What the teams said – Race day in Singapore

Red Bull

Verstappen continued his incredible form in Singapore with a Grand Prix win to add to his Sprint victory. He got aggressive off the line to cut off Leclerc, but once out in front, he looked unstoppable. He held onto the lead through the pit stop period and won at a canter to underline Red Bull’s credentials as the team to beat right now.

Hadjar was forced into a pit lane start after changing his set-up under Parc Ferme conditions, as he also took on more PU components. He fought his way back through the field and picked off Gasly late on to seal the final point on offer.

Max Verstappen, 1st

“It’s an amazing feeling to finally win here in Singapore. We’ve raced here many times and there have been a few missed opportunities, so to finally stand on the top step is really special. The car has been working well all weekend and I’ve felt really comfortable. We had strong pace throughout the race and although I had to push at times to maintain the gap, once I was in clean air I could really get into a rhythm. We had a few issues to manage, including the radio not working, but GP did a great job and seemed to know what I wanted to ask him most of the time! It’s been an incredible weekend and really nice to share another win with him and the Team. Now, we’re just taking it race by race and trying to maximise every opportunity. The most important thing is that we keep having fun, and hopefully we can carry this momentum as a Team into the next few races. Austin is a very different circuit, and a very bumpy one, so we’ll see how we get on when we arrive there.” 

Isack Hadjar, 10th

“It was a fun race tonight. Coming from the back and passing cars is always enjoyable. I wanted to get into the points, of course, but around a track like this, where a train can form, I wasn't so sure. The car had strong pace from the off, especially once I got into clean air, and I could gradually make my way through. It was similar to Baku, where the Soft was much better than the Medium, so going onto it for the second stint helped a lot. It took a lot of hard work from everyone on my side of the garage to get that one point, but a point is a point for the Team. We clearly have the pace. Max showed that, and a big congrats to him, as I know he's wanted that one. I'm looking forward to Austin already.” 

Laurent Mekies, Team Principal

“Max delivered another outstanding performance today. The Team did a fantastic job to give him a car capable of fighting at the front throughout the weekend and, once again, Max got the maximum out of the package available to him. 

"To come away with Pole and victory in both the Sprint and the Grand Prix is a tremendous result for the whole Team. The pace we showed tonight was very impressive, and it was a very well-executed race, as the team has delivered so many times this season. It is also a special moment to see Max finally adding Singapore to his list of victories. 

"It is never straightforward, however, and we knew the start would be critical. We know it is an area where we still have work to do and we understood the risk going into the race, but Max and the team managed it well enough to retain the lead. From there, he controlled the race exceptionally well and made the most of the pace we had. 

"Isack also delivered a very strong drive from the back of the grid. He was committed throughout, raced aggressively when he had opportunities and showed strong pace. After a difficult weekend, where we did not give him a real chance to fight because of the issues we had on his car, it was good to see him come away with a reward for his efforts.  

"Credit must also go to the entire crew in the garage. They responded brilliantly well to every challenge that came our way this weekend and worked tirelessly to get the cars back out on track, session after session. It was an extraordinary team effort that makes us all proud.  

"It has been a very positive weekend for the whole team, especially following what we achieved in Sepang, and it shows that we are becoming competitive across a wide range of circuits and conditions. That is a credit to the hard work of everyone in Milton Keynes. The important thing now is to keep learning and keep pushing. Even on a weekend where we achieved two poles and two wins, there are still areas we want to improve, both for the remaining races this season and for next year.” 

Ferrari

Leclerc came close to picking off Verstappen at the start, but had to settle into second with Hamilton just behind. On differing strategies, Hamilton’s first stint was not the best and he was forced into an early stop for the softs. It remained unclear whether he had thus swapped to a two-stop strategy, but it was actually Leclerc who pitted again under the late VSC. Hamilton stayed out – later admitting that was his own call.

From there, on fresh rubber Leclerc caught and passed Hamilton to take a comfortable P2 but did not have the pace to fight Verstappen for the win. Hamilton’s tyres faded badly and he lost out to Antonelli, Norris and Piastri – on the very last lap – to come home sixth.

