Max Verstappen takes the pole and the win in Malaysia – at the re-scheduled Bahrain Grand Prix – And are those Red Bull folks happy about it! – Finally! This was Max’s 72nd F1 victory, but his first in 2026 (his last win was in Abu Dhabi at the end of last season (December/2025)). So far this year, Max has had just 8 podium finishes – and his recent win ties him with Lando Norris in points – they both have 188 for 5th and 6th position. Those upgrades Red Bull brought to Azerbaijan seem to be paying off. They were all completed with the pure focus of aerodynamic gains – the largest contributor was the redesign of the Red Bull floor. Isack qualified in 3rd and did manage to finish in 5th – so these Red Bulls have something to say for the rest of the season – Watch for them!
Also – Alonso takes 8th for Aston Martin – a VERY welcome finish for the past Champion and the team. So, the Driver’s standings stay pretty much the same (Leclerc did surpass Norris for 4th, but the points are tightening… Here are the top 10:
| DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP | ||
| 1 | Kimi Antonelli | 320 |
| 2 | George Russell | 236 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | 214 |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | 191 |
| 5 | Lando Norris | 188 |
| 6 | Max Verstappen | 188 |
| 7 | Oscar Piastri | 128 |
| 8 | Isack Hadjar | 96 |
| 9 | Liam Lawson | 65 |
| 10 | Pierre Gasly | 41 |
The Constructor’s Championship standings stay the same too – it is really Mercedes’ to lose at this point, but the battle for 2nd through 4th is still pretty much up for grabs. Here’s the chart:
| CONSTRUCTOR’S CHAMPIONSHIP | |||
| 1 | Mercedes | 556 | |
| 2 | Ferrari | 405 | |
| 3 | McLaren | 316 | |
| 4 | Red Bull | 298 | |
| 5 | Racing Bulls | 90 | |
| 6 | Alpine | 68 | |
| 7 | Haas | 27 | |
| 8 | Audi | 17 | |
| 9 | Williams | 12 | |
| 10 | Aston Martin | 7 | |
| 11 | Cadillac | 0 | |
And what a heartbreak for Mr. Russell – In solid 3rd position, and behind the Safety Car towards the end of the race, and his car just – quit. The team classifies it as a “Power-Unit” failure – but this has happened a few times to George – Remember? George was leading the Canadian Grand Prix just this year, and the same problem halted his race. Kimi hasn’t escaped the electrical catastrophe either, his car completely quit when he was running 2nd at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix on June 14, 2026 with only a few laps remaining. These unpredictable electrical/power-unit failures must keep a lot of people in the Mercedes garage up at night. It just has to be so frustrating to be in those top points paying positions – and then – with no warning – nothing, zero…..
I thought the rescheduled Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang gave us a great show, with no rain until the opening laps of the race itself, but the strategy from wets to slicks was a fun one to watch. It’s too bad this was a one-off event (the rescheduling of the Bahrain GP – there are no future dates for this location), but it was good to be back at least for a competitive weekend….
SO – – what really happened in Malaysia that made many of the cars on our wet formation lap – just shut off? Well, here’s the somewhat “official” explanation:
Basically – Several “perfect storm” conditions seemed to line up all at once. With the heavy rain (and thus poor grip) the drivers were circulating the track pretty slowly, with long periods off throttle and at many times at almost a complete standstill. Wet-running (FIA) energy rules cut maximum electrical deployment from the normal 350 kW down to 250 kW. In particular, and at this circuit, track sectors (including the turn 9 area), had energy-management constraints that interacted badly with these wet, slow conditions. At such low engine speed, the turbos had little exhaust flow, and as a result had poor to little air flow to wind them up and power them. Normally the electrical side of the hybrid system would help provide torque and recover response when the driver got back on the throttle; but the embedded software logic misinterpreted the situation and put the electrical system into a protective “continuous offset”/lockout state. So the whole debacle stems from no other than – wait for it – a “software” glitch…… As I have ranted many times – these electrical rules, regulations, and many times constraints have no place in F1 – Get rid of all of it Please!! Sorry – but these somewhat hidden “special” rules are B.S.!! I do feel a little better getting that out though – Back to the event this weekend –
Alright – Off to Singapore, into the night, and on to our last Sprint Race weekend of the season – Let’s GO!
