Five things to look out for at F1 Singapore GP

Formula 1 remains in the south east of Asia for this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, which hosts round 17 of the 2026 campaign.

It is the final race of the current triple-header that started with Baku, won by George Russell, before Sepang ended its nine-year hiatus last weekend on behalf of Bahrain.

Max Verstappen took his first victory of 2026 in Malaysia and now he will head to a track - Marina Bay - where, despite his 72 grand prix victories, he is yet to win. But despite all his past success, this weekend may be his best chance yet of tasting Singapore glory, though there will be many other drivers that want to have their say.

So here are five things to look out for at the forthcoming race.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images

This time last year Russell was probably beaming with excitement at what the next 12 months had in store. The Briton was nearing the end of a very strong 2025 campaign and with Mercedes already seen back then as favourites for the 2026 title, Russell could probably sense his opportunity of finally contending for - and winning - the world championship.

His victory from pole at the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix was testament to how well the Silver Arrow driver performed last season, but returning to the same spot this weekend, things just haven’t transpired as he’d have wished.

It is largely due to young sensation Kimi Antonelli, who’s made a huge jump from his rookie campaign to dominate 2026. With eight wins and 13 podiums in 16 grands prix, the Italian heads to Marina Bay with an 84-point gap over team-mate Russell, who suffered another engine failure last weekend.

That was quite possibly the final nail in the coffin for Russell’s title hopes. There is just surely no way Antonelli throws this away now, though there are still questions over how the Silver Arrows will perform.

Mercedes brought an upgraded package to Sepang, and although the team was happy with how the W17 performed in the high-speed corners, it’s the lower-speed turns where question marks remain. Singapore is characterised by low-speed corners, so this weekend may be a golden opportunity for a different team to stand on top of the podium.

Photo by: Srinivasa Krishnan

What makes Mercedes’ pursuit of victory this weekend even more difficult is the grid penalty Russell is set to receive following his Sepang retirement. His power unit failure in Malaysia means he’ll need a new one for Singapore, but because the Briton is already at four for the 2026 campaign, any additional switches incur a grid penalty.

So that makes his task of closing down Antonelli even more difficult with Russell starting from the back of the Marina Bay street circuit, a notoriously difficult track to overtake on.

“George has the added challenge of a power unit penalty,” said team boss Toto Wolff. “That is particularly frustrating given the way he drove last weekend and the result he deserved to be fighting for.

“Unfortunately, these things are part of the sport and our focus now is on giving him the best possible car and opportunities to fight back through the field.”

Antonelli managed to do just that when he spectacularly won from 19th at Monza following a similar penalty, but it’s hard to see how Russell could follow suit. The eight-time grand prix winner is likely to be given the task of handing Antonelli a tow in Q3 and putting title ambitions aside to help his team-mate with the constructors’ championship in mind.

The Silver Arrows currently lead second-placed Ferrari by 151 points and are therefore on course to claim their first title since 2021.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images

Red Bull started 2026 as firmly F1’s fourth-best team, with it taking until round five for star driver Verstappen to claim a podium. But the whole paddock was aware that this season - or regulation era as a whole - would be defined by who nails the development race as teams further understand the complex ruleset.

The Austrian outfit is a team that’s done exactly that, gradually chipping away at its speed deficit with a relentless stream of upgrades on the RB22. Its last major update was Baku, where Verstappen finished runner-up and within a second of Russell to claim his fifth podium in six grands prix.

A week later in Sepang the four-time world champion went one better with his first victory of the season - a dominant one at that, too.

So with Verstappen’s recent form - and Hadjar too, claiming a podium at Baku - coming at a wide variety of circuits, it now looks as though the Red Bull is competitive everywhere and it doesn’t just depend on track characteristics.

“I think we will be in the fight for the podium for the coming races,” said team boss Laurent Mekies. “Fundamentally, we have been in the fight for the podium for a number of races now: six, seven, eight. So, I think we’ll be in that fight.”

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The Frenchman later specified Singapore should suit the RB22, so Verstappen could be the favourite for victory this weekend. Late last year showed how the Dutchman can seriously turn it on when given a car capable of challenging for wins and 2026 could see a repeat of that.

Silverstone, 2026, sprint race

Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images

The sprint race calendar for the 2027 season was recently announced with F1 confirming there will be 10 shorter races as opposed to the six witnessed in 2026. This weekend will see the last of those and it is certainly an interesting decision to hold a sprint at a street track like Singapore.

It is not exactly the most entertaining spot for a race, so the sprint contest is likely to be a procession, but the venue is known to host thrilling qualifying sessions. That is of huge importance this weekend, and with two of them, it will be a very good reference point for when Monaco contentiously hosts its sprint race in 2027.

All of this also means that drivers must quickly get up to speed with just one practice outing that could be busier than ever, as teams try to rush through their testing programmes on such a narrow track. Traffic will therefore be of concern and the possible impeding penalties that come with it, so the drivers must be as alert as ever.

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing

Photo by: Alex Bierens de Haan / LAT Images via Getty Images

It is well documented by now just how poor of a start Aston Martin made to the 2026 regulations. The British marque and Cadillac were comfortably F1’s slowest teams and while the debutant outfit gradually made progress in the opening half thanks to upgrades, Aston remained planted at the back.

But then came its ‘B-spec’ chassis in Budapest, followed by an upgraded Honda engine for Zandvoort, where Fernando Alonso scored two points with ninth thanks to a smartly executed one-stop strategy.

So things started to look like they were on the up for the Adrian Newey-led squad, and Malaysia was testament of that. Not only did Alonso score an extra four points via eighth, shining once again in the mixed conditions, his team-mate Lance Stroll also put in a solid shift by joining the world champion in Q2.

That was the first time Aston had both cars progress beyond Q1 this season, and don’t be surprised if it’s more of the same this weekend. The strength of the AMR26 lies in its chassis, and that takes priority over a strong engine at a street track like Singapore.

With Aston Martin now on seven points, it is just five behind ninth-placed Williams, which has scored just one point - 10th in Baku - since Monaco in June.

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