2022 Formula One Singapore Grand Prix

Birthday Boy Max Verstappen.jpg
F1's 10 teams and 20 drivers will be racing under the lights in Singapore this weekend with many midfield battles still to play out.

Max Verstappen's dominant season, which will likely end up as the winningest season in F1 history, has him as the favourite to win under the lights in Singapore.

Short of a statistical miracle, both the drivers and constructors' championships are concluded in Verstappen and Red Bull's favour for 2022. An early-season threat from Ferrari was quickly thwarted by Red Bull, and Christian Horner's team and number one driver have been comfortably in front of the rest of the field since.

Behind Red Bull in the constructors' championship are Ferrari and Mercedes. After the first few races of the season it seemed like the struggle for pace from Mercedes would see them fade from contention with the top teams after nearly a decade of dominance, but they now sit just 35 points behind Ferrari.

Alpine and McLaren are also close in the standings, with the two teams separated by 18 points. A podium finish from either team this weekend could swing the battle significantly with only a handful of races remaining.

The Sebastian Vettel farewell season has just six remaining races including Singapore. The four time F1 champion will run his final races in Japan, the United States, Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi after this weekend before hanging up his racing gloves.

A mix of clouds, rain, and maybe even a thundershower could lead to interesting conditions this time out in Singapore.

Will this be the weekend Verstappen clinches his championship? Will Mercedes catch Ferrari in the standings before the season ends? Who do you think might get a surprise podium finish in Singapore? Let us know in the comments below.

Image via: Tijn
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About author
Mike Smith
I have been obsessed with sim racing and racing games since the 1980's. My first taste of live auto racing was in 1988, and I couldn't get enough ever since. Lead writer for RaceDepartment, and owner of SimRacing604 and its YouTube channel. Favourite sims include Assetto Corsa Competizione, Assetto Corsa, rFactor 2, Automobilista 2, DiRT Rally 2 - On Twitter as @simracing604

Comments

Premium
I think everyone agrees if you have the money you can get a GP. Just like to see some discretion in those they choose. A lot on the schedule IMO, not worth the time to watch.
Oh I fully agree there's too many races now, and it's (imo) incredibly silly that we're supposedly not racing in Russia for moral reasons* but giving Azerbijan a pass. I really wish they'd cut it down to something a bit more managable like 16 or 20 races (even though that's still a lot). Quality over Quantity, in no small part because more and more races just make it more obvious that a done deal is a done deal when it comes to championship dominance. Nascar has, what, more then 30 races per season, but I never heard a nascar fan be happy with that.

Though if I would be cutting the calendar, Singapore wouldn't be my first pick, unless I could get it replaced with Malaysia.

* Not that I'll miss the boring pos, which was in itself a very obvious case of pandering to putin.
 
actually, it is more than stupid to infer that Verstappen isn't a good driver.
WTF.
Max is a super good driver.
I am just saying that dominance is boring.
And that Schumacher, Vettel and Hamilton are ALSO good drivers.
But Dutch fans can not cope with that :)
 
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Would be interesting put the worst team's driver in the best car and vice versa.

Who would win?

I think we all know the answer.

The rich get richer,the poor get the picture,the bomb never hits you,when you're down so low!
 
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Another terrible bodged together street circuit that's totally unsuitable for F1.

The only reason this is on the calendar is that Singapore bought the event.

Honestly it annoys the hell out of me how purpose built established circuits like Hockenheim and Nurburgring are being ignored just because somebody with fat checkbook can close off a few city streets, laughably call it a circuit, and then bribe F1 and the FIA for the event to take place.
Obviously, it takes fat checkbook(s) to run the circus. But yes I agree FIA should only give license to someone with fat check book(s) and a proper F1 track. Monaco should be scrapped too or have the drivers race in f3 cars or superkarts!
 
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D
I would love to see the current F1 drivers racing each other in karts, regardless of track venue.
 