Charles Leclerc, 2nd

"We gave it our all today and extracted the maximum, so I’m happy with our result. Red Bull and Max (Verstappen) were very strong all weekend, and even though I pushed throughout it wasn’t quite enough to catch him in the end. We had a good pace and made the right calls today, with a different strategy that worked out well for us today.

"Next up we head to Austin. We will see what we can do there, and what all our competitors will bring in terms of upgrades which might reshuffle things again for the final set of races this season."

Lewis Hamilton, 6th

"Today wasn’t the result we were looking for and it was on me. At a track that’s difficult to overtake, you need to try something different and I chose to start on a new Medium tyre, to go long and try to make a one-stop work. Unfortunately the Medium didn’t perform as well as the soft.

"I had a good second stint and the pace was back, but I couldn’t make the progress I needed. Under the VSC, the team called me in but I missed the entry. After that, I decided to stay out and try to hold track position to the end but in the closing laps, I was struggling massively with tyre degradation and lost three places, finishing P6, which doesn't reflect the pace we had in the car today.

"A painful lesson today, but I take full responsibility for the decisions I made. Not every call will work out, and I can accept getting it wrong but I’m sorry for the team for the points we lost today. They put so much into every weekend, and I wanted to deliver more for them. I’ll continue to put the work in and come back fighting at the next race".

Fred Vasseur, Team Principal

"Overall, it was a strong weekend for us. We finished P2 and P3 in the Sprint, P2 and P3 in qualifying, and today Charles was P2 while Lewis was very close to the podium. Max (Verstappen) had a little bit more pace than us across the weekend, so we still have work to do to close the gap, but the team delivered a solid performance and we scored good points.

"On the strategy side, everyone went into the race with very little information on the tyres. The Soft turned out to be stronger than expected compared to the Medium, so starting from P2 and P3 it made sense to split the strategies and keep our options open against Max. That's why Lewis had a more difficult first stint, but it gave him more flexibility later in the race.

"We also kept both the one-stop and two-stop scenarios open depending on how the race evolved and whether a Safety Car or a VSC came into play.

"When the VSC was deployed, we called both cars in while running P2 and P3. Lewis unfortunately missed the pit entry, and that probably cost him the opportunity to fight for the podium. These things can happen during a race. Now the focus is on understanding everything from this weekend, taking the positives, and coming back stronger in Austin."

Mercedes

Antonelli kept out of trouble at the start on the soft tyre, and ran fourth in the opening stint. He opted to pit under the second VSC for fresh rubber, which lost him track position to Norris. But as he caught the McLaren, he was in the right place at the right time to capitalise on the Briton's fight with Hamilton. As those two duelled, Antonelli slipped past the McLaren before easily picking off the ailing Ferrari to seal yet another podium. That result extended his lead in the standings to 102 points, meaning he can clinch the title next time out.

Russell started 19th after those grid penalties, and pulled off some good overtakes to climb through the field. He made it back to the points, but his charge stalled behind Hulkenberg and Russell had to settle for ninth.

Kimi Antonelli, 3rd

"That was a tough race out there today and I am very happy to have ended it by finishing on the podium. We knew overtaking was going to be difficult, so we were trying to do some things a little bit differently on strategy. Whilst we gave up track position to the McLaren of Lando Norris, we knew we were going to be on the better Soft tyre and trying to chase both him and Lewis (Hamilton) down. I managed to capitalise on the battle between the two of them, passed them both, and take P3. It is a fantastic result for the team after a difficult couple of weekends.

"We have made some really good progress with our update package this weekend. It has proved to be a very useful experiment and one that has provided us with a really good direction to get the best out of it. Obviously, this was a Sprint weekend and after a tough Friday, there was only so much we could do so it wasn’t like we had the car in the perfect window today. That gives us confidence that we can make more improvements in Austin and start to see what it can truly deliver."

George Russell, 9th

"I managed to make good progress in my first stint and get myself onto the fringes of the top 10. We took the opportunity to stop when the Virtual Safety Car came out but sadly, we didn’t get the full benefit of that as it ended as I entered the pit lane. That type of luck sums up my season unfortunately! We fought hard on the Soft tyre but Nico (Hülkenberg) did a good job defending P8 from me.

"We knew tonight was going to be a difficult race given where we were starting and how challenging overtaking is here. To get ourselves back in the points was a decent result but of course it has been a disappointing weekend here in Singapore for me. We will regroup now ahead of Austin and the final six races of the year. We’ve gathered a lot of useful data on the update package and hopefully we can build on that into the closing stages of the season."

