F1. Singapore 2025 Review

By Gavin Huet, Chelsea Wintle, Aiden McLaughlin and Peter McGlashan

Driver of the Weekend (AKA “Hero of the race”)

Peter: Carlos Sainz – starting P18 he was the last to pit on lap 50 and then proceeded to use that tyre differential to pass 5 cars in 9 laps… none of which made the broadcast feed!! Likewise Alonso had some great moves which never made the broadcast either.

Gavin: George Russell is the driver of the weekend for me. Dominant in Qualifying and then all throughout the race. I was expecting more fireworks off the starting grid because of Max Verstappen being next to George but nothing came of that and George raced off into the evening with barely a glance over his shoulder. It was nice to see George just drive and not spend the race trying to dob all the other drivers in for every movement of their steering wheel. I think this was the best qualifying and race victory of his career, so far. All this whilst still not signed on to a new contract at Mercedes.

Chelsea: Amid ongoing contract negotiations with Mercedes and a recent bout of illness, George Russell brought it home and made it look easy. It’s a big ask to sit on the front row next to a resurgent Max Verstappen on a soft tyre but Russell took the lead early on, and never looked like surrendering. Any drama during the race was well into Russell’s rear view, and he brought home points crucial to Merecedes’ bid to take second in the constructor’s championship.

Aiden: Taking pole position and controlling the race gets gorgeous George ‘Mr Saturday’ Russell on the shortlist but I’m going with the Smooth Operator himself, Carlos Sainz. After both Williams cars were disqualified from qualifying, he started in P18 and went 50 laps on the medium tyre, before closing the race out on a set of softs and finishing in P10. After a frustrating season, the Spaniard has found his mojo alright.

 

Talking Point

Peter: How well did Lewis Capaldi handle Martin Brundle firstly mistaking his brother for him and then being left hanging when he went to shake Brundle’s hand. It’s another viral moment for Brundle and I’m sure Nico Rosberg will remind him of it next time they’re on camera together.

Gavin: Papaya Rules strike again. Every incident is causing issues now. Last time Oscar had to hand a place back to Lando because of a slow pit stop, this time Lando nudges his teammate to overtake him. According to McLaren CEO Zak Brown, today’s incident was just a racing incident. Yes we all agree with that assessment, but a slow pit stop is also a racing incident? Like the F1 rules, they are trying to make grey areas black and white, and it is just not working. And the team taking their team photo without Oscar as he was fulfilling his media commitments… yeah, there is something very wrong in that team and before the end of the season there will be fireworks in there, which is great for us old enough to remember when drivers were not BFFs with each other.

Chelsea: There was the small matter of a McLaren squabble, but I can’t go past a good old rant from Fernando Alonso. Starting at 10, Alonso was in no mood for input from his engineer: “If you speak to me every lap, I will disconnect the radio.” Then, after an extensive and entertaining battle with Isack Hadjar and finally getting the pass, sarcastically, “Trophy for hero of the race!” I snorted. Less publishable were his comments about Lewis Hamilton continuing to drive with failing brakes in the closing stages of the race, but just as hilarious. Never change, Nando.

Aiden: Are ‘Papaya Rules’ more confusing than the breakdown in rugby union? Does Peter V’landys need to come in and sort the whole thing out? Should Zak Brown and Andrea Stella refer everything to the Bunker? So. Many. Questions. I genuinely think McLaren have a handle on it internally (although it’s evolving as the season goes on), but boy oh boy it can be a bit painful watching on from the outside. Let’s be honest, that minor domino rally on lap one was a racing incident that in normal circumstances would barely have raised an eyebrow. But between radio access and everyone knowing about this mystical set of internal guidelines, it’s become bigger than Ben Hur.

 

Gossip Time

Peter: As bad as it looked on the broadcast feed, apparently Oscar didn’t actually hang up on Zak Brown post-race, it was just an unfortunate coincidence. You have to think Oscar’s agent Mark Webber enjoyed the way it played out though, as more and more calls come from down under claiming Lando’s Zak’s favourite.

Gavin: Sky F1 commentator David Croft mentioned it during the race, and I agree with him. Let’s get rid of the blue flag – the blue flag is used to tell slower drivers that faster drivers are about to lap them. If your car and driver are that good that you have to contend with back markers then you should be good enough to sort it out without any assistance. I get why it is done, but if you want more entertainment and more jeopardy then this is an easy way to introduce it. No need for reverse order grids and other gimmicks, just let the leaders negotiate traffic like a commuter on their way to work – it will make them much more relatable to the rest of the world. Imagine the possibilities, it would be great to watch the latter stages of a race when the leaders come up to a pack fighting for a point or two! Liam Lawson would become the king maker.

Chelsea: Yuki Tsunoda has another forgettable weekend, and rumours have it that his chances of retaining the Red Bull seat in 2026 are scant. If Verstappen and Hadjar take the seats, but with Mercedes sniffing around Verstappen for 2027, will Red Bull finally start designing a car that’s just… good? Rather than custom built for a single driver? It makes sense to me, but what do I know.

Aiden: So, after impressing in free practice earlier this season, 19-year-old Irishman Alex Dunne has left McLaren with his next destination yet to be confirmed. It’s understandable he wants to move on – it’s not like there’s a pending vacancy in their driver line-up. But after the Alpine rumours seem to have fizzled out, Red Bull’s driver development programme looks like a potential destination. Assuming Liam Lawson keeps his Racing Bulls seat for 2026, could the man from Co.Offaly threaten the Kiwi’s spot in 2027?

 

Looking Ahead

Peter: I think there is going to be carnage now that McLaren have the Constructors Championship in the bag. Expect a Demolition Derby between Lando and Oscar from now on in. The images of Oscar watching the video of McLaren celebrating on the podium with Lando was so awkward and I’m sure Oscar will use that as motivation in the remaining races.

Gavin: Next up is the US Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas – can’t wait to hear Danica Patrick harping on about her new found love of English language only entertainers… I expect McLaren to be fighting amongst themselves and picking up a few points but not on the podium, that will be Max and George again. And why can’t Ferrari find the same kind of improvements as Red Bull and Mercedes? Come on, I want to see Lewis get that Ferrari win and we are running out of chances for this season.

Chelsea: McLaren’s so-called “Papaya Rules” – which essentially means the team have no designated #1 driver, and Norris/Piastri are encouraged to race each other hard but clean – may have reached a stage of evolution. Now the constructors’ championship is sewn up, the weird internal “fairness” clauses should be scrapped. In Monza, Norris’ engineers fluffed a pit stop, meaning he lost position to Piastri, who was then instructed to give it back. That was a weird over-extension of the principle, and this weekend it bit again. Norris unintentionally impeded Piastri from the start and took his position, Piastri had a whine, and it was all a bit lame really. Let the chips fall for the rest of the season and leave both drivers to drive at their best.

Aiden: What’s Jamie Chadwick doing the weekend after next and can Jenson Button put in a good word for her to replace Danica Patrick in Austin? ‘Ditto’ is not something the 2009 World Champion says after the American has spoken, but he is very much on the same wavelength as Chadwick and clearly respects her opinions. Apart from that, has a sprint race ever had so much significance? Usually they’re a bit blah as far as many of the the teams and lots of viewers are concerned, but in a tight driver’s championship those points are really, really valuable. Mercedes and Ferrari will also be keen to maximise their performances there as they chase second in the constructors championship.

 

Bonus Picture

Follow Chelsea   Aiden Gavin  and Pete  on Twitter