Plus: Haas' chance to get back in the game, the threat from Lando Norris, and Liam Lawson's shot at his first F1 points.
Starting down the grid has rarely ruled Verstappen out of contention for victory over the past 18 months, such has been his and Red Bull’s dominance.
That alone would be enough to make a comeback victory like we saw in Miami or Spa last year a big ask. But when you factor in the difficulty of overtaking in Singapore due to the tight confines of the street circuit, it becomes almost impossible.“You can’t pass,” Verstappen said. “On other tracks, you can start last — probably at Spa, you can start last and win the race. But not here. Here you need to be two or three seconds faster to have a chance to pass. That’s just street circuits.
There was the 2017 race when Ferrari, trying to turn the tide in Sebastian Vettel’s title bid against Lewis Hamilton, saw its cars crash into each other at the first corner — and then. In 2018, one of Hamilton’s greatest pole laps paved the way for a critical victory in his late-season march to the title, while the following year yielded Vettel’s final grand prix win after he undercut a frustrated Charles Leclerc.
While George Russell expects Mercedes to fight Ferrari for the win, he noted: “We can’t discount Lando either. He’s got good race pace. race pace probably looked a little bit ahead of Ferrari’s.” Another team that came away from Singapore qualifying feeling very upbeat is McLaren, even after seeing Oscar Piastri drop out in Q1, losing out due to the red flag for Lance Stroll’s crash.
Track position will be decisive, meaning the race could quickly flip on a safety car — which has come out in every edition of the Singapore Grand Prix — and tire management will be critical through a hot, grueling race where overtaking comes at a premium. But Norris is in a prime spot to fight for McLaren’s first podium since Hungary — and maybe more.
In the flurry of everyone discussing Verstappen’s surprise Q2 knockout, the identity of who bested his lap seemed to fly under the radar.
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