A dominant Max Verstappen won the Singapore Grand Prix for the first time on Sunday, 24 hours after taking the checkered flag in the sprint race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
TECHNICAL ISSUES
For the second weekend in a row, software glitches on this year’s generation of cars caused problems.
Photo: Reuters
A week earlier in Malaysia the issue had occurred on a formation lap in the rain where several cars ground to a halt. In Singapore, an erroneous deployment of the “overtake” mode meant some cars in the first sprint qualifying session had more power available than others.
Verstappen is one driver clearly fed up with the difficulty of managing and driving the modern cars, which have a 50-50 split between electrical and internal combustion energy, and called for a return to a simpler life behind the wheel.
“It is very complex now. I just hope the new rule set [for 2027] is easier,” the four-time world champion said in an interview. “The problem is there’s a lot of software in the background that can make you not pull away or there is glitch on slow laps.”
“You have to make sure the battery pack is charging in the right place,” Verstappen said. “That’s not what racing should be about. You should be able to go out, have a brake pedal and a throttle pedal and that’s it.”
WOLFF’S WARPATH
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff had unkind words for the “brainless” critics hiding “behind their screens” who have said the team had favored Kimi Antonelli over George Russell this season.
Championship leader Antonelli, 20, is 102 points ahead of the luckless Russell and on the brink of becoming the youngest world champion in history.
Russel’s retirement in Malaysia a week ago and his consequent engine penalties, as well as crashing while he led the Singapore sprint race, have piled on the agony for the Englishman. Wolff hit back at critics.
“They’re brainless, whoever thinks that. I mean, it’s completely nonsensical. We’ve had it in the past with Lewis fans,” Wolff told reporters. “Do they think I have a button that says, ‘George — engine failure now’?”
“I guess this is maybe where social media goes today. People hide behind their screens and then they lash out,” Wolff said. “Sometimes I read what people write. I find it hilarious. These people really contribute to my own entertainment when they are abusing the team or myself. ‘I’m Satan,’ I’ve heard. So, yeah, overall it’s funny.”
COURSE CHANGES
The weekend saw the first time Singapore had hosted an F1 sprint, and drivers seemed to agree it should be the last — unless more overtaking opportunities can be introduced on the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
“I think we shouldn’t host a sprint where you can’t pass,” said double winner Verstappen after a processional weekend of racing on the tight city centre track, only enlivened by heavy rain before Saturday’s sprint.
“The track is great, but also the problem we have at the moment is with the overtake mode, it barely does anything here,” Verstappen said of the electrical boost available to drivers.
Sunday’s 62-lap GP was largely uneventful once the field settled after the start, with only Lewis Hamilton’s blunder on tire choice having an effect on the order of the top six on the grid.
Hamilton was one of many drivers calling for the circuit to be modified to allow more wheel-to-wheel racing.
“I think there’s some adjustments that can be made to make this 100 percent a great circuit,” the seven-time world champion said. “But whether they’re going to do that, I don’t know.”
“I think they need to change the track to maybe a longer straight somewhere in order to allow us to overtake for it to be truly a great racing circuit,” he added.
Novak Djokovic on Monday advanced to the China Open final after Daniil Medvedev was disqualified late in the second set, when a ball that came off the Russian’s racquet hit a spectator. Taiwanese player Hsieh Su-wei and her partner, Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, yesterday defeated Chinese duo Wang Xiyu and Jiang Xinyu 6-1, 1-6 and 10-4 to reach women’s doubles round of 16. Hsieh was the only Taiwanese player to advance as compatriots Wu Fang-hsien, Chan Hao-ching and Liang En-shuo were eliminated in round of 32. A man sitting in the stands behind Medvedev’s side of the court was seen holding
Novak Djokovic on Tuesday won the China Open after his opponent Alex de Minaur retired from the final, extending an astonishing unbeaten streak in Beijing and winning the 102nd title of his career. The 39-year-old Serbian won the first set in the tiebreak 7-6 (7/3) and was down a game in the second set when the Australian ended the match early. “I always want to visualize myself with the trophy, particularly here in Beijing,” Djokovic said during the trophy ceremony. “But I was also quite aware that reality is a little bit different these days,” he said, adding that it
TOUCH Taiwan team dominated Taiwan’s men’s over-45 team are winless so far at the Asia Pacific Seniors Touch Cup in Japan over the past few days. Taiwan face New Zealand, England, Japan and Australia in the grade, one of nine at the Federation of International Touch-run tournament in Utsunomiya. Taiwan opened their campaign with a 14-1 loss to New Zealand on Wednesday before falling 12-0 to England later on the first day. The challenge continued on day two yesterday. Taiwan were defeated 10-0 by the hosts before taking on Australia, one of the sport’s traditional powerhouses, losing 14-1. In a second meeting
GOAT? Messi has a contract with Inter Miami until 2028, but after the death of his father, he signaled he might hang up his boots sooner than anticipated Lionel Messi on Tuesday brought the curtain down on his 21-year international career, bidding farewell to adoring Argentina fans in an emotional final appearance for the former world champions in Buenos Aires. In a perfectly scripted finale, the 39-year-old widely regarded as the greatest soccer player in history signed off with his 126th international goal in front of 85,000 supporters as Argentina cruised to a 3-0 victory over Benin. Messi, playing in his record-extending 208th international, also provided the assist for the opening goal scored by veteran Nicolas Otamendi, with Nico Paz also scoring. However, the match was a footnote
RSS