Singapore GP Race Report

There has been a Safety Car in every single race at this venue.  Would this be a rare race without one?  Could Norris hold his pole position off the start?

He did make a good start for once and kept Verstappen in second place.  It was particularly difficult to tell the Mercedes and the Aston Martin cars apart, fortunately no one really changed places so it didn't matter beyond the first couple of laps.  Something happened to Albon, who dropped four places off the start, not what he needed, caught out by his own rookie team mate.  Piastri seemed to be holding up a train very early, was this a team plan?  Part of Papaya Rules?

The race continued in a procession with Albon and Ricciardo rolling the dice and taking an early pit stop.  The Williams would then retire.

By half way through-ish, Norris was 24 seconds ahead of Verstappen in second.  There had been some overtakes, not sure who would win best overtake though.  Norris gave the wall a healthy whack a couple of times but survived.  Magnussen however, made the slightest touch with his Haas on the wall and had a puncture.

LeClerc chased Russell all the way home, for fourth place.  Ricciardo went in for soft tyres at the last minute and took the Fastest Lap.  It was disappointing that Colapinto finished just outside the points, but this race was long, hard and physically demanding without a Safety Car, virtual or otherwise.

The pit strategy worked well for Piastri, who finished 3rd.  Alonso managed 8th ahead of Hulkenberg and Perez.

Ricciardo has probably finished his F1 career but he only finished 6 places behind his team mate (with an extra pit stop).  Perez was 8 places behind his team mate, in the sister team.  Verstappen thanked Ricciardo over the radio for taking the bonus Fastest Lap point from Norris and McLaren.  He was also awarded Driver of the Day, with fans sending a clear message to Horner and Marko about who they want to see in the car for the rest of the season.

The drivers in the interviews immediately after the race looked like they might cry or faint.  The length of this post shows just how boring this race was, I'm sure it used to be exciting.  Has the talent of the field overcome the challenges of the track?  Do we miss Latifi and Sargeant?  Where was Stroll?  He can usually be counted on to cock up something.

In terms of the championship, there are still 3 sprint races to come as well as real races; so nothing can be banked yet.