I, for one, was relieved not to see a single safety car. I understand many people expected the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix to be more nail-biting. Still, I believe there were a handful of critical happenings worth harvesting from a peculiarly tame race.
That being said, here are my four takeaways from the race:
LANDO NORRIS WINS
The McLaren driver secured a third Grand Prix victory this season, finishing nearly 21 seconds ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Most importantly, Norris finally broke his pole position bad luck and maintained his lead throughout the race, a critical move enabled by a known difficulty to overtake in the Marina Bay Circuit (unless one is willing to risk a crash). Oscar Piastri, who placed fifth in Qualifying, finished in third place, creating a 1-3 finish for McLaren.
McLaren still leads the Constructor Standings with 516 points, while Red Bull is second with 475 points. With my little eye, I spy a chance for Ferrari, third place with 441 points, to close the 34-point gap to second place. Should Verstappen and Perez's combined efforts continue to have shaky results, Leclerc and Sainz should be able to achieve this increasingly possible feat.
Verstappen and Norris now have a 52-point difference in Driver Standings. It’s hard to say if the British driver will be able to take over, but I will say this - this season has been far more unpredictable than anyone could have predicted. Norris would gain a significant upper hand if Verstappen finished closer to tenth place (or finished outside points), crashed out, or retired his car in one or more upcoming races. As long as one of those scenarios doesn’t manifest, I highly doubt that Verstappen would roll over and let Norris beat him. From now on, the McLaren driver must ensure he doesn’t falter, and his chances of a championship title will remain feasible.
BAD STRATEGY FOR HAMILTON
Given the recurring complaints about the tires during qualifying and the intense Singaporean heat, one would think that Mercedes would execute a sensible tire strategy. Well, that was an unreasonable expectation to have.
The team had Lewis Hamilton (who qualified P3) start on soft tires, a rather head-scratching decision given that heat and humidity would accelerate tire degradation and impact his ability to keep up with other drivers on hard or medium tires. The driver, who managed to maintain his position, was called for a pit stop at Lap 17. Not only did this drag the driver down to P11, but Hamilton spent most of his race fighting his way up. He ultimately finished P6 and was sandwiched between the Ferrari drivers.
It was a call made far too early, and even Hamilton himself acknowledged this during a team radio on Lap 23. Most drivers had singular pit stops between Laps 25 and 38. The podium placers, to give you an idea of how terrible of a call this was, boxed at the following:
Lando Norris (McLaren) - Lap 30
Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - Lap 29
Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - Lap 38
These stops barely affected their race placements. On the other hand, George Russell started and finished P4, started on medium tires, and didn’t pit until Lap 27.
Mercedes threw away Hamilton’s chances of a podium finish with a rubbish strategy. He had a genuine fighting chance of winning or maintaining a P2/P3 podium finish, and Mercedes threw that away with that pitting call. If only Hamilton had given mediums or hards to start the race and had a pitstop at least ten laps later, this would have catapulted the likelihood of a better result.
TOUGH TIMES FOR FERRARI
Anyone who identifies with the Tifosi is familiar with the uneasiness that comes with the territory. When the team performs well, it’s a moment of pride and glory. When the opposite happens, it is the catastrophic beginning of the end of the world. Charles Leclerc (who recently won at the Temple of Speed) and Carlos Sainz (who won the Singapore Grand Prix last year) should have had a superb race, but alas - the racing gods flipped a coin, held their breaths, and had a laugh as they reversed fortune for the Prancing Horse. A deleted time and a Q3 wall-kiss of destruction during Qualifying placed the Ferrari drivers in P9 and P10.
Leclerc spent his race primarily battling two drivers: Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin and George Russell of Mercedes. The Monagesque driver was initially stuck behind the former in P7, to the point where he expressed his frustration on team radio. He later raced the British driver in a tight fight for fourth, only to settle for fifth place. Sainz, who was dealt the crappier hand this weekend, was able to secure a seventh-place finish, but it was not without fighting against fluctuating placements and nearly missing out on points.
Did everything work out for Leclerc and Sainz in the end? Objectively, yes. Was this an ideal outcome for a team like Ferrari? Not really. Will the odds be in their favor in Austin? Let’s hope so.
COLAPINTO MAKES HIS MARK (AGAIN)
Having started in P12, the Williams driver made a daring and brilliant divebomb within the first turn of Lap 1, forcing some drivers, including Alex Albon, to go wide and gain a top-ten position. He managed to defend his position against the more experienced Sergio Perez for P10 for nearly the entirety of the race. The Red Bull driver, who typically complains of being held up or blocked by drivers ahead on the radio, remarked, “He's very good. Very difficult to pass Colapinto.” After pitting, the Argentinian lost his position and found himself behind Perez for the remainder of the race.
Despite being 1.6 seconds shy of a P10 finish, Colapinto did a phenomenal job for his first-ever night race and his first time in the Marina Bay Circuit. The fact that despite this being his third race in Formula One, he was able to outperform his teammate (who later retired the car) within the first lap of the race and sparred off with a Red Bull driver within one of the most physically demanding street circuits on the calendar makes up for missing out on points.
I said this last week, and I will not hesitate to repeat myself - Franco Colapinto deserves a permanent seat in 2025 and beyond. He has done too good of a job so far to be ignored. Combined with his ever-growing popularity, any team would be a fool to shrug him off as a viable contender in favor of some of his former colleagues in Formula Two. While performing in that category may indicate a hypothetical likelihood of success, performing well in an actual Formula One race is where the potential is both demonstrated and guaranteed. I believe Colapinto has exceeded expectations for an interim driver, and I am confident that he will continue to do so for the few races left.
Formula One coverage on Vintage & Coupe will continue with the US Grand Prix weekend from October 17th to October 20th, 2024.
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