At one of the most physically demanding circuits of the year, McLaren has the chance to clinch the World Constructors’ Championship once again. With underdogs like Williams also creating chatter, the Singapore Grand Prix has lots to offer for fans.
The Marina Bay Street Circuit has been the home of the Singapore Grand Prix since 2008, and with 24 safety car deployments in 15 races, it certainly provides lots of entertainment. The harbourside location, similar to the Monaco Grand Prix, as well as skyscrapers outlining the track, make Singapore a luxury destination for fans across the globe. However, F1 drivers have criticised the track’s bumpy nature. This combined with the hot and humid Singapore climate makes it a very unforgiving drive. In the cockpit, temperatures can hit 60 degrees Celsius with up to 80% humidity. Drivers can lose as much as 3kg during the race. In 2013 there were minor changes to the layout of the circuit, making it more manageable for drivers, and more changes were made in 2015 and 2018. The race lap record is held by Daniel Ricciardo, set in his last ever Formula 1 race in 2024.
After a disappointing outing at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where Lando Norris finished 7th and Oscar Piastri DNF’d, McLaren will be hoping for a smooth performance so they can tuck away the Constructor’s championship. All the Papaya team needs to take the title is 13 points. Andrea Stella, McLaren team principal, said earlier this week, “it’s also a higher-downforce street circuit than Baku … which should better suit the MCL39 (the current McLaren car)”. This year McLaren have performed well at circuits similar to Singapore, for example Hungary. However, the Marina Bay track is often an anomaly for dominant teams. For example in 2023, Red Bull lost only one race the entire season – Singapore.
Continuing on the Constructors’, the battle for second place has never been more intense. At Baku, Mercedes seized it from Ferrari, but these two outfits have been swapping around the whole season long. Ferrari favours low downforce tracks, making Singapore a hopeful race for them, but Mercedes have also been on an upwards trajectory since the summer break. There is also Red Bull to worry about – with two back to back wins, the chance of them taking the silver medal is not low. Finally, Williams also have the opportunity to double down on a successful performance last time out. Carlos Sainz took the victory in the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix, so at one of his favoured tracks, could a podium be on the cards?
In this week’s “Rookie Watch”, four out of five have never taken on the circuit. As Formula 2 and 3 do not compete in Singapore, the difficult track and horrid physical conditions will really put the rookies to the test. In 2024, Franco Colapinto finished 11th, just outside the points, and was criticised by Carlos Sainz for nearly causing a multi-car crash on the first lap. The Argentinian has been lacklustre so far this season, but Singapore, a track he has more experience on than other rookie, may be his chance to shine. Gabriel Bortoleto, Ollie Bearman, Isack Hadjar, and Kimi Antonelli have all never tackled this demanding circuit, so fans will be keen to see how they perform.
