Everything is ready for the lights to turn on at the Singapore Grand Prix. The Marina Bay urban circuit is ready for the arrival of Formula 1 teams. We arrive at the circuit with a new leader of the drivers’ championship.
Lewis Hamilton managed to overtake Sebastian Vettel in the Italian Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver is three points ahead of the German. But the “Cavallino Rampante” team will have here the opportunity to return to the leadership of the world championship.
Marina Bay is a circuit that favors the characteristics of the Maranello car. Ferrari is strong in urban circuits with slow corners, braking and accelerations. The Italians will have to seize the opportunity, because few circuits are going to favor them in the remainder of the championship.
The last winner of the Singapore Grand Prix was Nico Rosberg in 2016, so the last driver to win of the current drivers is Sebastian Vettel in 2015. The German is good at this circuit, he climbed to the top of the podium in four occasions, while Lewis Hamilton has only won here twice. With the Singapore Grand Prix, there are only seven races left to the end of the championship, that’s why every point is important. I am sure that the ambition to win the drivers’ championship will try to get the highest number of points in the night of Singapore. Fernando Alonso, Mclaren-Honda driver has also won here twice, once in 2010 with the Ferrari team and in 2008 with Renault. None with his current team, which seems very far from being able to offer victories. After retiring nine out of thirteen races that have been disputed, the hope for Honda is over. Mclaren does not want to continue with the Japanese brand. The reason is that three years they have been uncompetitive and three years are a lot for a team like Mclaren. It’s a real shame that Honda has not managed to be more competitive. Other brands in this situation may be discouraged to reach Formula 1, seeing the complexity of adaptation. But in 2021 the regulations will change to make these hybrid engines simpler, that will be the time, when Porsche returns to Formula 1. It could also potentially be a possible future option for Mclaren.
For now the salvation would be the Renault team, but for that they would have to stop providing their engines to Toro Rosso. If this would happen, the Toro Rosso team could join Honda. Thus the Japanese brand would not have to leave Formula 1, but another option is that they will use engines of the Renault team for another year as they did in 2016. Hopefully the situation will be resolved soon and clarify everything for the next season.