The recent Singapore Grand Prix was an epic race for more reasons than one. Firstly, the weather took centre stage, with monsoon-like conditions in the South East Asian city-state threatening to rain the big race off, as was the case in Belgium last year. In the end, the race was delayed by an hour until things calmed down, and racing could get underway.
Secondly, reigning World Champion Max Verstappen had the chance to wrap up this season’s championship with five races still remaining. Despite starting down in 8th place, online bookmakers such as Virgin Bet – which provides betting and Free Offer On Sports had made the Dutchman one of the favourites for victory, which would have secured a second consecutive title. But it was his teammate that stole the plaudits in the end.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc lined up on pole, with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez behind him in second and seven-time champ Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes in third. The trio was separated by just 0.05 seconds in qualifying, and many thought they would battle it out for the victory.
Those hopes were extinguished early on. Mexico’s Perez got the perfect start and jumped Leclerc at the first corner, with the Monegasque’s teammate Carlos Sainz also jumping Hamilton. From there, the Spaniard held up his more illustrious competitor, leaving Perez and Leclerc to battle it out for victory.
And battle they did. Perez did his utmost to keep the Scuderia’s main man behind him amidst difficult wet-to-dry conditions, as well as successfully navigating through no less than five safety car periods. Toward the end, with drivers sliding into the barriers left right and centre, Leclerc pulled within one second of the race leader, allowing him into DRS range and in position to strike.
He threw everything at Red Bull’s number two but Perez used all of his experience to hold the young upstart at bay. In the final five laps the former Force India driver pulled out a 7.5s gap and it’s a good job that he did, as he was awarded a five-second penalty for a safety car infringement. But nothing would stop Perez on this day and he secured a deserved victory, the fourth of his career.
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Danny Ric’s Charge Through The Field
One of Formula One’s biggest talking points at the moment is the future of Daniel Ricciardo. The Aussie is widely regarded as one of the sport’s greatest drivers. During his four years at Red Bull, the Honeybadger picked up seven Grand Prix victories and looked primed and ready for greatness. The arrival of Max Verstappen as his teammate scuppered those plans, with team principal Christian Horner favouring the young Dutch upstart over the seasoned Ricciardo. That led the Perth-born driver to seek pastures new, firstly with Renault and then with McLaren.
But Ricciardo’s time with the Woking-based outfit has been far from smooth sailing. Despite leading the team to a one-two at Monza last season – their first victory since 2012 and first one-two since 2010 – he has still been overlooked once again in favour of his teammate, namely Lando Norris. Admittedly, the 22-year-old had proven to be slightly quicker than his teammate throughout their first year together, but this season, Norris has blown him out of the water.
That has triggered McLaren cutting Ricciardo’s contract with the team short, announcing in late August that he will be leaving the outfit at the end of the season, with former F2 champion and fellow Aussie Oscar Piastri taking his place. The announcement plunged Danny Ric’s future into doubt, with no guarantees of him being on the grid next season.
But in Singapore, the former Red Bull man proved he has plenty left in the tank. A disappointing qualifying left him down in a lowly 16th on the starting grid. Ricciardo showed the world what he is made of, though, taking full advantage of each and every safety car to force his way up the pecking order.
Then, mistakes from last season’s championship protagonists Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen opened the door for his surge into the top 5, one position behind his teammate-turned-rival Norris. Team principal Andreas Seidl didn’t allow his drivers to fight it out for P4, instead telling Ricciardo to save his tyres and secure a fifth-place finish, but that didn’t stop Ricciardo once again showing that he still has plenty left to offer the sport.
