F1 Review Singapore

Key Outcomes

Scott and Burke recorded a full post-race breakdown of the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix, covering sprint qualifying, the sprint race, main qualifying, and the Grand Prix itself. Max Verstappen won both the sprint and the Grand Prix — his first-ever Singapore victory and his 73rd overall win in his 250th race. Kimi Antonelli finished third in the Grand Prix and now has a mathematical path to clinching the Drivers' Championship with a win at CODA (Austin, Texas). The hosts were sharply critical of Sky Sports' race direction, citing excessive camera time on the static top-5 cars while mid-pack battles went largely unseen.

Decisions Made

• Championship prediction: Scott believes Antonelli clinches the Drivers' title at CODA; Burke predicts Verstappen wins Texas and Antonelli takes the championship the following race.
• Constructors' Championship: Both hosts agree Mercedes will clinch the Constructors' title at CODA barring a catastrophic collapse, given their 578-point lead over Ferrari's 444.
• Sky Sports production critique: Agreed the video direction was among the worst of the season — excessive focus on the front runners during a processional race actively hid the most competitive on-track action.
• Future show topic: Agreed to produce a pre-season episode ranking all 24 F1 races by desirability to attend, covering tickets, food, lodging, and experience.
• Lance Stroll interview bit: Saved for Tuesday's show rather than the F1 episode, to keep the F1 show close to one hour.

Race-by-Race Breakdown

Practice 1

• Russell did not receive an upgraded engine.
• Session order: Russell (1:32.274), Leclerc, Norris, Hamilton, Piastri, Verstappen, Antonelli, Lawson.
• Hulkenberg got stuck at the pit exit; otherwise uneventful.

Sprint Qualifying (SQ1–SQ3)

• Heavy dust throughout; Perez hit the wall with front wing damage at the 7.4-minute mark, triggering a red flag.
• SQ1 result: Verstappen P1; eliminated — Stroll, Mortiletto, Albon, Bottas, Sainz, Perez.
• SQ2: Russell nearly eliminated but saved himself into P4; Leclerc fastest; eliminated — Colapinto, Hulkenberg, Biermann, Bortoleto, Alonso, Ocon.
• SQ3 drama: Verstappen sat in the garage until 3 minutes remained, finally going out with Hadjar; Leclerc briefly hit P1 with zero seconds left before Verstappen beat him.
• Sprint grid: Verstappen, Russell, Leclerc, Piastri, Norris, Hamilton, Antonelli, Hadjar, Lawson, Gasly. — Verstappen's first-ever Singapore pole.

Sprint Race

• Air temp 84°F, track 100°F; ~30-minute rain delay before start.

• Key incidents:

  • Russell led briefly before going into the wall ("fuck's sake, sorry, sorry, sorry" on radio); Verstappen inherited P1.
  • Stroll and Perez both spun at turns 16/17; Perez pitted for a new front wing.
  • Hadjar retired at Turn 5 with power unit issues.
  • Lindblad spun and drove the wrong way for too long — noted by stewards.
  • Bortoleto rear-ended Albon and pitted.
  • Norris and Piastri both spun on lap 20 while attempting a pass.
• Sprint result: Verstappen 1st, Hamilton 2nd (gained 4 places), Leclerc 3rd, Antonelli 4th (gained 3 places), Lawson 5th, Biermann 6th, Hulkenberg 7th, Norris 8th, Gasly 9th, Ocon 10th, Alonso 11th, Sainz 12th, Lindblad 13th.

Main Qualifying (Q1–Q3)

• 30-minute delay after the sprint ran long; several cars needed repairs, including both McLarens and Russell's car (fixed right up to the deadline).
• Pre-Q incidents: Ocon hit the barrier with no brakes; Stroll went off at Turn 7; Hadjar stalled with no engine, then recovered.
• Q1 eliminated: Alonso, Albon, Stroll, Perez, Bottas, Hadjar (Hadjar lost gears and never set a time).
• Q2 eliminated: Hulkenberg, Biermann, Ocon, Sainz, Bortoleto, Colapinto; Hamilton fastest with a 1:32.429.
• Q3: Verstappen set the fastest lap early in the session and held P1; Leclerc jumped to P2 at the last second.
• Qualifying order: Verstappen, Leclerc, Hamilton, Antonelli, Norris, Russell, Piastri, Gasly, Lawson, Lindblad.

