Back to the streets in Singapore
It's time for a night race, on one of the most brutal tracks in F1
There is no street circuit like Singapore. Aside from being one of the most lux and stylish races—it’s Singapore—it holds the honor of being the first night race in F1 history, beginning in 2008 and continuing to this day.
This year, we have a reworked circuit, lowering the number of corners from 23 to 19. Turns 16, 17, 18, and 19 were removed from sector 3 to create another straight in the track. However, that’s not expected to lessen the challenge this GP poses for the drivers.
It’s one of the most physical races on the calendar, thanks to a bumpy track and the humid Pacific weather. They work the wheel nearly endlessly around a high-speed lap, pulling constant g-forces, and the slow corners mean a lap, and therefore the race, takes longer than average, with races easily reaching the two-hour mark. Drivers can lose as much as 3kg (6lbs) throughout the race. Insane.
The Singapore GP is demanding on drivers and teams, but it’s one of the most recognizable, unique, and glamorous races on the F1 calendar.
Singapore GP quick facts:
Held 21 times
The record for most driver wins is 5, held by Sebastian Vettel
The record for most constructor wins is 4, held jointly by Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari
The race is 62 laps long
There is no lap record for this new layout.
Charles Leclerc took pole in 2022. Sergio Perez won, Charles Leclerc finished P2, and Carlos Sainz Jr. finished P3. George Russell got the fastest lap.
Barely a month ago, Red Bull cautioned fans against hoping for them to win it all. Even in the middle of Red Bull’s dominance, other drivers said the same: Eventually, something would go wrong for Red Bull, and someone else would win. No constructor has won every race in a season, even back when seasons were only 10-15 races long. Now, with 22 races on the calendar, it’s something no team would even consider.
Or, at least, it was something no team would consider.
With Max Verstappen breaking the record with 10 race wins in a row, a hum of excitement is coming from the Red Bull garage. There are only eight races left. Red Bull hasn’t lost once. What if they can do it? Make it 22 races straight—23 if you count Abu Dhabi from last season?
Well, Red Bull have stopped cautioning fans against hope and have started hoping themselves. They’ve admitted that, after breaking the record for consecutive race wins, winning every race is the next big goal. They’ve already made history this season—what’s one more record?
Everyone admits that Singapore will be Red Bull’s biggest challenge to this record. Its layout doesn’t favor the RB19. But that doesn’t mean the RB19 won’t be good, and if Red Bull keeps operating at the level they have been… they could win this. And if they win this, their chance of winning the following seven races doesn’t seem that far-fetched.
Mercedes has admitted they’re just waiting for this season to end, but that doesn’t mean they’ve totally given up. They try every weekend to get the finicky W14 into a drivable race trim, and every weekend, at least one of their drivers says they didn’t feel good in the car. However, Mercedes don’t think the races are their biggest challenge—that role is reserved for qualifying.
Russell has had two Q2 and one Q1 exit this season. Hamilton has had two Q2 exits. It hurts their race if they don’t qualify well, even when their car is the second or third fastest for the weekend. Getting caught in the pack and getting frustrated can cause other issues—such as Hamilton’s frustration-fueled clash with Piastri last week at Monza.
However, there’s hope. Before spring break, Hamilton was qualifying well. This weekend’s Singapore track also suits the W14’s preference for high downforce. If Mercedes are going to seize what’s left in this season, it’s all about qualifying well at Singapore and maximizing during the race.
While Mercedes are still pushing this season, most of their focus is, admittedly, on next year. Their current quality might leave some fans equally worried about next year, but Wolff and Mercedes seem hopeful. They reference the large leaps in performance that Aston Martin made over the winter before this season or the ones Mclaren made during the season.
Unfortunately, the team cannot solely concentrate on the W15 as Aston Martin and Ferrari are dangerously approaching to claim their second place in the Constructor’s Standings.
Aside from being a hard race, Singapore is the race that the FIA decided to apply every new technical directive this season. The most notable of these directives is TD018, also known as “the flexi-wing directive.” Essentially, this tells teams how much—or how little—their front weeks are allowed to flex and still be within technical rules.