NUMBER 17 OF 23:
FORMULA 1 SINGAPORE AIRLINES SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX 2026
The uniqueness of this location, being the first ever Formula 1 street race in Asia, and to be the first F1 event ever held at night (1st race at the Marina Bay circuit at night was in the 15th round of the 2008 season) – makes this place not only noteworthy, but in a sense – magical.
Officially known as the “Republic of Singapore”, Singapore is an island country spanning a mere 284 square miles and is positioned just 1 degree and 17 minutes (about 85 miles) north of the equator at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. As a result, there are almost no differences between the four seasons, pretty uniform temperature, and pressure here, and lots of humidity and rainfall. Singapore became an independent sovereign country on August 9th, 1965, and is currently the only country in Asia with a AAA sovereign credit rating from all major rating agencies (2026) – making it a great place to stash your cash.
The territory, as you can see, is primarily made up of one large island and if you count them all, 63 smaller islets, and one outlying islet. Due to extensive land reclamation, Singapore has grown or expanded it’s over all girth by about 25% since its independence in 1965 (raising those ocean waters….. 😊). Singapore currently has the 2nd highest population density of any country in the world too – the total number of folks residing in Singapore is around 6.21 million (June 2026), with 1.98 million (about a third) of those classified as non-residents. Monaco ranks first of course with a population density of 66,644 people/square mile (Singapore comes in at 22,264/square mile). The USA has approximately 99 people/square mile (and were getting too populated?) – I knew you would wonder..
The “Signature” building in Singapore has to be The Marina Bay Sands Resort – this place is simply freakin NUTS! I know I have brought this place up before – but – come on – this place is “sic”..
The resort is owned by the Las Vegas Sands Corporation and is considered the world’s most expensive standalone casino property at $6.88 billion – that’s US Greenbacks. The resort includes a 2,561-room hotel, a 1,300,000 sq ft convention-exhibition center, 800,000 sq ft of shopping, a museum, a large theater, signature “celebrity chef” restaurants, two floating crystal pavilions, art/science exhibits, and the world’s largest atrium casino – 500 tables and 1,600 slot machines.
The complex is made up of three towers topped by a connecting 1,120 ft Sky Park that can easily hold over 3,900 people and – – a 490 ft (over 1.6 football fields long) infinity edged swimming pool, set on top of the world’s largest public cantilevered platform – Yep, on the freakin roof! From the angle below, it looks like a ship stuck on top – doesn’t it?
VERY Cool – Right? You won’t be able to miss this place on TV – it commands and I think deserves the attention… OK, sorry – Back to the race…
First organized in 1961, this race was initially known as the “Orient Year Grand Prix” and located at The Thomson Road circuit (above) – I think you can still say “Orient”, not totally sure…. It was renamed the Singapore Grand Prix in 1966, shortly after Singapore became a sovereign country which was, again in 1965. The event was discontinued after 1973 due to a variety of so-called reasons, including an increase in traffic, the very high danger and unsuitability of the track for racing, the inconvenience of having to close roads for the event, and fatal accidents during the 1972 and 1973 races.
The original 5-year deal signed in 2008 by the Singapore GP Pte Ltd, the Singapore Tourism Board, and Bernie Ecclestone, put the Marina Bay circuit back on the map and onto the schedule once again. The event’s contract was extended, but currently only safe through 2028.
What is unique about this venue is that it was the first Formula 1 street race in Asia and was also F1’s first night race – ever. The concept and location were “brilliant” (pun intended) – a street course set within the city’s magnificent skyline backdrop (initially penned by Herman Tilke and refined by KBR Inc.) and all 100% illuminated – and Yep – That is the Marina Bay Sands Resort in the background (upper left).
