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The F1 circus heads to the Singapore GP this weekend as the season prepares to wind down. The sport heads to the beautiful country after a gap of two years as the pandemic scuppered any plans to race in that part of the world.
The last time there was an F1 Singapore GP was in 2019. Back then, Lewis Hamilton was the reigning champion and Mercedes could do no wrong. In what seems like a lifetime now, Hamilton has been usurped by Max Verstappen at the top of the leaderboard.
The Red Bull driver seems destined to pick up his second world championship title and is performing at a level above everyone else. The last time there was an F1 race in Singapore, a certain four-time World Champion won while driving a Ferrari. Like in 2019, the ship has sailed for any title aspirations for Ferrari this season. Having said that, can Ferrari add to its tally of four wins this season? What can we expect from the sport's return to the Marina Bay Circuit? Let's answer this and more in our preview and predictions for the 2022 F1 Singapore GP.
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2022 F1 Singapore GP: Preview
Key storylines
#1 Max Verstappen is on the verge of something big!
Max Verstappen picked up his fifth consecutive win at Monza. The Red Bull driver now has 11 wins this season. In the all-time list, Verstappen finds himself level with fellow grid rival Lewis Hamilton, who also has a career-best of 11 wins in a season. To add to this, Hamilton also has a career-best consecutive five race-winning streak.
If Max Verstappen wins the F1 Singapore GP this weekend, he betters two of Lewis Hamilton's career-best statistics. Being cognizant of the kind of level at which Hamilton performed during the turbo-hybrid era, this just shows what Verstappen is doing in F1 right now.
#2 How the F1 ecosystem changes in 3 years
The F1 world does not stand still. It keeps on changing and if you look back just a few years you see how everything changes. Three years ago, the world of F1 was quite different from what it is right now.
Sebastian Vettel, who won the race in Singapore at the time, is retiring this season. Lewis Hamilton, who was cruising to the title in his Mercedes, has not won a race this season. Daniel Ricciardo, who was a daredevil force of nature in 2019, is finding it hard to secure a seat for next season. F1 is a ruthless mistress and it churns out names faster than many would think.
#3 The much-speculated driver market
The driver market has not been this intriguing in a long time. There is a lack of clarity over who gets the seat at Alpine. There are question marks over what happens at Haas. Not many have even noticed but Alfa Romeo is yet to officially announce an extension for Guanyu Zhou and lest we forget, Williams will part ways with Nicholas Latifi at the end of the season. There are quite a few moving parts here and it will be very interesting to see how they all fit when the music stops.
Form Guide
In Form
Could there be anyone else but Max Verstappen who defines this category? The Red Bull driver is in red hot form. He has five wins in five races and these wins have come on varied tracks. Hungary and Zandvoort were more of a slow-medium speed specials, while Monza and Spa were the ultimate dreams for low downforce efficiency.
The driver is winning on all kinds of tracks and is racking up one win after the other this season.
Out of form
Charles Leclerc needs a win at the F1 Singapore GP. Not because he has not been driving well, but because he has become the forgotten man of F1 in the last few races. He should have won in Hungary but was compromised by strategy. He could have won at Paul Ricard but he binned it into the wall. The last three races have not been great for Ferrari and, while Leclerc is doing his best, he can't outperform a slower car.
The last time F1 was in Singapore, we had Charles Leclerc on pole. This time around, we could have more of the same coming our way if everything is hooked up perfectly.
2022 F1 Singapore GP: Predictions
Who wins the race?
If everything performs the way it is supposed to, it's hard to look beyond Max Verstappen. The Red Bull might not be the fastest car over one lap at this track, but what works for Verstappen is the tire life. To add to this, Singapore is not Monaco and one can overtake on this track.
Overall, with Ferrari struggling for race pace and Verstappen in red hot form, expect the latter to usurp a couple of Lewis Hamilton's records in the process.
Surprise of the weekend (Team)
Haas should have had a good weekend at Zandvoort. Mick Schumacher qualified an impressive P8 and looked set to score points. In the end, a poor pitstop ruined his race and threw him out of the points.
Having said that, a few sections of Zandvoort hold a resemblance to the Marina Bay circuit. To add to this, the track layout for the Singapore GP does not have too many straights. Expect Haas to be in contention for points this weekend.
Surprise of the weekend (Driver)
While Haas is still in two minds over extending Mick Schumacher's stay with the team or getting rid of him, one thing that is clear as day is the form that the young German has found lately. While Haas has been a bit up and down, Schumacher has been the benchmark within the team and has had the better of Magnussen in the last few races.
Haas should be handy during the F1 Singapore GP weekend. Expect Mick Schumacher to use it to score a few points in the race.
Disappointment of the weekend (Team)
Aston Martin is bringing another big upgrade to the car during the Singapore GP weekend. The Silverstone-based team has thrown a lot of stuff at the car, but if we're honest, not much has worked. One of the biggest issues with the car has been its inability to qualify well.
In terms of race pace, Aston Martin always makes up places in the race, but on a track layout like the one for the Singapore GP, it's not going to be easy. Expect the team to struggle this weekend despite the impressive upgrade package.
Disappointment of the weekend (Driver)
Esteban Ocon has not had a good time at the Singapore GP in the past. He crashed out by colliding with his teammate on his last visit to the track in 2018. Fast forward to the 2022 F1 season, the French driver is in a spot of bother. Ever since Fernando Alonso announced his departure from the team, all the focus has been on the second seat.
There have been suggestions that an experienced driver is needed in that second seat. Many F1 pundits have written off Ocon when it comes to leading the team. In all fairness, the last few races haven't helped.
The French driver has more or less played second fiddle to Alonso in the team. It's not a shame to run the Spanish legend close and then lose to him, but when you're aiming to lead the team, this can't continue.
Coming to a track where he hasn't been impressive doesn't help either. The Singapore GP track layout might not suit Alpine as much and while Fernando Alonso is going to do Fernando Alonso-esque things to make it work, expect Esteban Ocon to struggle this weekend.
