The European season is now in the books as Formula 1 heads off for the flyaway races, starting at this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix. Marina Bay has undergone some temporary track changes for this weekend's race, the biggest since 2013 when the famous 'Singapore Sling' chicane was removed, as Turns 16-19 under the grandstand have been replaced by a straight. This is due to construction works with lap-times set to be trimmed by nearly 20 seconds. The field will be hoping to catch Max Verstappen and deny him an 11th straight win, and extend the record he broke last time out in Italy. Verstappen has never won in Singapore and only has a second place as his best finish since his 2015 debut. Will the hoodoo continue or will the soon-to-be three-time champion finally chalk the race off his 'to-do list?'
Title success for Red Bull?
Verstappen cannot win the title this weekend, that will have to wait until Japan at the earliest, but it is possible for Red Bull to wrap up the Constructors'. The team is currently 310 points clear of Mercedes in second, and need to score a minimum of 43 points to secure its sixth Constructors' crown, with Mercedes posting a non-score. That is a one-two finish for Red Bull coupled with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finishing out of the points. Alternatively, if Mercedes scores one point in the race, Red Bull would also need to pick up the fastest lap to go with the one-two finish to ensure the trophy stays in Milton Keynes. It is possible, but unlikely with the a title double in Japan the most likely scenario for the team.
Mercedes and Aston Martin resurgent?
Both Mercedes and Aston Martin were not in the fight for the Italian GP with Monza's long-straights and high-speed not entirely suited to their packages. But as teams throw the downforce on their cars for this weekend, that could come good for both the W14 and AMR23, which have performed better at high downforce tracks. Fernando Alonso highlighted Marina Bay as one track he felt Aston Martin could challenge for a win for earlier in the season, while Lewis Hamilton has a joint record four wins in Singapore and is no stranger to dragging an uncompetitive car into a position it should not be around the streets. Oh, and there's the possibility for rain on race day as well...
Ferrari struggle
And on the flip-side there is Ferrari whose 'Monza special' package is not going to work on the bumpy, twisty Singapore circuit. The trimmed wings and low ride height is not suited to the demands of Marina Bay, meaning the team must return to the high-downforce package that has proved troublesome for the team, most recently in the Dutch Grand Prix. The SF-23 is a better car when downforce is removed as opposed to when it is added on, meaning the next handful of races could prove tricky. Ferrari has moved into third place in the Constructors' ahead of Aston Martin, with the target for the team now being to hold onto that for the remainder of the season, with Mercedes 45 points ahead in second place.
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