Cast your minds back a year and Lando Norris was launching an assault for the world championship and was looking to cut away at the championship lead.
Although that has not changed a year later, it was Max Verstappen’s Red Bull which was desperately gripping onto the momentum, still.
But what went on during the 2024 race weekend?
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Norris domination and near-disaster
Lando Norris dominated the weekend. With McLaren machinery that was perfectly suited to the slow and medium-speed turns of the Marina Bay track, he took pole position by a fraction over two tenths of a second and cruised to victory, leading every lap.
When tasked with building a gap, he did so, and won the race by over 20 seconds, further reminding Max Verstappen of the potent force that he and McLaren represented.
But on a couple of occasions, notably going into the turn 14 right-hander, he clipped the wall with his front wing and narrowly escaped slipping out of the race. It was unusual for such domination to combine with fragility.
Verstappen’s champion drive
Yet despite Norris’ dominant win, Max Verstappen’s run to second place was even more impressive and crucial in limiting the points loss to his British rival.
While the McLaren car revelled on the Marina Bay layout, the Red Bull did not. However, Verstappen mustered everything out of his RB20 and made no mistakes, en route to a significant 18 points, leaving him 52 clear at the top.
It may have been a routine and event-less drive, but that is what the Dutchman needed as he strangled onto momentum in the title fight.
Ferrari’s dismal Q3
What made Verstappen’s second-place finish at last year’s race even more impressive was that he defeated an under-performing Oscar Piastri, in the dominant McLaren, and two potentially quicker Ferrari drivers, particularly Charles Leclerc, who appeared to be Norris’ closest rival until Q3.
Carlos Sainz’s crash, during the top ten shootout, limited the other prancing horse to just one lap and with tyre temperatures beleaguering his progress, Leclerc only qualified ninth and could only muster fifth in the race.
🚩 RED FLAG 🚩
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 21, 2024
Sainz goes into the barriers at the final corner 💥
He looks okay 👍#F1 #SingaporeGP pic.twitter.com/s0zVabG6gS
Colapinto’s ambitious turn one
He may not have greatly impressed at Alpine, thus far, but Franco Colapinto’s stock was never higher than it was during his Williams stint in the second half of 2024. A points finish at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix marked his first in the sport, but he made another one on the first lap of the next race.
Starting P12, behind teammate Alex Albon, he audaciously dived to the inside of the turn, with him momentarily losing control of his car. But he re-gathered grip and control, remained on the track, climbed a trio of places up to ninth.
He did eventually finish outside of the top ten, but it demonstrated the Argentine at his most aggressive and exciting.
Ricciardo’s last dance
257 races, eight wins and 32 podiums, the immense presence of Daniel Ricciardo said his farewell to his grand prix career.
With rumours bubbling that the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix would be his last, the Australian officially lost his seat post-weekend. He departed having taken the fastest lap of the race on his final tour, after finishing in P18.
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