Christian Horner: "First off, congratulations to McLaren and Lando, they were clearly the best car on track today. The gap to Lando was significant in the first part of the race, and on the hard tyre we looked in better shape, but the gap was too big and this track is historically very hard to overtake on. Max drove a strong race today and P2 was what we had. If you consider where we were a few weeks ago the progress is visible, and we have the better part of a month to put our heads down and make some progress before we head to Austin. There will be a lot of late nights in Milton Keynes. As a Team, we wanted to avoid a repeat of last year in Singapore, and the effort that went in to preparing for this race resulted in giving the drivers a better car and more confidence in the direction of development. Checo unfortunately struggled to overtake during the race, he didn't feel like he had traction in key parts of the track, and P10 is what he could manage today. The McLaren is the benchmark car at the moment and we have a bit to catch up to at the moment, but we have the people, the ability, and the drive to do just that. We are still in the fight, and now have a few weeks to work on things before we go again."
George Russell finished fourth and Lewis Hamilton sixth in Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix. Taking position on the second row, Lewis lined up on the Soft tyre in P3 with George on the Medium compound in P4.
With track position so valuable in Singapore, the team opted for the Soft compound start to try and make opening lap gains. That proved the wrong decision though with Lewis limited on the red-walled compound by overheating in his opening stint and ultimately having to stop early. That enabled George and the McLaren of Oscar Piastri to overcut once everyone switched to the Hard compound.
Piastri's pace saw him come through to take P3 whilst the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc was able to put his pace and tyre advantage to use to first pass Lewis, then harry George in the closing stages. George was able to resist the Monegasque though and hold on to P4, whilst Lewis came home P6 on an evening where the team had the fourth quickest car.
Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO: That was a really painful evening for us. P4 and P6 is not a good result after starting P3 and P4. Our strategy decisions in the race were determined by our experiences in the past here where track position is crucial. We thought that the Soft tyre would give Lewis an advantage at the start but that turned out to be the wrong decision. With our challenges managing the rear surfaces, we went backwards. Overtaking proved possible, contrary to previous races here where it has been more processional, and in hindsight we should have started him on the Medium.
It doesn't hide the fact though that we were too slow today. We are struggling at the moment with tracks that are hot and demanding on traction, like here and Baku, but that is no excuse. It is difficult for us to accept but we must do and find a way to improve. We now look ahead to Austin where we will have an update coming and we hope that will move us forward.
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director: Our pace was ultimately poor today and that made for an incredibly challenging evening. Having qualified within a couple of tenths of Norris and Verstappen, we anticipated being able to race for the podium. That shaped our decision to start on the Soft compound with Lewis as we looked to make up ground on the opening lap. Unfortunately, with our lack of pace and struggles to control the rear tyre temperatures, that proved the incorrect decision and left him in for a tough race.
It was very much a case of a defensive strategy and race for George. We had to pick our battles, and it was clear that we didn't have the speed to be in a fight with the McLaren of Oscar Piastri. He was much faster and, with a tyre advantage, was always going to get through. George did well to hold off the hard-charging Ferrari of Leclerc and limit the damage.
We've now got the opportunity over the next few weeks to analyse and understand what happened to our pace today. We had moments over the weekend where we were competitive, so we know there is inherent pace in the car. We will also be bringing an update package to the car at the next race and we hope that can bring us closer to the fight at the front.
The Scuderia Ferrari HP team and its drivers ran another perfectly executed race in Singapore. Charles managed to make up four places to finish fifth and Carlos Sainz, taking part today in his 200th Grand Prix, finished five places higher than he started, seventh after dropping down to 12th off the line. Leclerc in particular, once he had pitted for tyres and with a clear track ahead of him, was able to lap at the same pace as the leaders Lando Norris and Max Verstappen, suggesting that if qualifying had gone better, he could have fought for the win. With 18 points scored today, the team is third in the Constructors' classification, the same place Charles occupies in the Drivers' standings, while Carlos is still fifth.
Charles and Carlos both started on the Medium tyres but their strategies were different. Leclerc got away well, passing Yuki Tsunoda, then tucking in behind Nico Hulkenberg and Fernando Alonso, while Sainz lost two places and found himself in a DRS train. The team therefore decided to call him in very early, on la 13, to switch to the Hard tyre, after which he had slower cars to deal with before running pretty much at his own pace. This move, combined with his clever tyre management, meant Sainz got as high as sixth place on lap 43. As for Leclerc, he stayed out until lap 36, one of the last to pit, having managed his Mediums very well. It meant he was able to rejoin eighth, ahead of Hulkenberg on much fresher tyres compared to Alonso, who was only able to keep the Ferrari at bay for two laps. On lap 43, the team switched the drivers round so that Leclerc could set off in pursuit of the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. Sainz meanwhile was managing his seventh place, fending off Alonso who never really posed a threat. Charles easily passed Hamilton with ten laps remaining and closed on the other Mercedes five laps from the flag. To overtake at this track requires a big pace difference and by this time Charles' Hard tyres had given of their best and so he had to settle for fifth. For Carlos also, seventh was the best he could expect today.
