2026 Singapore Grand Prix Preview: 5 Big Talking Points Heading into the Weekend

Linus O'Howell

3 hours ago

3 min read

The Final Sprint of 2026

After 5 Sprint Weekends so far this season, Singapore plays host to the final Sprint Race of 2026! Yes, that’s right: Formula 1 thought it would be a good idea to hold a Sprint in Singapore... during daylight! Clearly, even F1 thinks it’s a bad idea, as they’ve already confirmed that Singapore won’t hold one of the ten Sprint Races that are going to take place in 2027! Anyway, George Russell has won 3 Sprints in 2026, so he’s potentially the favourite heading into Saturday!

Alpine Are in Trouble!

Another week, another conversation about the fight for P5! Despite losing a ton of points heading into Monza due to Pierre Gasly losing his Podium in Monaco (and subsequently being dropped behind both Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad), they made up for it with back-to-back P7’s in Italy and Spain (Gasly and Colapinto)! However, after a positive Friday in Baku, everything fell apart when Franco Colapinto wiped out Pierre Gasly, leading to a double DNF whilst Lindblad finished 7th for VCARB! Then, in Malaysia, things got worse as Alpine failed to score any points, whilst Racing Bulls finished in the points with both drivers, with Lawson finishing P7! Now, Alpine are 22 points behind Racing Bulls, which feels incredibly difficult to overturn! It’s critical for the Enstone-based team that both Pierre and Franco score good points this weekend (in both the Sprint and the Grand Prix)!

McLaren’s Struggles Continue

After a frustrating early part of the season, McLaren started finding real pace in Belgium, with Lando Norris taking back-to-back victories across Hungary and Zandvoort! Monza wasn’t great; neither driver ended up on the Podium, whilst Norris would’ve won comfortably had it not been for an awfully-timed Virtual Safety Car in Madrid! However, since then, it’s been a disaster for the reigning double Champions! In Azerbaijan, Lando struggled throughout, eventually getting taken out in the Alpine collision, whilst a terribly-timed mistake by Oscar Piastri resulted in the Papaya outfit leaving the weekend with nothing! Then, in Malaysia, McLaren had the 4th fastest car, with Piastri finishing 6th whilst Norris could only manage 9th (after another mistake)! Because of these last few weekends, McLaren have gone from hoping to catch Ferrari for second in the Constructors’ Championship to being just 18 points ahead of Red Bull! Let’s be honest; McLaren have to sort this out, as otherwise, Red Bull are going to pass them with ease!

Gabriel Bortoleto’s Barron Run

Personally, I think Gabriel Bortoleto has stepped up his game in his sophomore season in Formula 1; he’s looked slightly quicker than Nico Hulkenberg, whilst Gabby leads his teammate in the Drivers’ Standings! However, after back-to-back brilliant P8’s in Silverstone and Spa (Belgium), Bortoleto hasn’t scored a single point since, which was 6 rounds ago now! Granted, a couple of those results have been P11; Gabby Bortoleto has actually finished 11th five times this season, but teammate Hulkenberg has recorded 7 points in Hungary, Zandvoort, and Madrid! Now, due to Haas’ double-points haul in Baku, Audi find themselves 10 points off 7th in the Constructors’; a place that they really should be! So, Gabriel Bortoleto needs to return to the points this weekend; he has the pace to do so!

Will Charles Leclerc Return to the Podium?

It feels like we haven’t spoken about Charles Leclerc in a preview for a while, and there’s a good reason for it! Whilst he started the season off form compared to teammate Lewis Hamilton, Charles scored a massive result by winning the 2026 British Grand Prix, following that up with a Podium in Belgium, whilst the only other thing of note was when he crashed out at Monza! The reason why I say this is that Leclerc has finished in the Top 5 in five of the last six Grand Prix’s, yet he hasn’t appeared on the Podium! Four, yes, 4 P4 finishes in that period, including each of the last three weekends! The positive for Charles Leclerc is he’s racking up the points; he’s now 4th in the Drivers’ Championship, but unless he starts returning to the Podium, he’s probably going to end up finishing 6th! So, will Charles Leclerc return to the Podium in Singapore? Only time will tell!