There is little point, in my view, in getting lost in the arithmetic over how many points Andrea Kimi Antonelli still needs to become Formula 1 world champion. It seems difficult, if not impossible, for the remarkable outcome to be sealed as early as the next race in Austin, Texas, in two weeks’ time. If not there, however, Mexico or Brazil could soon provide the decisive moment.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli has been so impressive that he could settle the championship well before the season reaches its conclusion. Singapore provided another demonstration of why. The Mercedes driver spent much of the race in defensive mode with an upgraded car whose performance remained uncertain, yet he still managed to secure a podium that, given the circumstances, was worth almost as much as a victory.
Kimi Antonelli makes the most of Singapore chaos
Andrea Kimi Antonelli took no unnecessary risks and would probably have accepted fifth place. Then, when Lando Norris attacked Lewis Hamilton for the final podium position, the Mercedes driver was sitting just behind them. In the confusion created by the cars ahead, he suddenly found himself in front of both, getting the better of drivers who between them have won eight Formula 1 world championships.
That is what champions do: they react when something important is at stake. For Andrea Kimi Antonelli, it was a rapid and liberating move after a difficult weekend in which Mercedes struggled to understand its car, while George Russell crashed. Without Antonelli’s result, the overall outcome for the team would have been extremely poor.
It is also worth noting that once Andrea Kimi Antonelli had clear track, his lap times were very strong. That suggests he could have driven with greater aggression and freedom had the championship situation been different. Even so, given what was at stake, racing with restraint was the correct approach.
Max Verstappen completes dominant Singapore run
There was no such restraint from Max Verstappen. The Red Bull driver has now won each of the last three races: the Malaysian Grand Prix, the Singapore Sprint and the Singapore Grand Prix itself, a race he had never previously finished as leader under the chequered flag. Add three corresponding pole positions and the picture becomes clear: Red Bull has returned forcefully to the front of the championship, fortunately for Andrea Kimi Antonelli only at a relatively late stage.
The RB22 now appears to be an excellent car, supported by an outstanding engine that completed its 17th race at Marina Bay. Max Verstappen’s ability has never been in doubt, but he is also benefiting from work overseen with skill by Laurent Mekies. The French engineer has deep Italian connections after years spent in Faenza and later at Ferrari, and has built a reputation for planning, organisation and analysis.
One of the clearest signs of Red Bull’s progress came from tyre performance. At Singapore, the RB22 was the only car that did not appear to suffer major swings in competitiveness between the Pirelli Soft and Medium compounds, tyres that caused difficulties for several teams.
The broader performance picture between the leading constructors can also be explored through the Ferrari vs F1 Rivals statistics, which compare Ferrari directly with Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull across race results, qualifying and other performance measures.
Charles Leclerc twice challenges Max Verstappen
Against such a determined Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc tried twice to make something happen. The first opportunity came under braking for Turn 1 after an excellent start. The Ferrari driver sensibly backed out to avoid contact when Max Verstappen closed the line and braked deep into the corner.
The second attempt came late in the race, when Charles Leclerc tried to mount an unlikely comeback on fresh Soft tyres. He produced around ten intense laps before the challenge finally faded. More detail on that battle can be found in our analysis of Charles Leclerc’s missed battery opportunity against Max Verstappen in Singapore.
Ferrari delivers one of its best weekends of the season
In my view, this was one of Ferrari’s best performances of the year. The SF-26 looked competitive from Friday onwards, including Sprint Qualifying, when Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton occupied the top two positions in SQ2.
Lewis Hamilton then led both of the opening qualifying sessions for the Grand Prix, while Charles Leclerc eventually missed pole position by only one tenth of a second. That level of competitiveness followed a weekend in which Ferrari had already identified the importance of maximising every session at Marina Bay, particularly with the reduced practice time created by the Sprint format. The team’s pre-weekend challenge was outlined by Fred Vasseur in our Singapore Sprint weekend preview.
Ferrari could potentially have finished second and third in the Grand Prix had Lewis Hamilton followed the pit wall’s instruction to change tyres during the Virtual Safety Car caused by Lance Stroll stopping on track. This time, at least, Ferrari had already made a different strategic choice at the start of the race.
Charles Leclerc made his second pit stop, but Lewis Hamilton believed his Soft tyres could continue to deliver and decided against stopping. That judgement proved costly. The full context behind the decision is examined in our report on Lewis Hamilton’s Singapore Virtual Safety Car mistake.
The possible reason behind Lewis Hamilton’s decision
There may also have been another element behind Lewis Hamilton’s thinking. The judgement of a champion can be extremely subtle, and perhaps the British driver feared emerging behind Charles Leclerc, who might not have allowed him back through after already giving way a few laps earlier when Charles Leclerc was still on Medium tyres and Lewis Hamilton was closing rapidly on Softs.
Sixth place therefore feels particularly harsh on Lewis Hamilton and was a result that angered Fred Vasseur. In terms of commitment, however, both Ferrari drivers showed some of their very best qualities over the Singapore weekend.
The frustration is that Ferrari once again found a Red Bull ahead of it at a moment when Mercedes was struggling and McLaren appeared to have lost its way again, particularly with a confused Lando Norris eventually finishing fourth. It means Ferrari will have to wait a little longer for another victory. By now, unfortunately, that wait has become a familiar habit.
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