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

"We knew that it was going to be a difficult race this evening with our cars starting from P4 and P19. Overtaking is notoriously tricky here in Singapore and the race was therefore shaped by strategic decisions. We tasked both cars with needing to make passes on track to gain positions in the closing stages and happily they were able to do that. Kimi had the pace to claim the final podium spot, passing both a McLaren and a Ferrari to do so, with George making some great moves throughout the race. He got up to P9 where his progress stalled but it was a good effort, nevertheless. To come away with P3 with Kimi and valuable points from George is a good result in a Grand Prix that we knew was about damage limitation.

"We have spent this weekend comparing the update package with the previous specification and that has been a useful experiment. By qualifying yesterday and as we saw in today’s race, we have managed to get it working much better and saw a little more of its potential. It is no doubt a little trickier to get in the right set-up window, but it clearly has goodness and we need to build on that moving forward."

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

"Coming away from Singapore with a podium for Kimi and points for George is a solid outcome, particularly given where we started the race. We knew overtaking would be difficult, so a lot of the opportunities were going to come through strategy and making the most of the tyre performance in the closing stages. Kimi drove a very mature race, managed his tyres well, and then had the pace to make the moves that secured the podium. George’s race was always going to be challenging starting from the back, but he fought hard throughout, made some brilliant overtakes and got himself back into the points.

"One of the main objectives this weekend was to continue our evaluation of the update package and build our understanding of how to get the most from it. We learned a lot over the three days and, importantly, saw encouraging signs in both qualifying and race conditions once we were able to move closer to the right operating window. By the end of the weekend, Kimi’s package was clearly the faster of the two which gives us confidence that we are heading in the right direction from a development perspective. There is still work to do, but the data we’ve gathered will be valuable as we prepare for Austin. We now have a clearer direction on where the performance is and what we need to focus on to unlock more of its potential over the final races of the season."

McLaren

The McLaren boys kept it clean off the line despite being side by side, and settled into the race in the positions they started. The team opted for a long first stint, but then after their stops Piastri was forced into an unscheduled second trip through the pit lane thanks to a slow puncture. That left Norris to fight for the podium, but he got onto the marbles when battling Hamilton and lost out to Antonelli.

After he did get past Hamilton, Norris had P4 secured. The podium was out of sight, so he offered to back Hamilton into his team mate to maximise McLaren’s result. But he did not need to, with Piastri on fresh tyres chasing down the Ferrari and passing on the very last lap.

Lando Norris, 4th

“Today’s P4 was the best we could achieve, and I’m pleased we maximised the result. It was a demanding, hot race, and the car was tough to drive - every corner was a fight. Our pace was reasonable and the team did what was possible, but we’re clearly the fourth fastest at the moment. Red Bull have taken a big step, Mercedes and Ferrari were strong, and without upgrades we can’t close that gap.

“So overall, I'm pleased with the result, but a little disappointed in how we got there. I was a bit impatient in my fight with Lewis and I think I’d have passed him eventually without the mistake, and while Kimi was always likely to get by given his pace and fresher tyres, I should have given him a better fight. We need to make the car faster and more forgiving to drive; strategy couldn’t create more today. We’ll keep pushing for upgrades so we can fight for podiums and, ultimately, wins.

“Finally, I also need to apologise to the team for letting them down yesterday. I've apologised to all those that I represent and who work so hard to put everything together and allow me to go racing. I'll work hard for the rest of the season to make up for it, and we will keep working hard and pushing together.”

Oscar Piastri, 5th

“P5. That was a hot and tough one. Overall, it felt like a reasonable race. The puncture was a shame, but I think fifth place was the maximum we could have done today. We didn’t quite have the pace to challenge the Red Bull and the Ferraris, although being able to get that final position from Lewis made it worthwhile, and it was a fun way to finish the race. It was a reasonable chunk of points for the team, so thank you for their hard work.

“Across this triple header, I've definitely felt much more comfortable in the car, which has been a real positive, but we need to be honest — we clearly aren't quick enough at the moment. If we want to be fighting for podiums and wins, we need a decent step forward to close the gap to Red Bull and Mercedes. We have work to do, but I am confident we can do it. I’m looking forward to a short break, before we head into the final swing of the season.”