This isn’t a new directive. Its first draft was issued in 2021, but it was rescinded before the 2023 season because most instructions included in the directive were added to the technical regulations. However, as always, teams have started pushing and bending those rules (the eternal struggle between the FIA and the teams is my favorite part of tech), so the directive is being reissued to fill in the gaps in the regs.
Flexible bodywork is outlawed in F1, but teams have been wiggling around this for a long time by creating bodywork that can relax to reduce drag and firm up to change the aero balance in corners. There are detection tests set up by the FIA that occur throughout the season to ensure bodywork isn’t too flexible, but of course, some bits have to be a little bit flexible, or else they’ll fail. That’s just physics.
Therefore, these regulations have always existed in a gray area, a give-and-take between teams and the FIA, physics and regulations. It’s just that now, the FIA thinks some teams have taken things too far. They discovered that some have created wings that technically pass the flexibility tests as a whole but have individual components that can move locally.
The first FIA tests following this directive will be conducted in Singapore, so all bodywork must comply now. So, we’ll see this weekend how the changes affect the team. It’s not expected to shake things up too much, but maybe some teams will be affected? I’ve been hearing rumors of, like, every team being slowed down by this—from Red Bull (though Horner and Wache denied it) to Mercedes (though Wolff denied it) to Alpine (no one has commented on this one).
Some small things to leave you with:
Questions are beginning to circle around the Alpha Tauri seat—and around Yuki in particular. I’m definitely a Yuki fan, and it’s important to remember that he’s scored all of Alpha Tauri’s points so far. However, having a man who’s been out of a seat for eight months and a rookie match your best performances is… concerning.
I need to know how much Lawrence Stroll is paying Mike Krack to keep saying that Lance Stroll is close to Fernando Alonso. “There’s only 0.3s between them” sure dude. It’s not like Lance’s performances are costing you valuable points. Get that bag.
With all the drama going down with Alex Palou, expect to see Indycar driver Pato O’Ward in Mclaren orange soon! Well, he already is in Indycar, but I mean in the F1 paddock. Rumor has it he’s the one who will get the coveted Mclaren FP1 chance.
Perez has told the press he’s considering Red Bull alternatives for 2025. It’s looking like he’ll be the next person chewed up and spit out by being Max Verstappen’s teammate. It’ll be interesting to see where he goes, and if anyone can match the record he set for years-as-Max’s-teammate (three for now, four by the end of 2024).
Good links:
Hulkenberg-to-Audi is already too logical to ignore - Valentin Khorounzhiy, The Race
Please, could we start giving rookies a chance instead of passing Hulkenberg around like we’re playing keep-away with a sexist, absolutely-not-pink ball.
F3’s newest champion Gabriel Bortoleto on his breakout season and what comes next - Jake Williams-Smith, Formula 1
F3 is over, and Bortoleto won in a… strange, slightly controversial way. But he’s now the F3 champion and has a bright future ahead of him!
Is there anyone who could beat Verstappen in this Red Bull? - Scott Mitchell-Malm, Edd Straw and Mark Hughes, The Race
Conclusion: …maybe? It depends on the parameters of the thought experiment, the time frame, and who gets what say in development.
Schumacher ‘deserves to be on the grid’ says Wolff as he weighs up prospects for German’s race return - Formula 1
Wolff really wants Mick Schumacher on the grid, but he doesn’t want to be the one to get him there.
The problem with F1 officials’ favourite penalty - The Race
Once again it’s time for me to feel validated by The Race, who are asking the same questions as me. Is a 5s time penatly enough anymore?
POINTS PERMUTATIONS: Where and when Verstappen can become the 2023 F1 world champion - Formula 1
Yes, we’re already talking about it. Tl;dr: it’s possible he can cinch it at Japan, but it’s far more likely he’ll take the championship at Qatar.
Norris expands on back issues aggravated by current F1 cars - Filip Cleeren, autosport.com
Lando is way to young to have back problems like these. I wish him speedy healing, and that something is done to prevent this from happening to anyone else.
My fellow substacks:
Sorry this is late! It was a weird weekend. I’m so looking forward to the Singapore GP—there’s a lot of storylines converging here. In addition to that, though, I just think it’s one of the vibe-iest GPs ever. Do you agree? Let me know!