Formula 1: Singapore Grand Prix Betting Preview

Formula 1 heads to Asia for the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend as Max Verstappen edges closer to securing a third world championship.

Last year, Max’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez scored an impressive victory around the street circuit in tough conditions. The Mexican scored a second-place finish in Italy a fortnight ago and will look to deny Verstappen a win in Singapore.

However, the Dutch driver is on course to win 11 Grand Prix in a row and could secure the title in Japan at the end of September.

The Track

Watching the cars under the lights at the original night race since 2008 has been spectacular.

For 2023, the Marina Bay circuit sees a significant change that reduces the track distance from 5.063km to 4.928km.

The number of laps has been increased from 61 to 63. According to F1.com, the section between Turns 16 and 19 of the 2022 layout will now become one long 397.9m straight, reducing the total number of corners from 23 to 19. 

The alteration to that area has transformed the medium-speed corner into a tight right-hander at the end of the new straight according to RacingNews365. It opens up an opportunity for overtaking.

The Marina Bay layout requires a maximum downforce setup for cars and only 49% of the lap is at full throttle. Driving around Singapore is one of the most demanding races of the year, with drivers losing as much as three kilograms in body weight. That’s due to Singapore’s high humidity and the physical toughness of the driver’s bodies. In addition, the slower average speed has regularly seen the race creep towards being two hours long.

The bumpy surface also takes its toll on the drivers. The 2022 and 2023-spec cars rely heavily on ground effects and sport a harder suspension. We could see many drivers complaining about back injuries like Lando Norris voiced earlier in September.

The longest flat-out section is only 832 metres and we expect teams like Red Bull, Aston Martin, Mercedes, McLaren, and Alpine to perform well here. 

Who Are The Favourites?

Verstappen is already playing games and admitted that the race in Marina Bay will be “a little bit more difficult… it’s not going to be the strongest weekend for us”.

The Dutch driver was made to work for his win at Monza a fortnight ago and will face renewed threats from Mercedes, Aston Martin, and Ferrari who will relish the high downforce setup.

Mercedes trackside engineering director Andre Shovlin said: “Well, we’re certainly hoping so , but there’s reason to think that the car will work better because Singapore is a maximum downforce circuit and our performance at the high downforce tracks, if you look at Barcelona, Budapest, even Zandvoort in the race the car was working well, we’ve had pretty strong performance.”

If Mercedes are confident about their chances this weekend, then Ferrari’s outlook is the opposite. Carlos Sainz finished third at Monza and the SF-23 rode the kerbs well. However, the Italian outfit has struggled at circuits with high downforce. Charles Leclerc crashed into the wall at Zandvoort and the car lacked grip in those conditions.

Aston Martin has recorded their best season yet with double world champion Fernando Alonso earning several podium finishes. We expect to see the Spaniard trade blows with Hamilton, Russell, and Perez for the remaining two podium positions behind favourite Verstappen.

The AMR23 has been fantastic at high downforce circuits and Alonso seems to be in the form of his life. The chance of a Safety Car in Singapore is high because it is a street circuit.

Look out for Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon earning points in the race and possibly making things uncomfortable for the bigger teams.

Predictions

Winner – Verstappen
Podium – Verstappen, Perez, Alonso
Fastest lap: Hamilton
First to retire: Sargeant
Most Team Points: Red Bull
Both Cars Qualify for Q3 Shootout: Alpine
Practice 1/2/3 Winning Car: Verstappen/ Red Bull
Safety Car: Yes
Top 6: Sainz, Russell, Gasly
Top 10: Albon, Ocon, Leclerc
Winning margin: Under 5 seconds
Number of classified finishers: 18

Sean Parker

Sean Parker is a motorsport journalist and sports content creator at The South African. He has worked for the country's premier motoring publications, and is a Formula 1 contributor to Bet.co.za, the Bet Central podcast, and Vision View Sports radio.