Andrea Stella, Team Principal

“All in all, today’s result reflects the current level of performance of our car: it’s no coincidence that it’s very similar to what we saw yesterday in Qualifying. Perhaps there was a chance for Lando to take third place, but after a challenging Saturday and a few races where we didn’t get the results we’d hoped for, picking up these points is a small consolidation. It gives us confidence as we prepare for the next trio of races and focus on introducing updates that, we hope, will enable us to fight for the podium. We know that although Red Bull have taken a step forward, this result confirms that we are right in the thick of the battle with our current main rivals in the championship and that the gap to the front-runners is one we believe we can close.

“As for what happened yesterday in the Sprint race, I said that it was an unacceptable incident, and I was very pleased that our drivers also took this view. So, we’re on the same page about how we want to move this team forward, in a joint effort. We’ll discuss it further, but not because we need to revisit the ‘why’ or ‘how’ of the contact, but to reflect together on what sort of team we want to be. We must be aware that, whether we’re at the factory, in the pit lane or in the cockpit of a car, the team’s interests take precedence over any individual’s interests. There is still a great deal we can do to become an even more united and stronger team. This is what I, and everyone who works at McLaren Mastercard, expect from our drivers. I was therefore pleased with what Lando said during the final laps of the race, and I expect to see more examples of this in the future, whether expressed over the radio during the race, behind closed doors in our meetings, or when we discuss strategies.”

Racing Bulls

Lawson started well on the soft tyres, but his team mate was squeezed into the first corners by two cars and had to back out. That dropped Lindblad down the order and from there he never looked likely to recover back to the points. But the New Zealander was able to hold off his midfield rivals all race long to be the ‘best of the rest’ in P7, which extended his team’s advantage over Alpine in the Teams’ Championship.

Liam Lawson, 7th

"I'm very happy with today's result. I had a strong start on the Soft tyres, making it possible to overtake. This was then followed by good pace throughout the race, so it felt great to come away with six points. I feel very proud of the team and, overall, it's been a positive few weeks as we continue our fight for P5 in the Championship. Next week, I'll be focusing on training in the simulator before we head to Austin for the first race of the upcoming triple header. I'm really excited to continue this form into the rest of the season."

Arvid Lindblad, 15th

"I’m not particularly happy with my weekend here in Singapore. I had a poor start, which set the tone for the rest of the race. I got pinched at Turn 1 and had to brake heavily, costing me even more positions at a circuit where track position is crucial. We’ll go away, review the weekend and identify where we need to improve so we can come back stronger for the remaining races. It’s been a tiring few weeks, so I’m going to use the break before Austin to fully switch off, reset and come back ready to perform at my best.”

Alan Permane, Team Principal

"A very strong race today, especially for Liam. Once he got past Gasly in Turn 1 in the first lap, he pulled away comfortably and maintained a gap all race managing his tyre wear nicely. We reacted when Gasly and Hulkenberg pitted, going onto the Medium tyre for the rest of the race and minimising any exposure to Safety Car risks; from there, it was a fairly straight forward to the flag. Arvid had some struggles and lost some pace at the start with too much wheel spin. He also had some power unit consistency issues, which hurt him slightly and effected his pace.

“We end this triple header on a high and it’s a testament to the hard work that has been put in both here at the track and back in Faenza and Milton Keynes – A huge well done to everyone. We now look forward to a very short break before we head into the next triple header.”

Audi

Bortoleto was the first to retire in Singapore, parking up at the end of the pit lane with an apparent gearbox problem. The marshals were able to push his car back to the Audi garage under VSC conditions, although there was further drama when it overheated and caught fire. That leaves the team with a possible rebuild, but fortunately Audi have plenty of time to assess the damage.

As for Hulkenberg, he managed to make the medium tyres work well in the first stint to stay in the points. But his real star turn was late on, when he managed to hold Russell behind in the last few laps to hold on to a very good P8 finish.

Nico Hulkenberg, 8th

"What a way to finish the weekend. I think we maximised the opportunities we had, starting with a strong first lap that put us in a good position for the race. From there, it was all about managing the tyres and staying focused, especially in the closing laps with George piling on the pressure. It wasn't easy, but we managed to hold on and bring home some important points.

