phase arrived when he longer had the car to beat, and was forced into a damage-limiting role which required more maturity.
The 20-year-old’s outstanding recovery drive in Baku already spoke volumes about how far he has come, and there was more of the same in Malaysia and Singapore, even if it was less flashy.
What’s also refreshing about the Italian youngster is that he’s not persisting with the usual bogus lines people tend to trot out in his position. “One race at a time, not thinking about the title yet, anything can happen.”
Antonelli acknowledged his maiden title is around the corner now, and uses it as motivation to stay sharp and keep firing on all cylinders rather than fooling himself, pretending it doesn’t exist. “For sure. I know it’s very close, I know it’s there,” he said.
“But I just need to make sure that I keep doing the best I can. This weekend I haven’t particularly driven that well. I felt like I could have done a better job. But I feel confident that I have a week to reset. If I don’t do my job well, then the result won’t come. So in order to achieve what I want, I need to perform. It’s as simple as that.”
Loser: Honda
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing
Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
We all know the correct answer here is Aston Martin, and regular readers will also know we don’t like to keep kicking the same hard-working people when they’re down. However, this is a circuit that should have suited the combination of the AMR26 and the Honda engine, but that doesn’t count for much when the latter doesn’t work as it should.
The entire weekend was hampered by power unit-related issues which meant neither Fernando Alonso nor Lance Stroll could really compete, triggering pitlane start for both drivers from which there was no recovery.
It really was a poor follow-up to what was a much more promising weekend in Malaysia which yielded points for Alonso, and other circuits may not be offering the same opportunities.
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