Pre-Race Grid Penalties

• Russell (Car 63): 10-place grid penalty for additional power unit elements → starts from pit lane.
• Alonso (Car 14): Starts from pit lane — car modifications under parc fermé conditions + additional power unit.
• Stroll (Car 18): Starts from pit lane — car modified under parc fermé conditions.
• Hadjar (Car 6): Starts from pit lane — modifications under parc fermé + additional power unit.

Grand Prix (62 Laps)

• Track temp 109°F, wind ~3.0 kph.
• Opening laps: Top 6 held position; mid-pack saw movement — Norris dropped 4, Alonso and Lawson each gained 4, Sainz gained 3; Biermann and Ocon battled.
• Lap 8: Bortoleto pulled over with a gearbox issue → VSC; engineers got the car into reverse to clear the pit exit.
• Lap 10: Bortoleto's car caught fire in front of the Cadillac garage → pit lane closed briefly.
• Lap 17–19: Hamilton told to pick up pace; responded "I have no more pace" and switched to Plan C; pitted lap 19.
• McLaren strategy: Both Norris and Piastri were asked over radio if they could "go long" — the only realistic path to P2/P3 given Ferrari's superior pace.
• Lap 24–26: Antonelli pitted but couldn't clear Hamilton; Leclerc pitted and came out ahead of Hamilton; Verstappen held a 16-second lead over Norris (who had not yet pitted).
• Lap 31: Colapinto retired at Turn 8 — suspected clutch failure; team told him to shut it down.
• Lap 33: Verstappen pitted for mediums and kept the lead; Norris and Piastri also pitted.
• Lap 37–39: Antonelli hit track limits for the 3rd time; Stroll hit limits 3 times then retired at Turn 24 with clutch issues → VSC.
• VSC timing issue: Russell pitted during the VSC but it ended while he was still in the pit lane, forcing him to emerge in 10th — hosts noted the team couldn't have anticipated the VSC ending past the bollard.
• Lap 42: Piastri pitted for softs due to a slow puncture on the left front.
• Fluid on track: Multiple drivers (Hamilton, Antonelli) reported sudden loss of grip at the same corner — suspected gear oil from Stroll's retirement.
• Lap 46: Leclerc passed Hamilton on much fresher tires; Hamilton was 27 laps into his stint on used softs.
• Verstappen radio failure: From mid-race onward, Verstappen's radio was inaudible; Red Bull communicated via "key the mic if you want to pit, do nothing to stay out" — dead air meant stay out.
• Lap 53–55: Norris caught Hamilton; Hamilton went wide off-track, Norris also went off, and Antonelli passed both; Norris eventually passed Hamilton for position.
• Lap 61–62: Piastri was 0.02 seconds behind Hamilton; tapped Hamilton's rear at Turn 16 and passed him for 5th.
• Final results: Verstappen 1st, Leclerc 2nd, Antonelli 3rd, Norris 4th, Piastri 5th, Hamilton 6th, Lawson 7th, Hulkenberg 8th (Audi's best result of the season), Russell 9th, Hadjar 10th.
• DNFs: Stroll (lap 36), Colapinto (lap 29), Bortoleto (lap 7).
• Both Cadillac cars finished — noted as a rare achievement.

Championship Standings & Points Analysis

Drivers' Championship

• Antonelli can clinch at CODA with a win; Russell would need ~110 points and Antonelli to score in only 1 of the remaining 6 races — effectively impossible.
• Only 150 maximum points remain (6 races × 25 pts, no sprints left).
• Russell vs. Hamilton: Only 9 points apart in the standings — Hamilton could realistically move to 2nd.
• Verstappen is only 8 points behind Hamilton — the fight from 2nd to 5th place remains fully live.