"Scoring six points over the Sprint and the Race is a great reward for everyone's hard work. The team has kept pushing and really deserves this result. The midfield is still incredibly close, so every weekend you have to start again and deliver. But it's a great way to finish the triple-header, and it's nice to be able to give something back to everyone at the track and back at the factory. We'll enjoy this one, recharge and get ready for Austin."

Gabriel Bortoleto, DNF

“Overall, a weekend to forget for me. I guess everyone has ups and downs throughout the year, and this weekend was just one of those for me. Things were going okay until what looked like a potential gearbox issue. It was still the early stages of the race, with everyone closely bunched together, so it’s difficult to say how things would have played out. Unfortunately, we'll never know as the issue brought my race to an end before it really got going.

“I’m happy for Nico, he’s had a very strong weekend. Being able to hold off George and bring home points for the team shows the potential of the car and what we can achieve. It’s great for the team, even if it’s hard luck for me, but we look ahead to Austin.”

Allan McNish, Racing Director

“It was one of the best races I have seen Nico drive. He was superb from start to finish and did a fantastic job to bring us into the points, securing some critical points in our championship fight.

“Overall, I think we can be quite proud of how we approached this weekend, both in qualifying and in the races. It is the first time we have scored points in both the Sprint and the main Grand Prix, so a very positive weekend on that side of the garage.

“Unfortunately, Gabi was unable to compete due to what we suspect is a gearbox issue, which makes the result somewhat bittersweet for the team. However, that should not take anything away from the outstanding drive Nico delivered today.

“Today’s result is important, not just for the points and their impact in the battle for the championship positions, but particularly for the momentum that we’ve got leading into the next few races. It’s a big reward for the whole team and something to build on for the rest of the season.”

Alpine

Colapinto made it two DNF results in two days at Marina Bay, as he pulled off with another mechanical issue, which the team later revealed was likely a driveline problem. He managed to restart just long enough to drive out of the run off area and thus avoid the need for a Safety Car or VSC period. That was fortuitous as Gasly had just pitted for new tyres, the Frenchman having run ninth in the opening stint after dropping a couple of places off the line.

But the Frenchman could not hold on to points, losing out to a recovering Russell and then Hadjar to miss out in P11.

Pierre Gasly, 11th

“It's a disappointing outcome today and really not a good race for us again. I had a difficult start, lacked power off the line and then Liam [Lawson] and Nico [Hülkenberg] were able to pass and stay in front. On circuits which stress the rear axle, like this one, it is clear we struggle with traction and it is becoming a real limitation for us. We just ran out of rear tyres and could not stay with our competitors and that meant we fell back and finished outside of the points. This issue is something we really need to spend time on to fully understand and try to quickly improve. We have to be frustrated as a team after this triple header. I have had three Q3 appearances, four including this weekend's Sprint Qualifying, and we have scored zero points from that. We seem to struggle over a race distance and we are going to need to change that trend if we are to take the fight to our rivals ahead. Given our performance over one lap, I am confident going into the next triple header if we can get on top of a few things and continue to improve the car.”

Franco Colapinto, DNF

“It was frustrating not to finish the race again today after a suspected driveline issue on the car. But that's racing sometimes, and reliability has been one of our strong points this year, and I know the team will assess what caused it and look to put fixes in place. I made a good start and overtook a couple of cars and after that we were just following the car ahead as it's difficult to overtake here. Just as we were thinking about a stop and our next move, I felt an issue and it was clear we had to stop the car. Generally, it has been a tough few weekends and we have come away without any points. We know we have lost ground in the championship, and it makes our job harder, but with the pace we have in the car, we remain hopeful of being able to compete and fight for points in the remaining races. The next triple header is a part of the year I look forward to the most where we race in the Americas, closer to home, and I can really feel the energy of the fans. We will keep pushing and won't give up on our objective as a team.”

