IT'S RACE WEEK: 5 storylines we're excited about ahead of the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix

Last weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia might have had delays but was worth the wait, and there’s not long to wait this time as the triple header wraps up in just a few days’ time. Max Verstappen is back on the top step and Mercedes have challenges to overcome as we look ahead to the final Sprint weekend of the season in Singapore.

Verstappen a threat once again

The second half of the 2025 Formula 1 season saw Verstappen go on a remarkable run to pull himself back into championship contention, ultimately falling just short in his pursuit of the McLaren drivers at the final round.

This time, a title comeback is not on the cards without something extraordinary happening, but that doesn’t mean Verstappen can’t go on a similarly strong run with seven races remaining.

The victory in Sepang was Verstappen’s first of the season, but perhaps even more significantly it was the first for Red Bull Ford Powertrains as a power unit manufacturer. The first non-Mercedes pole position was also secured in Malaysia, as Red Bull showed strong all-round performance throughout the weekend, and with that result coming after Verstappen so nearly pipped George Russell to victory in Baku, could we see the four-time World Champion pick up back-to-back wins?

Mercedes trying to understand their update

A week ago we were focused on the fact that Mercedes were bringing a new development package to Malaysia, but warned “the success of an update is never guaranteed”. And so it proved, as Mercedes found themselves scratching their heads as to why their new parts were not delivering the performance step they expected.

Team Principal Toto Wolff spoke of an expectation that the update would provide around 0.3s in terms of a lap time gain, but after Qualifying he felt it had actually set the team back by a similar amount.

It was hardly a disastrous race in terms of outright performance, with Mercedes still putting pressure on Verstappen at certain phases and looking set for a double podium, but there was more pain when Russell retired with a suspected power unit issue late on.

Reliability has been a weakness for Mercedes so far this season and the team have already confirmed Russell will take a penalty to consign him to the back of the grid in Singapore, so the impact will extend beyond his DNF on Sunday.

Of similar concern will be identifying how to get the most out of the update package, with Mercedes having go try and find answers during the quick turnaround between races, and with only one practice session to try and prove out any solutions.

Antonelli closing in on the title

When Russell retired on Sunday, Kimi Antonelli was concerned. A reliability issue on his team mate’s car left him worrying that something similar could impact him, but he did not suffer the same fate and his second place allowed him to extend his lead in the standings.

Those 18 points scored, while Russell failed to finish, means Antonelli is now 84 points clear in the Drivers’ Championship and closing in on his first title.

There are still 183 points to play for but with Antonelli technically able to retire from three consecutive races, see his closest rival win all three, and still hold the championship lead, it would take a brave person to bet against the Italian bringing it home from here.

Antonelli had an 81-point advantage heading to Azerbaijan, but by his own admission, Baku was not his finest race weekend and his lead was reduced by 15 points on that occasion. With some more breathing space after a stronger performance in Malaysia, it will be interesting to see if he’s more comfortable around the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

More Alonso magic?

There hasn’t been a huge amount for Aston Martin fans to get excited about this year, but the team have clearly made progress since introducing a new chassis in Hungary, with further gains coming from an updated Honda power unit in the Netherlands.

And the high point of the season so far was delivered on Sunday, when Fernando Alonso secured a top-eight finish for his third point-scoring result of the year.

That result came despite starting on slick tyres for the race resumption that saw the intermediate runners pull out a huge advantage, and then with Alonso needing to hold off Lando Norris in the closing stages.

It was a weekend when both Aston Martin drivers were competitive, and came after a very challenging race in Azerbaijan. Alonso warns there will be big fluctuations in form throughout the rest of the season, with certain tracks suiting the Aston Martin package and others being far more problematic. But the good news is he has already highlighted Singapore as one of the weekends where the team have high hopes that they can be in the mix for points once again.

The final Sprint of the season

As if racing under the lights in Singapore wasn’t going to be enough action, we’re going to be treated to the final Sprint weekend of the season, and with it a very different challenge.

While the Singapore Grand Prix itself will start at 2000 local time and take place completely under floodlights, the Sprint will be at 1700, when the sun has yet to set. That is going to mean different track conditions, and an even greater chance of a different racing picture across both Saturday and Sunday.

This year’s Sprint events have so far seen a different winner of each of the two races during a weekend, with the last time a driver swept both the Sprint and the Grand Prix coming when Norris dominated in Sao Paulo last season.

With just one practice session to get up to speed on a track that demands commitment and confidence around the city streets, the drivers are going to have their skills tested in multiple different ways across the weekend.