2024 Singapore GP: the big turning point in F1's drivers' title race?

There’s a ten-point margin between first and third and, in recent races, Norris and Piastri have had the pace to take the top two positions, while Ferrari and Mercedes also finished ahead of Verstappen, costing him more points.

But errors, misfortune, and conservative strategy calls means that Norris has outscored Verstappen by more than eight points just once this season — when the Red Bull driver retired from the Australian Grand Prix.

Closing down Verstappen isn’t an impossible task, particularly as Norris can count on limited help from Baku race-winner Oscar Piastri, after McLaren announced that it was prepared to impose team orders. However, if he can’t use Singapore as a springboard and take a chunk out of Verstappen’s lead, then Norris’s hopes of being crowned champion will take a significant blow.

Not only that, he’ll also need to be looking over his shoulder. Charles Leclerc has taken 43 points from the past two races, compared to Norris’s 29, and is less than 20 points behind the McLaren man in the drivers’ championship. On current form, he could end the season as Verstappen’s closest challenger.

…or is the scene set for a Red Bull resurgence?

Last year’s Singapore Grand Prix brought the only Red Bull defeat of the season. Unsettled by the circuit’s high kerbs, the elsewhere unbeatable RB19 struggled, leaving Verstappen and Sergio Perez out of podium contention.

Which may give the team confidence that the 2024 race will do the opposite and mark an upturn in its performance, potentially ending Norris’s title hopes and regaining the initiative in the constructors’ championship.

In 2023, team boss Christian Horner spoke of how Singapore had exposed weaknesses in its car and that these would be addressed for 2024. Combine that with a recent floor upgrade in Baku, which put Perez on course to finish on the podium before he collided with Carlos Sainz, and you can see why Red Bull staff may be arriving at Singapore with a spring in their step.

Verstappen’s lack of competitiveness in Azerbaijan was put down to set-up change which “didn’t work”. If Red Bull has rectified its car’s recent flaws, then it can once again hope to have the season sewn up.

Ricciardo hanging on for how long?

A subdued Daniel Ricciardo appeared unsure of whether he’d even see out the season with RB on Thursday in Singapore. “I know how it is and how it works,” he told Sky Sports F1. “So many things are up in the air. Let’s see how this weekend goes.”

It’s known that Red Bull’s junior team is due to make a final decision on which driver will partner Yuki Tsunoda in 2025, but recent rumours suggest that it is also considering a mid-season driver change. Ricciardo hasn’t shown the spark of his earlier years and has scored only 12 points in this year’s championship, little more than half of Tsunoda’s 22.

Liam Lawson has been favourite for the seat for over a year, since he deputised impressively for Ricciardo after the Australian broke his wrist at the 2023 Dutch GP. A ninth-place finish in Singapore last year was enough to convince most that he was F1-ready, and despite missing out on a seat for 2024, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko later stated that Lawson would “definitely” be in one of the four Red Bull cars in 2025.

“I still know that performance is my best friend,” said Ricciardo recently in response to the rumours. “And that’s if I do what I know I can do and [am] capable of then it puts me in a very good position to obviously stay somewhere in the family for next year. I’ve just got to focus on that.

“Speaking on Liam, I got to see him drive the car last year and I do think he did a great job. I do think he is worthy of a seat on the grid. In a way, I’m happy for him. What that means for me? As I said, probably a little bit unknown but, if I perform, then I’m sure they’ll find a spot for me somewhere.”

Other than RB, only Sauber have an open seat for 2025. But with Valtteri Bottas, Gabriel Bortoleto, Franco Colapinto and Théo Pourchaire already under consideration by team boss Mattia Binotto, Ricciardo may be looking at the end of his F1 career.

An extra DRS zone and Singapore’s new layout

Marina Bay underwent major revisions in 2023, as construction work required the track to bypass the grandstand chicane pictured above.

The resulting 400 metre-long straight not only dropped average lap times but also improved the chances of overtaking before the start-finish straight.

Ongoing work means that the layout will remain the same in 2024 and now there is a new DRS zone on that straight, in addition to the three that were in place last year, adding to the passing opportunities.

Drivers backed last year’s changes, which are due to remain until 2027. “It was fun,” said Fernando Alonso. “I think it was an improvement from the past. It’s a little bit faster, and you get the rhythm into the lap. So, yeah, I like the change.”

“I prefer this layout,” added Valtteri Bottas. “It’s going to create at least a tiny bit more opportunities, and it just makes the track slightly faster.”

The 2023 race did see more passing than usual. Racingpass, which counts overtakes in every grand prix, tallied 42 passes last year, compared with a circuit average of 32 — but less than the 59 in 2019.