Steve Nielsen, Managing Director

“The race in Singapore today, and the triple-header as a whole, did not go as we would have hoped for. The result speaks for itself, and we unfortunately do not have anything to show for it in terms of points, and it naturally makes our job tougher in the championship. Only looking at the points standings does not make for particularly good reading, but what makes me and the team optimistic is that we have shown good pace and the car is generally working well at most tracks. So, I think we can approach each of the coming races in a positive mindset knowing we can fight for points and hopefully start chipping away and reduce the gap to our rivals, which remains our objective for the remainder of the season. Not only do we need to keep bringing performance to the car for both drivers, which we will do with more parts in the pipeline, we also need to understand what caused us to stop twice on track this weekend. Reliability has been a strong point of ours this season and it is important we get back on top of it to ensure we have two cars in the fight and competing for points.”

Haas

Haas let their drivers race in Singapore, with Bearman pulling off a good move to force his way past his team mate. He was running in the points too, but neither Haas man could keep a recovering Russell at bay and then they lost out to Hadjar too. As such, Bearman could not back up his Sprint points with a top 10 in Singapore, but Haas are still showing a decent level of improvement since their upgrades went on.

Oliver Bearman, 12th

“I got a bit boxed in at the start, on Lap 1, but after that I managed a couple of overtakes and made up a little. The issue is that ultimately it’s hard to overtake, and although we had pace, we were a bit behind in terms of the point-scoring positions. I was happy with the car and execution of the race, I think I drove really well. We need a couple more tenths per lap, so let's see what we can do over the next triple.”

Esteban Ocon, 13th

“It was a really good start, and we took advantage of what we usually do – a good start, and a good first couple of laps. After that, we just lacked pace, and that was the maximum of what we could’ve done, so we have a lot to review. It’s been difficult all weekend, I have no grip and I’m sliding, when you don’t have the grip to push on a track like this, it’s difficult to have a decent result. There’s been some positives though, and we need to take them forward to the next triple.”

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal

“It was a tough race today. We got boxed in at the start and lost position, and although we had decent pace, we couldn’t use it during the first stint. On the second stint, we weren’t quick enough to get back into contention for points. There are lots of positives this weekend, such as we operated and executed the race very well, we couldn’t have done anything differently there, and the pit stop crew responded well to the late call for Ollie to come in. Another positive is that Ollie was very confident and happy with the car from the get-go, so there are a lot of positives to take forward, and I’m very proud of the whole team’s effort. It’s been a tough triple-header, but we’ve scored in two out of the three races, which is a huge positive, and we’re looking forward to the next triple-header. With the learnings from this weekend, I’d like to think we can make another step of improvement for Austin.”

Williams

Sainz had a brilliant getaway on the softs, the Spaniard going for an elbows out approach to climb all the way into the top 10. But he could not hold onto the position as faster cars began to recover, and was not helped by a long second stint on the slower medium tyre. He did at least see the chequered flag, which is more than Albon managed. He retired on the very last lap, meaning he has not made it to the finish in any of the last three races, nor yesterday’s Sprint.

Carlos Sainz, 14th

“Tough race and disappointed we couldn’t hold on to the points. I had a very strong start off the line jumping several cars and making it to P10, but after experiencing issues with the battery in the first few laps we lost two positions quickly and then we just didn’t have the pace overall. I feel like I’ve had a strong triple header and got the most out of the car since the new package came in Baku, but we knew it was going to be difficult to get into the points regularly. We’ll reset these days and come back recharged for the next triple header."

Alex Albon, DNF

“A frustrating end to my home race, especially as our pace was quite good today and we were able to fight the RBs and Astons. Physically I feel pretty good given how tough the conditions make this race, and that's a testament to how well we've developed our cooling vest. The tyres were great today, with very little deg and the soft being very durable. We were managing a fuel issue and a brake issue throughout the race, and every time we got close to the cars in front, our brakes started overheating, so we had to back off. In the end we retired early to save the car after managing for 50+ laps. We have some time before the next triple header to debrief, rebuild some of our spare parts, and go racing again."

James Vowles, Team Principal

“Tough day. Not the car pace we were hoping for, and ultimately even though Carlos had a great start, you can see we just fell back relative to the Haas and other teams. With Alex, he was suffering warm brakes and it really just meant a lot of management all race to try and get to the end. There weren’t points to fight for with either car today and without a safety car, we weren't able to roll the dice for a better outcome. There are tracks this year that will be more suited to us and we need to go away and just understand whether there's more we can eke out of this package."

