The prevailing sense around the industry is this is the race! This is the race that stands in Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s way of finishing the rest of the season on top of the podium, making it a clean sweep for Red Bull. Verstappen struggled on the wet track a year ago while Sergio Perez took home the checkered flag helping create his street track dominant persona. Ferrari finished 2-3 after Leclerc held pole a season ago, but they aren’t the favorites to challenge Red Bull this weekend.
Instead, McClaren and Mercedes are the cars to watch out for, and Lewis Hamilton may be the single biggest threat to Red Bull’s chances at a clean sweep. The weather is always unpredictable in Singapore, and nobody is better at adapting in real time than Hamilton. Add to that there is a change on the course this year, with the weaving stretch under the grandstands gone and replaced with a long straight that could see some overtaking take place.
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js🚨 The Marina Bay Street Circuit will be updated from 2023 due to the redevelopment of The Float at Marina Bay into "NS Square". The #F1 #SingaporeGP track will be reduced to 4.928km with Turns 16 to 19 re-aligned into a straight. More info at https://t.co/b54sENWDYu pic.twitter.com/YUpqwL6MFg
— SingaporeGP (@F1NightRace) October 19, 2022
While I am not sure what to root for as a fan or as someone covering the sport, a clean sweep is unprecedented, but the Red Bull dominance does have some casual fans losing interest this season. Ultimately I believe the new straight will actually help Red Bull during the race and allow Verstappen to continue his streak and catapult Red Bull to the sweep. It will be close though, as I anticipate Hamilton and Perez filling out the podium.
The Stain Sports 