The world championship now takes a break of almost one month with the next round being the United States Grand Prix at Austin on 20 October.
Fred Vasseur - Team Principal: I'm very pleased with how we performed today, less so with Saturday. We had a good strategy, good race management and we ran a very strong race on both sides of the garage.
Carlos had a difficult start after which he showed good pace and in the closing stages, Charles was matching Norris for pace and Russell was not that far in front at the end. We could not really expect more than this fifth place from where we started.
We now have a three week gap to the next race and I expect all the teams, including ourselves, will bring something new to Austin. It's the first part of a triple-header and I expect that, as usual, some of these three tracks will suit some teams better than others.
Andrea Stella - Team Principal: "A fantastic evening here in Singapore with a dominant victory for Lando, and Oscar managing to recover a couple of positions and finishing in P3. Achieving back-to-back victories is another milestone for us. The car was strong all weekend, making us optimistic for the rest of the season. We extend our lead in the Constructors' Championship, and Lando reduces the gap to Max in the race for the Drivers' Championship.
"I would like to once again take this opportunity to thank everyone at McLaren and Mercedes HPP for the incredible job they've done to deliver such a fast car. I'd also like to thank our partners and our fans for being with us on this journey. We will take time to celebrate our achievements today before switching our focus tomorrow to the upcoming triple-header."
Mike Krack, Team Principal: "Tonight we saw an impressive test of human performance with the drivers completing 62 laps of racing under the lights in Singapore with high humidity, temperatures of over 30C and no rest bite.
"Lance's crew worked swiftly on a precautionary brake issue that we saw on the laps to the grid. They showed incredible teamwork to change front brakes, and Lance was able to complete the race without any issues. Lance did well but unusually we didn't see a safety car in Singapore which may have opened some opportunities.
"Fernando's four points are another hard-won reward for an impressive Qualifying and race of endurance. Some decent points from the double-header here and in Baku. We now have a mini break to regroup and find more performance ahead of the last six Grands Prix starting in Austin.
"I would like to thank everyone in the garage who have worked in these extreme conditions this week."
Oliver Oakes, Team Principal: "It was a tough day on track and a repeat of what we saw in Qualifying, which follows the trend from the previous couple of races. We had expected to perform better here on this circuit configuration, but we did not have the pace. This is the reality of where we are currently. There's a lot of work going on behind the scenes to bring more performance to the car in the coming races. With four weeks until Austin, we need a final push to the end of the season."
Sven Smeets, Sporting Director: We were hoping for more today as we had a strong car so it's a shame to come away without points. After Franco's single pitstop we lost P10 to [Checo] Perez, Franco stayed close to him and [Nico] Hülkenberg but was unable to make a pass into the points. Nevertheless, Franco ran a solid weekend in extremely tough conditions in only his third grand prix and we are pleased with his performance. In terms of Alex's race, it's always disappointing when you have to retire a car; we experienced some cooling issues but need to assess this in the coming days. It's clear that we have brought performance to the car with the upgrades over the past few races, but we didn't get it all right as a team this weekend to score points for a third time in a row. We will now use this small break in the calendar to regroup ahead of the next triple header as there is still a lot to play for.
Guillaume Dezoteux (Head of Vehicle Performance): "Starting from P8 we were hoping to finish closer to the points with Yuki. We lost some ground at the start and we were 11th at the end of the first lap, which was a big hit. We were on an aggressive strategy, going long on the medium tyre but we were missing a bit of pace to actually stay with the cars in front of us. The soft tyre was well managed and we closed the gap to Colapinto but we were too far to actually put him under pressure at the end of the race. With regards to Daniel, we wanted to offset him early in the race as the traffic effect is big here. The first part of his stint on medium tyres was competitive and well managed, but he started to lose a lot when fighting with Gasly. We are definitely missing a bit of pace compared to our direct competitors, so this is something we will analyse to see what we could have done differently, while preparing for the next triple headers in the best possible way."
Laurent Mekies (Team Principal): "This was a better performance overall than in recent races, but not good enough for points. We did however look competitive right from Friday with both Daniel and Yuki. Yuki then produced a strong qualifying to get into Q3, which was a very encouraging result. Lining up eighth on the grid, we were hoping for points. Unfortunately, Yuki dropped 3 places off the line and from then on it was always going to be very difficult to pass. Our starts have not been good enough this season and this is something we are working very hard to improve. In a tight field like ours, it means the difference between points or not. On the positive side Yuki produced a very strong final stint on the soft tyre, it was a daring call to put him on that soft compound for so many laps, but it worked and gave us a good pace advantage, even if that was not enough to get back into the points. Starting from further back, we really needed a Safety Car opportunity for Daniel to get back into the fight for points. Dan was on an aggressive strategy starting on Softs and has put in some very good laps through the race, but had effectively no chance to get back into the good positions from so far back. He never gave up and fought all race long. Given this may have been Daniel's last race, we wanted to give him the chance to savour it and go out with the fastest lap. We have now a few weeks to prepare our last push for the final part of the championship and the 2 incoming triple headers. Competition is tighter than ever and we will give it our very best shout."
Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber fought hard under the lights of the Singapore Grand Prix, with Zhou Guanyu crossing the line in 15th place, ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas in 16th. During a race without any interruptions and no yellow flags, a rarity at the Marina Bay circuit, the team displayed a better turn of race pace. Teamwork was key, with Zhou providing DRS to Valtteri, enabling him to defend against Pierre Gasly in the final stint. With a mini break before Austin, the team will now return home, determined to work hard and extract more performance from the car as we continue to push forward.
Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Team Representative: "We completed a difficult weekend on a positive note, finishing P15 and P16 with Zhou and Valtteri. This shows that we improved on our starting position, unlike in the previous race and, on merit, finished ahead of one Alpine and one Racing Bull. Today, I especially want to praise Zhou for being a true team player. After his pit stop, we asked him to give Valtteri DRS from lap 40 onwards, and he helped his teammate stay ahead of Pierre Gasly by managing his pace while keeping in the necessary window. Both Zhou and Valtteri followed our instructions on tyre management, and we ended up with a positive result, particularly for the teamwork we demonstrated. This race shows that, while we still have a lot of work ahead, we are not out of the fight. We are here, maximising everything we have on track together with our drivers, our technical partners, and our remote garage, who supported our trackside engineers brilliantly today. We've made a step forward compared to the past, and we will continue to push."
MoneyGram Haas F1 Team finished with Nico Hulkenberg ninth and Kevin Magnussen 19th, at the Singapore Grand Prix, Round 18 of the 2024 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, held Sunday at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
Hulkenberg took the start from sixth place on Pirelli P Zero Yellow medium tires and maintained position after battling against McLaren's Oscar Piastri through the opening sector. The German came in on lap 29 for White hard tires and ceded positions to the recovering Scuderia Ferrari drivers, as well as Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso. Hulkenberg took the checkered flag in ninth position to add two valuable points to MoneyGram Haas F1 Team's 2024 tally, marking the third successive race in the points for the team.
Magnussen started from 14th on the grid on hard tires and maintained position through the opening stint, pitting on lap 28 to take on a set of medium rubber. Magnussen sustained a left-rear puncture after lightly brushing the wall at turn 5 on lap 50, and had to complete almost a full lap before pitting. The Dane re-emerged on Red soft tires but, two laps down, pulled into the pits on lap 58 to retire the car, officially classifying in 19th place.
Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal: "It was great to come away with two points and now scoring points in three consecutive races is very good. The consistency is there, and Nico drove very well today; his second stint had pressure the entire time from a Red Bull and he didn't make any mistakes and brought the car home in P9. That's two more points and only three away from RB with six races to go. We also opened up another two-point gap to Williams as well, so mission accomplished."
A third win for Lando Norris, who led from lights out to chequered flag. It marked McLaren's return to the top step of the Singapore podium, after a break of 15 years since Lewis Hamilton won in 2009. Norris crossed the line ahead of Max Verstappen in the Red Bull, the Dutchman still not managing to win here, while also extending his current winless streak to eight Grands Prix. Third was Oscar Piastri in the other McLaren, thus securing his ninth top-three finish from 40 Grand Prix starts. The Woking-based team has now managed to get at least one driver on the podium for the past 14 races, with a total of 17 podium finishes. Daniel Ricciardo took the race fastest lap for the 17th time in his career, the last one dating back to Monza 2021, at the wheel of a McLaren. It is Racing Bulls' first ever fastest lap.
As expected, most of the field went for the Medium at the start: 14 drivers lined up on the C4, four (Stroll, Bottas, Zhou and Magnussen) on the C3 and two on the C5 (Hamilton and Ricciardo).
The Medium proved to be very flexible in terms of stint length, allowing nearly all drivers to complete the race making just one pit stop. Depending on track position and traffic, we saw drivers stop as early as lap 13 (Sainz) while others even got all the way to lap 38 (Piastri). In fact, Ferrari's Spanish driver did the longest stint of all, covering no less than 49 laps on the Hard.
Mario Isola: "All in all, this was a relatively straightforward race, without a single neutralisation, the first time that has happened in the history of this race. The one-stop proved to be definitely the quickest and all three compounds behaved as expected. The Medium and the Hard clearly saw the most use, but the Soft also proved its worth, as could be seen for example in the times set by Hamilton on full fuel load in his first 17 lap stint, or with Tsunoda over 28 laps in the second part of the race, with a perfectly acceptable level of degradation.
"When it comes to evaluating tyre performance, an important factor to consider is the level of pace management adopted by the drivers, together with how much traffic they encountered at various stages of the race. That was particularly relevant with the Medium, because depending on their pace, some drivers were able to extend their first stint well beyond the window predicted by the strategy simulations, which opened up the possibility of using the Soft, as was the case with the aforementioned Tsunoda and Gasly.
"After four races in five weeks, Formula 1 takes a short break now, ahead of the triple-header in the Americas. But for our group, the work on track continues, with four days of testing which is only possible thanks to the vital support of the teams, in this case, Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren."