Aston Martin

Stroll locked-up midway through the race and headed into the run off area. But instead of recovering to the track, he instead parked up with a clutch issue which brought out the second VSC. That was the period of the race that saw a glut of pit stops, but his team mate did not come in. Alonso had started on the softs before swapping to the mediums, but did not have the pace to fight forward after starting in the pit lane.

Fernando Alonso, 16th

“It was a difficult weekend overall, not just the race. We knew starting from the pit lane would make things difficult, especially at a circuit where overtaking is not easy. I did what I could, but we didn’t have the pace to fight for much more. We struggled with driveability throughout the weekend, hopefully we can get on top of these issues before the next triple-header.”

Lance Stroll, DNF

“We made some setup changes overnight so started from the pit lane today. We had driveability issues during the race and then the clutch overheated so we had to retire on Lap 39. We will need to look into it and try to make things better for the next one.”

Mike Krack, Chief Trackside Officer

“If you start from the pitlane on a circuit like Singapore it was clear that we were going to have a very challenging evening. Both drivers pushed hard and extracted everything they could from the car. Fernando climbed to P16, while Lance unfortunately had to retire with a clutch issue. We will regroup, continue pushing and be ready to go again in Austin. To the whole team, but especially the crews in the garage and hospitality, thank you for the hard work and commitment over the last three weeks.”

Cadillac

Cadillac opted for split strategies at the start, Perez on the softs and Bottas on the mediums. The Finn soon fell behind the likes of Russell and Hadjar, also losing out to Alonso. He had a lonely race, propping up the field in P19. Perez opted to pit a second time after the last VSC had been and gone and thus lost some time, but still managed to win the intra-team battle as both cars made it to the flag for the first time since Monza.

Sergio Perez, 17th

“I think we are in a strong position with the foundations we have today. We are solid operationally, and the team has done a really good job. We can be pleased with that.

“We are still lacking around one to one-and-a-half seconds to be able to compete with the cars ahead, and I think what we really need now is a stronger car underneath us. Everything else has been progressing as expected, and I’m confident we will get there as a team. I’m really looking forward to Austin and Mexico, our two home races. Austin for the team, and Mexico will be particularly special for me, racing in front of my home crowd and reaching 300 Grands Prix. It’s going to be a very special weekend.”

Valtteri Bottas, 19th

“It’s a good thing that we finished with both cars, it’s not really been guaranteed recently so I’ll take that as a positive. We started on the medium tyre which didn’t perform as we expected in the first stint and pushed us back. We are lacking pace generally, especially in the race - that’s the weakness we have and we are investigating what’s behind that. We know we haven’t brought any big upgrades so there’s no magic solution. We just need to keep focusing on the future, especially for next year’s car.”

Marcin Budkowski, Team Principal

“It is the end of a demanding triple-header and a tough weekend for us here in Singapore. We had a few incidents and crashes during the weekend. Both cars finished the race - we were hoping for a bit more attrition and incidents to keep our hopes alive for some points, but it didn’t quite go this way.

“Checo had a very strong first stint on the soft tyre. We were fighting with other cars and playing with the strategy to try gain some positions, but it wasn't sufficient to compensate for our pace deficit. On Valtteri's side, he started on the medium tyre which was a bit worse on pace than expected and detached him from the pack. We finished with both cars so we’ll take that positive and move onwards to the next triple-header very soon.”

Pirelli

Dario Marrafuschi, Pirelli Motorsport Director

“As widely expected, regardless of the neutralisations, the one-stop strategy proved to be the most competitive, with the Soft-Medium combination emerging as the most effective option.

"The C5 was the star of the race, as it delivered very long stints while maintaining a strong level of performance and offering the advantage of greater grip than the other compounds available. Drivers who used it for around half the race only experienced a performance drop-off in the closing stages.

"The Hard tyre was not a strategically attractive option for the teams, as it offered less grip than the C4 which, despite being the softer compound, exhibited virtually no degradation, without providing any tangible advantages in a race already firmly geared towards a one-stop strategy. As a result, although the C3 has proven effective at other circuits, it was not selected by any driver in Singapore.

"Tyre degradation was in line with what we had already observed during free practice, and the visual condition of the tyres at the end of the stints was also very encouraging, even over the longest runs. Wear was manageable, although it required a degree of attention, particularly on the rear-right.”