After back-to-back wins for Max Verstappen in Baku and Monza, the gap at the sharp end of Formula 1’s title fight is closing as the series heads to Singapore.
On the streets of the Marina Bay, McLaren will have another opportunity to seal the world constructors’ title, Red Bull will have the chance to prove that its recovery is real, and Verstappen will have the rare prospect of winning a new F1 race for the first time – having never taken to the top step of the podium in Singapore.
When lights go out on Sunday, there will be stories to keep an eye out for up and down the F1 grid. However, these are the five plot lines that we think are worth watching closely at the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix.
The next episode of McLaren’s title fight
Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Photo by: Clive Rose / Getty Images
It has been a rollercoaster few weeks for the F1 drivers’ title fight, with both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris suffering a retirement in recent races.
Norris dropped out of second place in Zandvoort, seeing Piastri bank 25 points. At the most recent Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the tables turned when Piastri crashed out on the opening lap – but Norris’ seventh place meant he didn’t fully benefit and only made up six points on his rival.
As it shakes out, Piastri’s lead is now 25 points with six rounds (and three sprints) remaining, which means Norris is still within striking distance.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella even stated that Max Verstappen is still a title contender despite being 69 points behind Piastri. If nothing else, that’s a wake-up call for the Woking squad after a variety of reliability issues for both drivers and slow pitstops on Norris’ side.
McLaren now heads to its favoured Singapore circuit, where Norris dominated last year, as it aims to end a resurgent Verstappen’s victory run. It only needs 13 points to wrap up back-to-back constructors’ titles and, given how well the twisty layout suits the MCL39, the papaya squad will want to keep a few extra cases of champagne in the fridge.
– Filip Cleeren
Can Max Verstappen challenge for the title?
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images
After two wins on low-downforce tracks, Singapore will be the “real test” for Red Bull, as Laurent Mekies and Helmut Marko have both admitted. The last high-downforce venue prior to Singapore (the Hungaroring) saw Red Bull take a beating. Based on pure race pace, Verstappen was more than a second slower than the front of the field – and that came on a short circuit.
Marko immediately concluded that Red Bull knew what it had done wrong in Budapest. Moreover, the team has undoubtedly made significant steps in recent weeks, both in terms of execution and with the floor upgrade introduced in Monza. Red Bull is more competitive now than it has been at any point this season.
As pointed out above, that has even sparked debate over whether Verstappen can challenge McLaren’s drivers for the title this year. In order to answer that question, Singapore will be extremely important. On paper, the Marina Bay Street Circuit has all the ingredients Red Bull dislikes: a bumpy street track, high-downforce, and extreme heat.
Verstappen has never won F1’s original night race, while Norris was utterly dominant at this venue last year. A true test, then, but if Red Bull and Verstappen were to pass it with flying colours, the final stages of this F1 season could become very interesting indeed…
– Ronald Vording
Ferrari desperately needs a result that might not come
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
Photo by: Bryn Lennon / Formula 1 / Getty Images
After 17 grand prix weekends with little to show for it, Ferrari really needs a win. Or a podium. Or just a solid result to show that it’s finally on the front foot after weeks of missteps, drama and lacklustre performances.
The Scuderia’s year has not gone to plan, with it failing to live up to the pre-season hype. Mid-season optimists were then left disappointed when a recovery didn’t arrive once McLaren’s wings were clipped and, following a post-summer break reset, the tifosi remain underwhelmed.
After a double retirement in Zandvoort, disappointment in Monza and a Baku race that was fraught with questionable strategy, Ferrari is staring down the barrel of a win-less season – save for Lewis Hamilton’s surprise victory in the sprint in China – which will not be the result F1’s most famous team was targeting.
Ferrari needs to turn around its fortunes in Singapore. However, the Marina Bay Street Circuit is a tough beast to tame, and while the scarlet side has a history of taking to the top step of the podium there, with Carlos Sainz winning for Ferrari as recently as 2023, the track isn’t likely to suit the SF-25 due to its emphasis on high downforce and strong cornering performance.
Similar high-downforce tracks like Imola and Hungary proved tough for the Scuderia this season. If Ferrari hopes of improving on the fourth place it managed at both, it will take more than a few hopes and prayers come Sunday.
– Owen Bellwood
Yuki Tsunoda must prove Baku wasn’t a one-off
Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing Team
Photo by: Rudy Carezzevoli / Getty Images
Yuki Tsunoda completed his strongest weekend as a Red Bull driver at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where he qualified sixth and finished in the same position to secure his best result in 15 starts for the Milton Keynes squad. Together with Verstappen’s victory in Baku, it marked the first time this season that both Red Bulls finished inside the top six.
The Japanese driver has benefited from running Red Bull’s latest floor specification, which improved the previously unpredictable RB21, as well as from the team’s new technical approach under team principal Mekies, with greater emphasis placed on driver feedback. Tsunoda himself has also spent more hours in the simulator, an effort that is paying dividends.
However, just as one swallow doesn’t make a summer, one strong weekend will not secure Tsunoda’s seat at Red Bull – or even in F1, for that matter. While he has clearly stepped up at a crucial point in the season, he still needs to consistently replicate the form he showed in Baku to strengthen his position within the Red Bull family.
The good news for Tsunoda is that his improvement has come at a time when Isack Hadjar – his main rival for the Red Bull seat – has shown a few shaky performances since stepping onto the podium at Zandvoort. The Frenchman suffered his first Q1 elimination in F1 at Monza and endured a scrappy weekend in Baku, where he missed the chance for a strong result after making mistakes on both Saturday and Sunday. In contrast, Hadjar’s team-mate Liam Lawson qualified third and finished fifth.
As Red Bull weighs up who will partner Verstappen in 2026, whoever delivers this weekend could take a decisive step toward securing the seat for next year.
– Federico Faturos
Will faster pitlane speeds spice up the race?
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15, George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15, the rest of the field at the start
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Street races tend to be synonymous with one-stoppers and there is no reason to think that won’t be the case in Singapore this year. Like last year, Pirelli is bringing its C3, C4 and C5 compounds, with the medium and hard tyres easily capable of completing the majority of the 62-lap race.
But the FIA is at least trying to widen the window of possibilities by increasing the pitlane speed limit from 60 to 80km/h, as was the case in Zandvoort. In order to do so without compromising safety, Singapore’s narrow pitlane has been widened by one metre.
Over a 400-metre pitlane, increasing the limit by 20km/h means pitstops will be six seconds faster to complete, making a two-stopper more enticing on paper. But, given the relatively low tyre degradation and given how difficult it is to overtake, it is likely not enough to make teams deviate from a one-stopper.
What will be interesting, however, is what happens in the case of a conveniently timed safety car, as suddenly the pitstop window will get much bigger. And with the walls ever close, that is never a remote possibility around Marina Bay.
– Filip Cleeren
