Five quick takeaways from Singapore GP

"Whatever Red Bull's upgrade in Azerbaijan was, it was good stuff," McLaren's Oscar Piastri said with a wry smile when we asked him about the state of play in F1 right now. Following brief spells for Ferrari and McLaren at the top as Mercedes' main challengers, Red Bull's improved RB22 is not only quicker but also more predictable to drive.

"Say no more," said Max Verstappen, as he challenged George Russell to the win in Baku, dominated the Bahrain GP in Malaysia on an abrasive Sepang and also proved a cut above on the bumpy roads of Singapore, which was previously Red Bull's Achilles heel.

Red Bull's resurgence has come too late for Verstappen to challenge for the title, but this diverse triple-header has given us a pretty solid sample size that Milton Keynes is truly back, and Verstappen now has the right tools to be his devastating self.

Kimi Antonelli wasn’t exactly in the best of moods on Friday evening, having finished seventh in both free practice and sprint qualifying. The 20-year-old put it down to his updated Mercedes package, which had supposedly been difficult to drive and not delivered upon expectations with Red Bull and Max Verstappen overtaking them in Sepang and now Singapore.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

But as the Marina Bay weekend progressed the championship leader became more at one with his upgraded W17 and delivered the sort of points haul that will win him this 2026 title. Antonelli doesn’t have to win every race, he just needs to maximise what’s possible in every grand prix and that is something Oscar Piastri failed to do when he held such an advantage over McLaren team-mate Lando Norris last year.

History is not repeating itself - and a maiden crown is simply a matter of time.

Although Antonelli gradually improved with the new package as the weekend progressed, it must still be a worry for Mercedes that this upgrade hasn’t fully delivered what was hoped. In Baku, Verstappen was asked if he thinks he can actually win a race in 2026 and he used this upgrade for the Silver Arrows as a reason for why he won’t.

The four-time world champion claimed that, although Red Bull’s update got it closer to Mercedes in Baku, the gap will naturally go back to what it was when the Silver Arrows was dominant. Yet the opposite has transpired, with Verstappen winning both races since then.

At the way things are going, one could easily see Verstappen carrying this momentum into 2027 and launching a strong title challenge. So Mercedes has decisions to make to ensure it returns to its once dominant form and that entails putting all focus into 2027.

It seems that when it comes to Ferrari, for Italian fans the glass is either half empty or overflowing with emotion. With no consistent wins to celebrate ecstatically, it's almost inevitable that there will be talk about changing the leadership or whatever else there is to change.

Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images

Yet Ferrari still holds a solid second place in the constructors' championship, with a considerable margin over its closest rivals, even though Mercedes is too far ahead. If not for Red Bull's latest upgrade, the Scuderia could even have won in Singapore. Yes, it's ifs and buts again, but still... The team from Maranello isn't as bad as some are trying to claim.

Certainly, progress has been made since last year, and frankly, based on the championship standings, only one team has done better. But of course, the red team's fans will never be satisfied with that.

Liam Lawson is doing everything he needs to do to hold on to his Racing Bulls seat for next season, even if the team insists it is in "no rush" to settle its line-up.

Speaking in Friday's official press conference, team principal Alan Permane said he was keeping his options open over who would partner Arvid Lindblad in 2027. The rookie has yet to be formally confirmed himself, but he has proven his worth long enough already.

Formula 2 championship frontrunner Nikola Tsolov is a strong contender. Promoting the 19-year-old Bulgarian would make perfect sense given the Faenza outfit's traditional role as a stepping stone to F1 for Red Bull's junior drivers.

Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls

Photo by: Joe Portlock / Getty Images

Yet Lawson is making an increasingly persuasive case for staying put. Another assured drive to seventh in Singapore, finishing best of the rest, only strengthened his claim.

That result marked his eighth top-seven finish in 16 grands prix this season and took his tally to an impressive 75 points, leaving him comfortably ninth in the drivers' standings.

Racing Bulls expects to make its decision in the "coming weeks". Until then, Lawson can do little more than keep delivering – and he is giving the team every reason to keep him.

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