F1. Singapore 2026 Review

Driver of the Weekend

Gavin: Max Verstappen didn’t put a foot wrong all weekend long winning both the Sprint Race and then the Main Race. That Red Bull Ford engine is doing the business and Max is once again able to make it do everything he requires it to do. Even a lack of radio communications could not stop him, and it is a nice change not to have to hear him moaning about some perceived issue that really does not matter when he is winning so easily.

Aiden: Two race wins in a row, as well as a sprint win over the weekend, and Max Verstappen (and Red Bull) has really found his mojo. He also took pole position in both the sprint and main race in Singapore, and with the exception of George Russell crashing out of the sprint, he didn’t look particularly challenged at any stage. He’s suddenly up to fourth in the drivers championship (from sixth) and although this year’s title is heading to Italy, he’ll have more than a spring in his step looking towards 2027.

Graeme: A Grand Slam weekend for Max Verstappen and a first ever win in Singapore. Pole for the Sprint, a win in the Sprint, Pole for the Grand Prix and a win in the Grand Prix. Apart from the slow start off the line in the Sprint, which worked out after lap 1 when Russell crashed out, it was the perfect weekend for the former multiple time World Champion.

Chelsea: Max Verstappen finally got the Singaporean monkey (the long-tailed macaque, most commonly) off his back by taking his first win at the night race. Not only that, he was so faultless across the weekend that it was almost boring. Full credit to the man though – it was a stellar performance, and everywhere below first place in the driver’s championship is still well within contention. Special mention to Liam Lawson, who now not only single-handedly has more points than Alpine, also has more points than Audi, Haas, Aston Martin, Williams, and Cadillac combined.

Talking Point

Gavin: Ah the return of Papaya Rules, or more specifically the lack of Papaya Rules, as current World Champion Lando Norris and team mate Oscar Piastri came together late in the Sprint Race. Lando was able to get going again and finished the race in 8th but Oscar was not so lucky. Lando was adamant he was in the right but then admitted that he had apologised. You just know that team principals Andrea Stella and Zak Brown would have read them the full riot act in the debrief, so much so that in the Sunday race Lando was offering to try to help Oscar in his fight with Lewis Hamilton. Oscar didn’t need the help as Lewis’ tyres were dead after, quelle surprise, a bad strategy call – this time from the driver instead of the usual pit wall.

Aiden: Ferrari’s strategy calls have been laughable for a number of years, but over the weekend Lewis Hamilton took it upon himself to make his own strategy call – and it didn’t work. Team principal Frederic Vasseur said: “Clearly we asked them to pit. Charles pitted. Lewis didn’t want to pit because he… I don’t know why. And then he realised it was the wrong call. It’s why he apologised to the team.“ Messy.

Graeme: Watching the race unfold, I was ready to turn on Ferrari and have a good old go at them for their shit strategy with regards to Lewis Hamilton. But that all turned on its head when, on the radio after the race, Hamilton apologised for his strategy errors and said he should’ve pitted again etc etc. So there went my write up. Anyway, what were they/him thinking? Even me sitting at home could tell he should’ve pitted under the VSC and double stacked behind Leclerc to get fresh softs. But he stayed out and got swallowed up by numerous drives in the closing laps. It was rookie stuff all round.

Chelsea: “Man, that Audi livery looks cool as shit,” I thought early in the race. “I should definitely write about that.” No sooner had I noted it down than Bortoleto’s “cool” livery literally caught fire. It still looked pretty awesome though.

Gossip Time

Gavin: Can David “Crofty” Croft please stop making Kim Kardashian puns and trying to work “Keeping up the Kardashians” into every sentence. It is really not necessary and was not funny the first time never mind the hundredth. And is just me or has Martin Brundle been a bit distracted over the last few races – there have been more than a couple of occasions where he was quiet and in thought about some other aspect of the race instead of commentating?

Aiden: When will Racing Bulls actually make a call on their 2027 driver line-up and is there anyone in that organisation that would have the nerve to drop Liam Lawson after the season he’s had, as well as what happened to him in 2025? Surely he’s done enough…hasn’t he?

Graeme: For the second time in 2 weeks, it appears that these drivers struggle to deal with a bit of rain. The sprint race was comedy really. It started with George Russell driving on a white line and sliding into the barriers at the end of Lap 1. Even I know that when it’s wet you stay away from the lines. And following that, for various reasons but mostly because it was wet, another 8 drivers also didn’t cross the finish line. Let’s do some wet weather testing in January as well as the dry testing they do prior to the season beginning.

Chelsea: Like most inherently jolly father figures, Zak Brown is not someone you want to get on the wrong side of. After Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris came together in the sprint race, trading an eight point certainty for barely one, Brown’s slicked-back grey hairdo was temporarily torn askew. Norris was predominantly to blame, but it was the stubbornness of both in a low-stakes situation that was so confounding. I think they just wanted attention.

Looking Ahead

Gavin: A week off and then we are in the Austin, Texas, home of a very big US flag. In theory Kimi Antonelli could win the Drivers Championship here. At the other end of the grid Cadillac will be hoping for a result, just a point, anything really. It has been a tough debut season for the American team and I don’t think it is going to be better any time soon.

Aiden: After a much needed week off, it’s the USA Grand Prix and Kimi Antonelli can secure the drivers championship if he wins the race with Russell finishing ninth or lower and Hamilton fifth or lower at the Circuit of the Americas on 25 October. It may be a push but he’s oh so close now…

Graeme: A week off and then to the Americas we go. Another triple header starting in Austin, Texas. Cue the promo shots of drivers in big hats and cowboy boots. Antonelli could win the lot next week, but I think it’s more likely to be one of the following 2 weeks when he’s finally crowned.

Chelsea: Racing in Rwanda? This week a 10-year deal with the African nation was confirmed from 2030, the first since 1993 that F1 has hit the continent. Outside of those paid to woop-woop the decision, it leaves a slight distaste in the mouth of anyone with a cursory eye over humanitarian issues. Still, at least we’ll get some pre-show feature of Kimi Antonelli riding a giraffe or something.

Bonus Picture(s)