The European season is firmly behind us as the 2023 Formula One Singapore Grand Prix kicks off the final, flyaway leg of this year's World Championship. Who will end up on top?
Image credit: Aston Martin on Newspress
The summer break is done. We have now visited the last few remaining European rounds and the Formula One paddock is readying its sprint around the globe towards the season finale. Indeed, eight rounds remain, all of which are fly away events; the first of which takes place this weekend at Singapore.
This year's visit to the Marina Bay Street circuit will be F1's thirteenth to the venue. However, it will be the 22nd official Singapore Grand Prix following some Formula Libre racing in the mid-1960's. This will be the first time in Marina Bay history that the race will run on a dramatically reduced track length. Much of the traditional third sector disappears this year with the chicanes under the bridge being bypassed in favour of an extended straight.
Whilst this is sure to make qualifying less exciting, it is aimed at improving the raceday show. Whether it will work or not is as yet unknown. All we can do is hope that the altered layout will provide an interesting challenge to the drivers as they learn new corner approach speeds.
Aside from the circuit modifications, there are many stories going on around the paddock. Here are just some of the stories to look out for going into the race weekend.
With such a dominant run of form all season and Red Bull reliability seemingly not looking to challenge the team's results, the question now is, how far can he go? It is looking ever more likely that the Dutch champion will reach Abu Dhabi having not dropped below P2 all year and having won every race since Miami.
For those tired of the constant domination of the sport, this will certainly be a disappointing prediction. But those impressed by this consistent level unmatched by any driver or team will surely continue to be in awe this weekend.
A street circuit, Singapore plays right into the Red Bull RB19's strengths. In fact, the combination of rapid direction changes and slow speed turns is exactly where this car appears strongest. If that wasn not enough, the racer's straight line speed advantage will come in handy with the newly elongated straight between turns 14-16.
In fact, Logan Sargeant is yet to truly show what he is made of in his rookie season and is running out of chances to do so. With Williams' fantastic top-end advantage, last time out at Monza should have been his chance to shine. However, DRS trains and a qualifying performance falling in the shadows of that of his teammate, Sargeant failed to score points yet again.
Image credit: Red Bull Content Pool
Whilst Albon now leads the mid-field battle on an impressive 21 points, the Floridian is languishing as the only non-Alpha Tauri driver yet to leave the marks.
Although Alpha Tauri has had four drivers race its car this year, only one has managed to score points so far. Bar Nyck De Vries, all three remaining racers will be in contention to fill the two seats left unaccounted for at the Italian team. With each of his new teammates, Yuki Tsunoda has so far shown that he is able to keep his place as the lead driver.
But as Liam Lawson continues to build confidence in the sport with Ricciardo still injured, the Japanese driver is under serious threat. Tsunoda must use each race he has up against Lawson to show he is the superior driver in order to preserve his seat. With Red Bull seemingly in favour of Ricciardo racing next year, the battle may well be between these two youngsters. Each race from now on, especially Singapore, will be crucial.
What will you be keeping an eye on during the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix weekend?
Image credit: Aston Martin on Newspress
The summer break is done. We have now visited the last few remaining European rounds and the Formula One paddock is readying its sprint around the globe towards the season finale. Indeed, eight rounds remain, all of which are fly away events; the first of which takes place this weekend at Singapore.
This year's visit to the Marina Bay Street circuit will be F1's thirteenth to the venue. However, it will be the 22nd official Singapore Grand Prix following some Formula Libre racing in the mid-1960's. This will be the first time in Marina Bay history that the race will run on a dramatically reduced track length. Much of the traditional third sector disappears this year with the chicanes under the bridge being bypassed in favour of an extended straight.
Whilst this is sure to make qualifying less exciting, it is aimed at improving the raceday show. Whether it will work or not is as yet unknown. All we can do is hope that the altered layout will provide an interesting challenge to the drivers as they learn new corner approach speeds.
Aside from the circuit modifications, there are many stories going on around the paddock. Here are just some of the stories to look out for going into the race weekend.
Max Verstappen win record
In Monza, Max Verstappen did the unthinkable: After a hard-fought battle for the first half of the Grand Prix, he stormed past the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz and cruised to his 10th win in a row. Surpassing Sebastian Vettel, he now sits as the driver with the most consecutive wins in a row.With such a dominant run of form all season and Red Bull reliability seemingly not looking to challenge the team's results, the question now is, how far can he go? It is looking ever more likely that the Dutch champion will reach Abu Dhabi having not dropped below P2 all year and having won every race since Miami.
For those tired of the constant domination of the sport, this will certainly be a disappointing prediction. But those impressed by this consistent level unmatched by any driver or team will surely continue to be in awe this weekend.
A street circuit, Singapore plays right into the Red Bull RB19's strengths. In fact, the combination of rapid direction changes and slow speed turns is exactly where this car appears strongest. If that wasn not enough, the racer's straight line speed advantage will come in handy with the newly elongated straight between turns 14-16.
F1 2024 driver line-up
Behind Verstappen is a thoroughly competitive grid that looks set to continue its fight throughout the tail end of this year and into next. However, there are still three seats yet to be filled for 2024. Indeed, the Red Bull owned Alpha Tauri squad is taking its time to finalise its line-up for next year, as is Williams with its second seat alongside Alex Albon.In fact, Logan Sargeant is yet to truly show what he is made of in his rookie season and is running out of chances to do so. With Williams' fantastic top-end advantage, last time out at Monza should have been his chance to shine. However, DRS trains and a qualifying performance falling in the shadows of that of his teammate, Sargeant failed to score points yet again.
Image credit: Red Bull Content Pool
Whilst Albon now leads the mid-field battle on an impressive 21 points, the Floridian is languishing as the only non-Alpha Tauri driver yet to leave the marks.
Although Alpha Tauri has had four drivers race its car this year, only one has managed to score points so far. Bar Nyck De Vries, all three remaining racers will be in contention to fill the two seats left unaccounted for at the Italian team. With each of his new teammates, Yuki Tsunoda has so far shown that he is able to keep his place as the lead driver.
But as Liam Lawson continues to build confidence in the sport with Ricciardo still injured, the Japanese driver is under serious threat. Tsunoda must use each race he has up against Lawson to show he is the superior driver in order to preserve his seat. With Red Bull seemingly in favour of Ricciardo racing next year, the battle may well be between these two youngsters. Each race from now on, especially Singapore, will be crucial.
What will you be keeping an eye on during the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix weekend?
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