2025 Singapore Grand Prix Preview: 5 Big Talking Points Heading into the Weekend

Linus O'Howell
Oct 3
3 min read

Oscar Piastri Has to Bounce Back!

For as long as I’ve been watching Formula 1, I’ve never seen a top driver have as bad a weekend as Oscar Piastri had in Azerbaijan! Not only did Oscar crash in both Qualifying and the Race, but he also jumped the start, like what on earth (I’m still baffled weeks later)! However, the positive for Piastri is his teammate could only manage P7, so he still leads the Championship by a healthy 25 points! However, having said that, Piastri needs to get back on form this weekend, as otherwise, both Lando Norris and Max Verstappen will close the gap even more!

A Big Weekend for Yuki Tsunoda

In Azerbaijan, Yuki Tsunoda secured both his best result of the season and his best result in a Red Bull, coming home in a solid 6th-place! The question now turns to whether Yuki can follow this up in Singapore, or if Baku really is just a one-off for the second Red Bull car?! Now, in 2022, Sergio Perez won around the streets of Singapore in brilliant fashion, but Tsunoda’s performances around this circuit have been pretty poor, with two DNF’s in his previous 3 visits! Ultimately, only time will tell how Yuki Tsunoda will get on this weekend, but given he’s fighting for his spot on the Grid next year, every result matters!

Carlos Sainz is Back!

Year 1 for Carlos Sainz at Williams has been anything but easy, with both mistakes and incredibly bad luck holding the Spaniard back, but in Azerbaijan, everything came together as Carlos returned to the Podium in excellent style! It’s crazy to think that Sainz hadn’t scored points on a Sunday since Canada (before last week’s P3), and now he’s shot all the way up from 18th to 12th in the Standings! Now, given how this year has gone so far, it wouldn’t shock me at all to see Carlos Sainz out in Q1 this weekend, but then again, just remember what happened at Singapore 2023!

Nico Hulkenberg’s Horrific Form

Honestly, I’m very surprised that more people aren’t talking about just how poor Nico Hulkenberg has been recently! Yes, he’s had some incredible results this year; P5 in Spain was one, and his Podium in Silverstone was arguably the most iconic moment of the season! However, since then, Hulkenberg hasn’t scored a single point, he gets out-qualified by Gabriel Bortoleto every weekend, and his Qualifying performances have been absolutely horrendous! So, will things change in Singapore? Only time will tell!

Is Max Verstappen in this Championship Fight?

The fact I’m even asking this question is absolutely crazy, but it’s one that needs to be asked! Since Azerbaijan, the whole Formula 1 world has been talking about whether Max Verstappen has a chance at winning this year’s World Championship, having gained 35 points on Oscar Piastri in just 2 weekends! Now, as much as it’s a fun conversation to have, realistically, it’s very unlikely! Firstly, to think that McLaren won’t have the fastest car for the rest of the season seems a little crazy to me, and will Red Bull really be good enough to win every Race from now to the end of the year? Honestly, I’m not convinced! There’s also the fact that Singapore is the one track on the calendar that Max Verstappen hasn’t won around, but hey, if anyone can pull it off, it's Verstappen!