F1 Review: Hot times in Singapore | News, Sports, Jobs

Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain leads the field after the start during the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

SINGAPORE — When the Formula 1 (F1) cars passed by the checkered flag at the end of the race on the streets of Singapore on Sunday, Oct. 5, McLaren clenched their second consecutive Constructor’s Title with six races remaining in the season. The last time the team was able to win consecutive titles was winning four in a row from 1988-91.

In those years, Ayrton Senna led McLaren to three of those four championships. Of the many things Senna is remembered for, revolutionizing the sport’s focus on physical fitness is one of the lesser-known.

He brought an intensity to the race track, but also off the track where he developed a rigorous training schedule including weight training, long-distance running, and even mental conditioning, something another great, Niki Lauda, did after returning from a horrible accident. Another driver that came into F1 with a keen focus on being in peak physical condition was Michael Schumacher.

As all three of those drivers won multiple championships, they showed there is more to being a racing driver than simply going fast. Their success gave credence to the more holistic approach.

Nowadays, F1 drivers are fit athletes in prime physical condition. They have bulging neck muscles, incredible upper body strength, and often participate in running or cycling competitions for fun. Part of this change is traced back to people emulating top drivers like Lauda, Senna, and Schumacher.

Beyond emulating those at the top of the racing game, the need for fit drivers has escalated as technology has improved. “Ground effect” cars debuted in the 1970s. These are cars that had wings and aerodynamic upgrades creating downforce which push the car to the ground. Subsequently, those upgrades increased cornering speeds as well as the g-forces pushing against the drivers.

Those watching the Singapore race over the weekend saw drivers all but crawling out of their cars, exhausted to a noticeable degree. Max Verstappen, four-time world champion in F1, sat down atop the pillar available to drivers to place their helmets before the podium celebrations. George Russell and Lando Norris both sat on the ground, gulping down water.

The hot and humid weather conditions led to the first ever “heat hazard” warning from F1, a new regulation this year, where drivers are required to either wear a cooling vest system or carry the comparative weight ballast in their car. Sweat was dripping from all the top three drivers, showing just how grueling the race was to get through.

As these are athletes at the pinnacle of their respective sport, there was something refreshing to seeing them pushed to their limits, exhausted from their efforts. Far from humanizing them, it lends a certain amount of gravitas to the feats we just witnessed in a sport that can appear so easy from the comfort of an armchair on a Sunday morning.

As for the actual race in Singapore, most of the action was in the first lap. Russell, in his Mercedes, led the field from pole position, and maintained that first place status for the entire race. Verstappen, who qualified his Red Bull in second, had soft tires on to try and get a jump on Russell, but the gamble didn’t pay off and Verstappen slid into second place.

Oscar Piastri managed to qualify his McLaren in third, but his teammate, Norris, had a fast start from fifth and quickly pressured Piastri. Carrying too much speed into the corner, Norris broke his front wing when he grazed the back of Verstappen. To avoid an accident, Norris pushed right and banged wheels with Piastri, pushing him towards the wall.

Everyone was able to continue and Norris suffered no penalty for his bold driving. Given the awkward team dynamics McLaren has built up over the past two seasons, questions of potential team orders from Norris’ move started swirling. Piastri was on the radio complaining it was very un-team-like for Norris to push him out of the way, but the team chose to do nothing about it.

Considering Piastri and Norris are the two vying for the Driver’s Championship this year, the amount of interceding the team has done with their two drivers has been surprising. Their choice not to do anything this time was the right decision, and now that the Constructor’s Championship is sealed up in their favor, hopefully they’ll take the restrictions out and let their two drivers actually race one another in the final six races.

After the first lap, the running order for the top four didn’t change for the rest of the race. Russell, Verstappen, Norris, and Piastri finished the race in that order. Here are some fun facts from the race in summary:

• The finishing order of the race is the exact opposite order for the top four drivers in the Driver’s Championship: Piastri (336 points), Norris (314 points), Verstappen (273 points), and Russell (237 points).

• McLaren clenched the championship with 650 points after Singapore, exactly twice as many points as second place Mercedes with 325 points.

• This is the second Singapore race in a row without a single safety car period, and the first time in the 16 races held at this venue with no retirements at all.

• Russell is the sixth different winner of the Singapore Grand Prix in the last six seasons.

• This was Russell’s fifth career win and first at Singapore, a track where he had never before even finished on the podium before.

• 11 of the 16 winners in the Singapore races started on pole position.

• This is the only racetrack out of the 24 races on the 2025 calendar for F1 that Verstappen has never won at in his career.

• Norris finishing in third position means over the past four Singapore races, he has finished in first, second, third, and fourth (in no particular order).

• F1 races started in 1950 and, with this race in Singapore, there have been 1,142 F1 races total. Fernando Alonso (who started in 2001) has entered 422 of those races, or 37% of all F1 races in history. In other words, pick any race in F1 history at random, and there is a nearly 37% chance Fernando Alonso was in that race.

The next chapter in the title fight between Piastri, Norris, and Verstappen takes place at the Circuit of the Americas outside Austin, Texas, on Sunday, Oct. 19, at 3 p.m. Eastern Time.