DRC's Singapore GP Preview

FIA shakes up the order, Marina Bay gets a new look and everything to watch out for the upcoming Singapore GP!

F1 returns to Asia after a Long tour around Europe with some record-breaking performances by Redbull and Max Verstappen who took the record for 10 consecutive Race wins by a Driver breaking the earlier held record of 9 consecutive Wins by another Redbull veteran the 4-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel.
As Fans look forward to the Singapore GP, they hope for a surprise and change of scenery at the top of the podium with predictable P1 in the recent races.
Last year Singapore delivered a blockbuster as the rain-affected race made the best lose control of their cars and bin it into the wall or miss a corner or two, The end was an Exciting one as Sergio Perez won the race even after receiving a 5-second penalty for not following safety car gap. Here’s what to look out for this year’s Singapore GP and what significant news follows through

A new technical directive

A new Technical directive by the FIA seeks to reduce the bodywork flex seen on the major aerodynamic components on the cars. Previously, a decent threshold was allowed on wing flex, otherwise implemented for safety reasons. Rules were in place to prevent exploitation by having other components adjustable at a certain speed.

However, the new Technical directive, TD018, not aimed at specific teams, does regulate these rules on flexi-wings further. As accepted by all teams, the new directive will have the FIA be more observant while noting the way the aero components move under load.

Thus far, all teams have been adamant that these changes will not affect them and that the running order will remain unaffected, with Mercedes Team principal, Toto Wolff even claiming that there will be no effect, saying, “If maybe a Red Bull is half a second slower or something, that would be nice, but I don’t think it will be the case.”

With Redbull Team principal, Christian Horner further insisting that there will be no effect on Redbull’s performance, is the change really necessary? We’ll find that out on Sunday.

Track layout Changes at the Marina

It was revealed earlier that the Marina Bay circuit will have a new track layout, with the sequence of turns between turns 16 and 19, which saw the drivers race along the marina, have been removed. Instead, the kink of turn 15 now leads into the previous Chicane composed of turns 20 and 21, which become the new turns 16 and 17.

This change is expected to make the track more free-flowing, with there no longer being an awkward track extension that felt unnecessarily long. Whether it will produce good racing or leave the excitement unchanged at its usual high will only be found out during the Grand Prix.

Perez completes 250 race starts in Singapore

It’s a good weekend to be the Mexican driver, as Sergio Perez completes 250 career race starts on Sunday, becoming the 11th driver in F1 history to achieve so. He also becomes Max Verstappen’s longest-running teammate, with neither of the Dutchman’s teammates being paired alongside him for as long as Perez has been.

Teams to watch out for

Redbull has a chance to win the Constructor’s Championship at the Singapore GP if their Next rival in P2 stay far behind in the points tally.

The new Technical Directive aims to shake up the order, here are the teams to watch for in Singapore:

Ferrari

Ferrari can be in contention for Sunday’s victory, as Redbull is rumored to be one of the teams most affected by the directive. Whether or not they can win, however, depends highly on the team, as they currently do not look well, With major fumbles in the last few races, it has not been plain sailing for the Italian outfit. Can the prancing horses turn things around and perform where it matters? Or will Red Bull win every race in the season so far?

Mercedes

Mercedes also seems to be gearing up to continue their streak of winning at least 1 race in every season they compete in, as they try and hunt a win this weekend. Lewis Hamilton believes that Redbull will be nerfed by the new Directive, but it won’t come easy for the German Auto brand. With many other teams in the mix, will Mercedes be able to clench the Victory?

Aston Martin

A familiar name returns to the discussion, as Aston Martin seem to be making a resurgence, with a podium in Zandvoort, they are also in talks to maybe win their first race this weekend. However, they have been losing the developmental battle to another team…

McLaren

With one of the youngest driver pairings, McLaren does seem like an odd team to consider for a race win, however, their comeback has been really strong so far, with both McLaren drivers proving tough on Saturdays, providing excellent qualifying results. They have been quite unlucky during races however, so will Lady Luck bless them in Singapore, or will it be another disaster?

Weather Report

The Singapore Weather forecast suggests some rain on Saturday and Sunday, however chances of missing the Quali and Race times, however due to the vary fluctuating weather pattern of the region, there might even be showers during the competitive sessions which could like the previous year throw a challenge and surprise.

News and Rumours

• Guanyu Zhou and the Second Alfa Romeo Seat - the young Chinese on the verge of extending for 2024 In recent weeks several drivers (not just F2) have been in discussions to replace him. Unfortunately for them, the door is about to close.

• Rumors suggest that Williams doesn’t plan to replace American rookie Logan Sargeant. Even though Mick Schumacher has been rumored to be gunning for the second Williams seat, As the season is coming to an End the Williams driver pairing is not expected to change for 2024.

• Helmut Marko after his recent comments against Sergio Perez that were received as Racist remarks by the fans, has refused to talk about the matter more or answer further questions regarding it. He earlier issued an Apology after facing backlash for those racist comments, with Fans even stating that he should be sacked by Redbull in a similar manner to Redbull academy driver Juri Vips - who last year was shown an exit door after his racist comments on a Twitch stream.
  

The Weekend Schedule looks like this-