Lando looking to extend strong Singapore record

Reflecting on his record in Singapore, Lando says there’s something about the Marina Bay Street Circuit that brings out the best in him, and he’s hoping to add another strong entry to his record under the lights.

The Marina Bay Street Circuit is one of the most demanding tracks on the Formula 1 calendar, with its bumps, walls, tight corners and oppressive conditions making it a test of both car and driver.

But it’s a challenge Lando relishes, and his record suggests he has found a way to thrive around the streets of Singapore, with podium finishes in each of the last three Singapore Grands Prix, including a victory from Pole in 2024.

While the circuit’s slow corners may not be well-suited to the MCL40, it places less emphasis on straight-line speed, which proved to be an issue in the last two races in Azerbaijan and Malaysia.

“It's a fun circuit, it's challenging,” Lando said. “Generally, the car has always performed pretty good here too. You have to adapt a lot from a driving style point of view with the bumps and the cornering layout. It's a tough track, but one I enjoy.

"It's also a circuit where straight lines are not the highest priority and not as detrimental as the last few weekends.

“It's been a frustrating two weekends, trying to figure out why there's just been a constant lack of straight-line speed. It's always tough when you come out of corners better and end up going slower."

Lando has had an eventful and frustrating triple-header to date. In Baku, he was helplessly caught up in a collision between Alpine drivers Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto that ended his race, while at last weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, he stayed on the Medium tyres for the first stint of the race and lost ground on a drying track.

He fought back to P9, but dropped two places behind the second Safety Car after taking avoiding action at Turn 1 and running off track, as the field bunched up when George Russell stopped at the side of the circuit. He recovered to finish P9.

In addition, after reviewing the data from both races, we believe we haven't maximised the performance available and hope to improve this week. Lando is equally optimistic and was looking forward to a busy Friday, with Singapore adopting F1's Sprint format for the first time this weekend.

“I'm confident that the team have done a good job,” he said. “The last couple of tracks didn’t suit the strengths of the car that we saw in Madrid and some of the other races.

“But honestly, I have to get out on track and see first. We've been underperforming to the level we need to be, so we certainly need to do a better job.”

Since the new regulations took effect at the start of this season, the hierarchy of constructors has shifted several times, and it may have again following a major upgrade for Red Bull in Sepang, which helped Max Verstappen secure his first victory of the season.

At various races this season, the top four teams have all enjoyed spells as the fastest car, and so Oscar is confident the tables can quickly turn once more.

“In the second half of the race in Malaysia, we were more or less the quickest cars on track at one point,” he said. “It is in line with the rest of the year - if you can get the car into the right window, it is very quick, but we have struggled to get it there for a lot of the last two weekends.

“This is a different track and a different surface, hopefully we can get it there."

This weekend marks the final Sprint race of the season, and the first to take place in Singapore. Oscar is intrigued to see how the track will evolve and admits Free Practice 1 will be crucial to starting a positive weekend.

“I was looking at last season’s practice times and from FP1 to FP2, it didn’t change that much,” he said. “It was only about half-a-second difference, and normally teams drop a bit of fuel or try some different engine modes in FP2.

“I will be interested to see what it is like – it’s obviously a street circuit, and it changes from year to year. We will have to wait and see, but having one practice session on a track like this makes things a lot more difficult.

“You don’t have the time to build up to things nicely - you have to perform right away, so it will be tough.”