Driver criticism? This venue is extremely physically demanding – many say even more so than Monaco. The venue is hot and humid, cockpits have reached into the 140’s (F) here. Driver water loss here can be just as impressive – over 6.5 lbs. has been documented. The course is bumpy and pretty darn tight. Overtaking? Limited. It’s primarily done at the end of the first sector (entering turn 7) and at turn 16, now that the old turns 16-19 were eliminated a few years back. Runoff areas are short and small, and most of the time, we’re running pretty close to fixed vertical surfaces – the walls. Expect a few Safety Car sessions this weekend. We have had at least one deployment at almost every race here (except the last two years 2024 and 2025), but even with those uneventful last 2 years, the Singapore Grand Prix still has the highest frequency of Safety Car deployments in all of F1. There just isn’t very much room to recover an “oop’s” with this layout without encountering something that doesn’t move much, and with a possibly wet forecast for this weekend – I’m sure we’ll see at least one Safety Car session.
OK – Nothing But The Stats:
Circuit Name: Marina Bay Street Circuit
Location: Marina Bay, Singapore
Circuit Length: 3.061 miles (4.927 km)
Race Length: 189.727 miles (305.337 km)
Number of Turns: 19
Rotation: Counter-Clockwise
Number of Laps: 62
Last Year’s Pole: George Russell
Last Year’s Winner: George Russell
Fastest Lap: Lewis Hamilton with a 1:33.808 set just last year
Most Wins Driver: Sebastian Vettel with 5 wins
Most Wins Constructor: Both Mercedes and Ferrari have 5 wins here
Weather Forecast:
Saturday: Looks warm, but wet – 83 Degrees with a 96% chance for rain
Sunday: Cooler – 80 Degrees, and a less chance for rain – 63%
Race Sponsor: Singapore Airlines
Of the 16 times we have had the Singapore Grand Prix as part of the FIA World Championship (2008 – 2025, it was not held in 2020 and 2021 due to that Covid crap), only 8 drivers have won it – Sebastian Vettel has 5 wins, Lewis Hamilton has 4, Fernando Alonso has 2 wins here, and Nico Rosberg, Sergio Perez, Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris, and George Russell (last year) all have 1 win each.
As mentioned briefly before – the track will be illuminated by a series of custom-made projectors (over 1600 of them actually) which adapt their output to match the shape of the course. The lights themselves are 4 times brighter than regular sports stadium lights and are specifically designed to minimize glare and surface reflection to meet F1’s TV broadcast requirements. Plumbing these projectors consumed in excess of 67 “Miles” of cables and for the main event – we will burn up about 3.18 million watts of power – No solar panels nor wind turbines could handle that load…Sorry “Greenies”… The other reason to hold this event at night is obviously the daytime soaring heat – it will be hot enough here even without the sun – approaching 90 degrees.
So, there you have it – a nighttime street circuit that spells concern at every turn. Six corners have actual names by the way: Turn 1 was named Sheares after Benjamin Henry Sheares, the second president of Singapore; Turn 7 was named Memorial due to its proximity to a Second World War civilian memorial; Turn 8 is Stamford named after the road itself that houses both the Stamford hotel and the National Museum of Singapore; 9 is Padang which is the name of the open playing field that the track goes around; Turn 10 was named Singapore Sling, even though the “Sling” portion of the turn was removed in 2013; and Turn 14 carries the name Connaught named after the Connaught Engineering constructor of Formula 1 cars.
Now, if you plan to visit the city, start saving your “Jack” – a “Singapore Sling” cocktail at the Marina Bay Sands Resort top deck pool bar is going to set you back around $30 over the F1 weekend there, but with that view – it’s probably well worth it!
OK – We’re off to Singapore to enjoy our last Sprint Race weekend of the season; to the city that was ranked as one of the most expensive cities to live in for expatriates and foreign workers; a city that enjoys the world’s longest life expectancy (83.5 years) which I am sure is a result of the in-city “serenity” that F1 brings to one’s sole – What else could it be – Let’s GO!
Enjoy F1 under the lights – And welcome back to the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix!!
GodSpeed My Friends –
Jim….
Next Race: No: 18: Back to the USA – The United States Grand Prix @ Circuit of the Americas, Austin (actually Elroy), Texas – – October 25th
