Tag: Esteban Ocon

F1 Singapore Showdown: Russell Reigns, McLaren Clinches, and Weug Wins in the Wet

F1 Singapore Showdown: Russell Reigns, McLaren Clinches, and Weug Wins in the Wet

Singapore never disappoints. From fire and red flags to late-race rain and first-time winners, Marina Bay once again proved that survival is half the sport.

Formula 1 — Russell Rules the Night

The weekend opened in flames—Alex Albon’s brakes lit up ten minutes into FP1. By FP2, George Russell had clipped the barriers, Liam Lawson had managed it twice, and Ferrari added pit-lane drama when they released Leclerc straight into Lando Norris.

Lewis Hamilton escaped penalty for a red-flag infringement in FP3, but qualifying was pure chaos. Pierre Gasly ended Q1 in the wall, Esteban Ocon was trapped under yellows, and both Williams cars were later disqualified for a technical breach. Leclerc brushed the wall in Q2, Kimi Antonelli lost his best lap to track limits, and Russell put the Mercedes on pole. Verstappen’s drought continued—he’s never taken pole in Singapore, and Red Bull hasn’t since 2013.

Sunday night saw 18 cars on the grid, with Albon and Gasly starting from the pits. Russell launched clean, the McLarens nearly took eachother out in Turn 1 as Verstappen clipped Norris’s front wing, which ricocheted contact into Piastri. Norris carried minor damage but stayed in the fight.

Pit stops told the story of the middle stint: Bortoleto and Tsunoda blinked first, Piastri lost time to a sluggish 5.2-second stop, Alonso’s dragged to 9.2, and Hamilton’s wasn’t much better. Despite four DRS zones, traffic gaps were huge—no one close enough to use them for a good chunk of the race.

Russell was untouchable—eight seconds clear by lap 16, never really under pressure. Verstappen locked up once and let Norris close briefly, but the order never changed. Hülkenberg spun backward into the runoff, avoided damage, and pitted for fresh tires. Hadjar’s engine gremlins cost him three-to-four tenths a lap and his shot at points.

Hamilton’s brakes began to fade in the closing laps, Alonso nearly pounced, finishing within half a second. A post-race time penalty dropped Hamilton to eighth. Russell won comfortably, Verstappen held second, and Norris—despite the early contact—completed the podium.

Top 3: Russell, Verstappen, Norris
Headline: McLaren clinches the Constructors’ Championship.

F1 Academy — Block Breaks Through, Weug Strikes Back

While F1 wrestled with walls, F1 Academy brought its own storm under the Singapore lights.

Race 1 (Reverse Grid)
Lia Block started from pole. She and Aurelia Nobels both ran wide at Turn 1, but Block rejoined first and kept it. Nicole Havrda’s crash triggered an early safety car, and on the restart Block managed the field like a veteran. Behind her, Billard fell from P4 to last after contact, Chloe Chambers had a huge lock-up, and Rafaela Ferreira’s car stumbled before she was shown the black-and-orange flag. Alisha Palmowski stormed from last toward the points before crashing hard and bringing out another safety car.

Block held firm to score her first F1 Academy win, just days after turning 19. Maya Weug finished second, Chloe Chambers third.

Race 2 (Feature)
Weug and Doriane Pin shared the front row, with Pin needing a big result to close the championship. Pin got the better launch, locked up into Turn 1 but kept it together to take the lead. Behind, Block tapped the wall and dropped to the back, while Palmowski climbed from 18th to 12th before sliding wide and losing ground.

Then came the rain. With five laps to go, Palmowski gambled first for wets—after mistakenly pulling into the wrong pit box—followed by Block. Havrda went off again and retired, bringing a safety car. Much of the field boxed for wets, but the leaders stayed on slicks. Weug was noted for a pit-lane entry violation as she got caught with indecision about the box strategy, but ultimately avoided any penalties.

With one lap left, the restart came just as the wet-tire runners caught the pack. Pin hit the throttle, Weug lunged down the inside, and the move stuck. Boxing for wets proved the wrong call. Weug won, Pin finished second with fastest lap, and Ella Lloyd took the final step on the podium.

The title fight stays alive—Pin leads Weug by nine points heading into the Las Vegas finale.

The Takeaway

Singapore delivered its usual blend of sweat and spectacle. Russell was flawless, sealing Mercedes’ first win in months and confirming McLaren’s constructors’ crown. And on the Academy side, Lia Block earned her breakthrough while Maya Weug kept the championship burning.

Next up: Austin, October 17–19 — different continent, same chaos.

F1 Review: 2023 Singapore Grand Prix

The story around Marina Bay was Red Bull this weekend, as they genuinely struggled for the first time, coming away without a victory for the first time this season and Max Verstappen missing out on a podium for the first time this season.

When you look the end of a historic run, there was no shortage of drama throughout the weekend. The practice sessions were relatively quiet, but qualifying left everyone on the edge of their seats.

As time was winding down on the Q1, Lance Stroll lost control of his Aston Martin and hit the wall at high speed, demolishing his car. The good news is he was able to get out and walk himself to the medical car, although he did not participate in the race on Sunday. The one who’s qualifying was impacted the most was Oscar Piastri, who was putting in a quality lap but wound up missing Q2.

Two of the five drivers that were eliminated in Q2 were in a Red Bull, giving us our first Q3 of the season without either Sergio Perez or Verstappen. In the end it was Carlos Sainz who ended up on pole with George Russell alongside.

During the race we saw Yuki Tsunoda wound up with a DNF as he pulled off the track early with a puncture he felt would prevent him from getting back to the pit lane. Esteban Ocon and Valteri Botas also failed to see the checkered flag. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton both pit for a fresh set of medium tires during the Virtual Safety Car that came out when Ocon’s day ended, and it looked to be the perfect strategic move as they had significantly more pace than the rest of the field down the stretch.

Unfortunately, that pace got the better of George Russell in the end and he found himself in the barriers, taking him from a podium spot to a DNF. He and Hamilton found themselves pushing harder than they expected thanks to some ingenious driving by Sainz, who kept allowing Lando Norris to just get into DRS range, which allowed him to hold off both Mercedes, and prevent them from mounting a chase for the front. The strategy worked as Sainz finished on the top step of the podium, while Norris finished second, and Hamilton third.

Fernando Alonso was the last of all drivers to cross the finish line, meaning he falls out of third place in the Drivers Championship, as Hamilton now has a ten point lead there. Ferrari took home a first and fourth place in the race, slowly closing the gap on Mercedes, now only twenty four points back for second in the Constructors Championship.