WTF.
Max is a super good driver.
I am just saying that dominance is boring.
And that Schumacher, Vettel and Hamilton are ALSO good drivers.
But Dutch fans can not cope with that :)
you think for all Dutch people? Thats crazy

of course the 3 you mention are good drivers otherwise you won't become world champion
 
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Premium
I would love to see the current F1 drivers racing each other in karts, regardless of track venue.
Or bring a little interest to Sprint weekends, instead of using the F1 machine there could be a 'production road car' sprint qually and race.
where *Toyota GT86's (with more durable tyres) are used by the teams for a 10 minute Qualifying session for a 20 minute race... and a sprinkeling of petrol head Celebrities head the first few rows. (perhaps qualifying at the same time as the Pro Drivers but always at the front of the grid)
Similar has been tried in the past with varying degrees of success.

I don't agree that the sprint race format as it is is that well thought out... just imaging if the F1 championship title decider were to be decided on a sprint race before the main event...
No, in my example above, the 'proddy' race would decide the grid for the main race with points going only to the Proddy 'Pro/Celeb' championship. and very mixed grids for F1, much more interesting.

*cheap and entertaining
 
Premium
Is F1 becoming even more of a show than it ever was?
I suppose the obvious answer is yes, but... it would be convenient for F1 if the championship was to go until the final race of the season as last year, wouldn't it?
 
Or bring a little interest to Sprint weekends, instead of using the F1 machine there could be a 'production road car' sprint qually and race.
where *Toyota GT86's (with more durable tyres) are used by the teams for a 10 minute Qualifying session for a 20 minute race... and a sprinkeling of petrol head Celebrities head the first few rows. (perhaps qualifying at the same time as the Pro Drivers but always at the front of the grid)
Similar has been tried in the past with varying degrees of success.

I don't agree that the sprint race format as it is is that well thought out... just imaging if the F1 championship title decider were to be decided on a sprint race before the main event...
No, in my example above, the 'proddy' race would decide the grid for the main race with points going only to the Proddy 'Pro/Celeb' championship. and very mixed grids for F1, much more interesting.

*cheap and entertaining
Well, we had the Procar M1 Series in 1979 and 1980, seeing all F1 drivers battle in high powered, slidey GT cars of the same spec (don't know how much could each entry tune their car outside setup) was truly something.
 
Singapore is not really different from the old Adelaide track, it’s just longer. It’s a street circuit, that’s all. It’s an interesting challenge, in fact.
We have sent people to the electric chair for lower heresies than this.

Edit to expand on this: as the race was insanely boring, I decided to pay attention to different shots to see if I could tell different parts of the circuit and identify different characters and scenery. Most of times, I couldn't (and yes, I have driven on it on a sim). Besides a couple corners, most of the track is bland and corners and straights look too similar. It's a tough challenge, no doubt, but it's not one that's enticing to watch. And you cannot say the same from tracks like Adelaide, Long Beach or Monaco, where each corner has a distinct shape, scenery and challenge. And the former two have a proper straight for passing.
 
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They should get rid of this travesty of a track (Singapore), same with Monaco. Monaco is a great track to drive but terrible to have a race at for fast cars. It'd be awesome for something like wingless F1600s though. I love driving Monaco in games.

and it's (imo) incredibly silly that we're supposedly not racing in Russia for moral reasons* but giving Azerbijan a pass.
Not to mention giving a pass to the USA, to Saudi Arabia, etc. It has nothing to do with morality. It's all about geopolitics, money, power, aggression, control, and hegemony / domination.
 
Premium
Well, we had the Procar M1 Series in 1979 and 1980, seeing all F1 drivers battle in high powered, slidey GT cars of the same spec (don't know how much could each entry tune their car outside setup) was truly something.
Yeah, TWR also supplied some XJR 15's for a few support races too, but that's far more expensive than the wreckfest I had in mind.
 
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