F1. Singapore 2024 Review

By Gavin Huet, Chelsea Wintle and Aiden McLaughlin

Driver of the day

Chelsea – Nico Hulkenberg had a fantastic weekend – dousing Sky host Ted Kravitz in ice water, starting the race in P6 after blitzing qualifying, and ultimately finishing ninth. Hulk drove a fantastic race, frustrating more accomplished drivers and pushing through what is said to be the most uncomfortable race of the year for drivers.

Aiden – LANDO NORRIS LED THE SECOND LAP OF THE GRAND PRIX! Yes, the last five times he’s started from pole, he’s lost that lead by the end of lap one, so by having one of his better starts, and keeping it together first time around, he’s given himself the chance to set up a dominant victory over championship leader Max Verstappen by 21 seconds. This is what he has to keep doing to keep the pressure on the Dutchman who still leads by 52 points with six Grand Prix and three sprint races to go.

Gavin – Lando Norris. In the (very recent) past I have laughed at his track record of losing P1 on the first lap (and often by the first corner) but this week he got it all right and was so dominant, but not faultless, that it blew the opposition away. I still think Max Verstappen has the title locked in but this is fun to watch and if Lando can win every race until the end of the season he deserves the title.

 

Moment of the weekend

Chelsea – Mohammed Ben Sulayem, head of the FIA, seems to have a penchant for busybodying. It doesn’t seem that long since he was squabbling with drivers over their jewellery, and this week he’s chosen to come down on swearing with an undertone of racism (“we’re not rappers”). Max Verstappen, in a bout of petulance, let loose with a curly word or two during the pre-race press conference and was subsequently hit with a community service-style penalty. The following press conference was predictable: chin stuck out in waspish irritation, Verstappen restricted himself to monosyllabic responses. He agreed to talk to journalists more freely when out from under the repressive FIA umbrella. All very silly. Drivers swear, broadcasters do their best to bleep it, nobody’s dying. Let’s move on.

Aiden – Did Daniel Ricciardo and VCARB/Racing Bulls/whatever they are called this week actually hit upon a plan for Christian Horner and the senior team for the remainder of the season when the Australian took away Norris’ point for fastest lap right at the end of the race? With Sergio Perez still struggling to get meaningful returns, McLaren are looking likely to win the constructors title, so how about calling the Mexican in on the last lap of each race to try and take that fastest lap point away from Norris on a regular basis? People talk about a Christmas present for Ricciardo if Verstappen was to win the title by a point, so what would Perez get for stealing six points away from his title rival?

Gavin – It was a boring race, especially as for the first time ever in Singapore there was no safety car, so I am hard pressed to find a racing moment, and I don’t want to jump the gun with a retrospective on Daniel Ricciardo leaving the sport, so this leaves me with… the lizard running down the track? Yeah nah, this week I am opting for Sergio Perez not being able to overtake Franco Colapinto on his, checks notes, third race – “He’s very good. Difficult to pass, Colapinto” said the driver in one of the fastest cars on the grid, a driver who is known to be a street race specialist, unfortunately it is also a driver known as Sergio Perez. In a semi hot take, what are the chances of this actually being Dani Ric’s last race, to be replaced by Liam Lawson who is actually auditioning for Sergio’s seat next year at Red Bull..?

 

Hot take of the weekend

Chelsea – With six “proper” races to go and three sprints, there are a lot of points up for grabs, and both championships could still go either way. Red Bull shouldn’t sleep on Ferrari or even Mercedes, who are both threatening to nudge forward in the constructor’s championship. The good money is still on Verstappen for the driver’s and McLaren for constructor’s, but we are three weeks out from the next race, and unlike summer break, teams are free to work on their cars. There might be a new chapter in this season yet.

Aiden – If Verstappen was sentenced to ‘community service’ by the FIA for swearing in a press conference, then surely former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner must be in line for some sort of capital punishment? The President of the FIA, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, is from the UAE after all, so perhaps the firing squad is being lined up? In all seriousness though…I’m not condoning the use of swearing, but it can generally be handled for tv purposes by a good old time delay and a bleep machine. Formula One and the FIA have reaped plenty of rewards through Netflix’s Drive to Survive, where Steiner became a foul-mouthed star, so there seems to be some double standards here?

Gavin – In the week after Azerbaijan the media was full of reports of the McLaren rear wing being illegal even though it had passed all the FIA scrutineering. McLaren claimed the wing was not the reason for their performance and opted to remove it for this weekend in Singapore. The result was a race victory to Lando in the McLaren by over 20 seconds! It wouldn’t surprise me to see Red Bull put in a complaint to have that wing reinstated in time for the next race.

 

Cold take of the weekend

Chelsea – Last but by no means least. This weekend was most likely the swansong for Daniel Ricciardo, that loveable Australian larrikin, Netflix favourite, all-round good bloke. Unfortunately he didn’t get nearly the farewell he deserved as his fate is still yet to be announced, leaving him awkwardly in the media pen facing questions he knew the answers to but couldn’t rightly say. For a man who’s given years to the sport in more ways than one it seemed horribly unfair. There’s nothing sadder than a sad clown. Farewell, Daniel, and thanks for the memories – I’ll always remember you faceplanting into the pool in Monaco. It’s been grand.

Aiden – Carlos Sainz looks luckier and luckier to have that Williams drive with each passing race weekend. Had James Vowels ditched Logan Sargeant much earlier in the season and brought the impressive Franco Colapinto into that seat, I think he would have the 21-year-old Argentinian alongside Alex Albon in the medium, perhaps long-term. There will be a few drivers looking over their shoulders in 2025 with a talent like that on the sidelines.

Gavin – The FIA seem to pick some weird fights, in the past we have had Sebastian Vettel and his underwear, Lewis Hamilton and his jewellery, and now we have Max Verstappen and swearing. To make matters worse the chairman of the FIA FIA, Ben Sulayem, said F1 had to “differentiate between our sport – motorsport – and rap music”. He was called out for this casual racism by Lewis Hamilton. Ignoring the racial undertones, the grid is packed with all kinds of celebrities every week, including rap artists, in a concerted effort to grow the sport and make Liberty Media some more money so this kind of authoritarianism is going to dent these efforts and make F1 some headlines but not in a good way.

Bonus Pictures of the Week

A rare image of Lando Norris leading the race into the first corner when starting on pole.

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