Constructors' Championship

• Mercedes: 578 pts | Ferrari: 444 pts | McLaren: 339 pts | Red Bull: 332 pts | Racing Bulls: 100 pts | Alpine: 68 pts.
• McLaren and Red Bull are only 7 points apart — third place in constructors carries significantly higher prize money than fourth.
• Ferrari would need to win every remaining race and Mercedes to miss points in 4 of 6 to close the gap — hosts consider this impossible.
• Hadjar improving could realistically lift Red Bull past McLaren for 3rd in constructors.

Sky Sports Production Critique

• Core complaint: Camera stayed exclusively on the top 5 cars for the first 8+ laps, even though none were in position to pass each other.
• Specific miss: Oliver Biermann was in a significant mid-pack battle shown only in a sub-2-inch picture-in-picture box.
• Pattern noted: This has been a recurring issue all season; the Singapore race was described as one of the worst examples.
• Hosts' prescription: Cut to the back of the field after Turn 1 if the front 3 are settled; show the battles happening rather than static running order.
• Kim Kardashian: Appeared only twice this race — an improvement over prior weeks, though still unwelcome.
• Apple TV multi-feed discovery: Burke noted Apple TV offers selectable feeds for P1, P2, P3 drivers, mixed onboard, driver tracker, driver data, and individual driver cameras — described as a significant improvement for engaged viewers.
• Hosts' personal setup: Scott uses the international feed on the main screen with tire tracker and F1 notes in side panels; Burke uses the main feed plus driver data on a second screen and individual driver cameras on his phone.

Race Venue & Cost Discussion

Singapore

• Hosts acknowledged Singapore is a cash cow for F1 despite being a processional race — hotels built on the track, fireworks, atmosphere justify its place on the calendar.
• A highway bridge over the circuit had traffic running during qualifying; a semi-truck was spotted crossing mid-session.

F1 Race Attendance Costs (Google-sourced by Burke)

• Most expensive by ticket + food + lodging: Vegas → Singapore → Monaco → Abu Dhabi → Miami (~$2,500 range for each).
• Vegas grandstand tickets alone: Average 3-day pass ~$1,100; main grandstands exceed $2,000.
• Cheapest races: Chinese GP, Hungarian GP, Japanese GP.

• Giada restaurant (Las Vegas Strip) pricing — shared via Norma Gelli YouTube content:

  • Thursday: $350/person | Friday: $450 | Saturday: $600 | Sunday: ~$900 — all-inclusive food and open bar, windows that open to hear the cars.
  • Located ~100–150 feet from the cars on a straightaway.
  • Thursday–Saturday only (not race day Sunday).
• Scott expressed strong interest in attending Las Vegas despite the cost; Burke preferred Singapore or Monaco for the food and experience.

Upcoming Races & Show Plans

• Next race: CODA (Circuit of the Americas), Austin, Texas — approximately 2 weeks away (around October 23rd).
• Equipment shipping note: Some gear ships through the Port of Houston, which recently sustained hurricane damage — potential for delays.
• Scott unlikely to attend CODA in person due to Toyota repair costs (cracked bearing, broken CV shaft, broken TPMS sensor).
• Vegas is the other remaining U.S. race.

Pending Confirmation

• Whether Antonelli's 4th track limits violation in the Grand Prix will result in a post-race penalty — Mercedes disputed it occurred; no final ruling mentioned.
• Norris/Piastri contact from the sprint race — FIA still reviewing at the time of qualifying.
• Scott to locate and share Norma Gelli's Las Vegas race-day paddock/fan zone video for future reference.

Action Items

• Scott: Edit and publish the Singapore GP episode; finalize AI-generated graphics for the Dark TV Shows episode.
• Scott: Publish Part 2 of the Cleveland show on Tuesday.
• Scott: Air the Lance Stroll interview bit on Tuesday's show (not the F1 episode).
• Burke: Try using Audacity pitch-shift or ElevenLabs voice cloning for future character voices.
• Both: Add "ranking all 24 F1 races to attend" as a pre-season show topic for next year.
• Burke: Send family crest to daughter (personal, noted mid-show).

Next Recording

Not explicitly scheduled; next F1 episode will follow the CODA race in approximately two weeks.