© Getty ImagesWeekend Review From SingaporeWe’re in Singapore, babyyyyyy. And boy oh boy, is it a hot one.
Media day: completed.
Temperature: might be too hot, actually.
Any guesses where we are?
We’ll give you a clue: here’s our Creator Program poster, courtesy of @neon.artt.
What if we told you that ice baths are compulsory for our debriefs (rubber ducky sold separately)? Or that Rafaela Ferreira is back for the 6th round of F1 Academy?
Yep, you got it. We’re in Singapore, babyyyyyy. And boy oh boy, is it a hot one.
Cool yourself down and come join us for VCARB’s review of FORMULA 1 SINGAPORE AIRLINES SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX 2025.
A Little Bit Of Singapore Inception© Getty Images
Rafa was the first of our drivers to hit the track, although it sadly wasn’t for too long. Her car had a technical issue, and she didn’t manage to set a time. Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson were on it pretty quickly, though, finishing 7th and 15th respectively in FP1, which was led by Fernando Alonso. With less practice time under her belt than her competitors, Rafa was up against it for qualifying, and managed to stick her car in P14 for Race 1 on Saturday.
Isack finished P2 in FP2 after a stunning lap put him just over a tenth of a second shy of Oscar Piastri’s fastest time. Liam didn’t complete as many laps as he’d have liked after hitting the wall at the penultimate corner, but he was still confident heading into Qualifying.
VCARB By Day© Getty Images
Qualifying day for Liam and Isack. For Rafa, though, it was her first race of the weekend. Sadly, she couldn’t shake the technical gremlins that had cut her practice time short on Friday and had to retire the car. There was still Sunday’s race for Rafa to score some points!
Liam had another crash during FP3, this time at Turn 7 after a fast DRS straight, which brought out the red flag. Once we were up and running again, Isack stuck his VCARB 02 into P6 overall, just over three tenths shy of Max Verstappen’s fastest time. It was looking positive for Qualifying for our Frenchman.
Speaking of which, both cars made it out of Q1. Great result #1. Isack then made it out of Q2. Great result #2. The recent birthday boy put in a Q3 time good enough for P8 and less than seven tenths off George Russell’s pole time. Great result #3. We will absolutely take that. Liam was prepared to line up in P14, a decent recovery after losing out on a lot of track time in FP2 and FP3.
Flying Round Marina Bay© Getty Images
In Rafa’s second race of the weekend, she jumped up to P15 after lap 1 and held her position until the rain arrived towards the end of the race. Where other drivers pitted for Wet tyres, Rafa stayed out on her slicks and was sitting in 10th place at the safety car restart. She made a brilliant move on Courtney Crone on the final lap to secure P9 and earn +2 points in the Championship. A great drive from Rafa!
Rafa Meets Singapore© Getty Images
Then it was the turn of Liam and Isack. Medium tyres for the Kiwi, Softs for the Frenchman. Liam gained two positions off the start and was running in a comfortable P12, all while Isack was battling with Alonso for P8. Isack’s Soft tyres got him to lap 21 before it was time for a change, and he swapped them out for a fresh set of Hard tyres. Immediately, he was locking horns with Franco Colapinto and held on to his advantage over the Argentine.
An issue with Isack’s powertrain saw the Frenchman pull out all the stops to bring his VCARB 02 across the line in P11.. Meanwhile, Liam went loooooong into the race on his Mediums and swapped for Softs on lap 50, emerging P19 but fighting back to P14 at the chequered flag.
Always Tight In To Turn One© Getty Images
Here’swhatthedrivershadtosayaboutourweekendinSingapore:
“It wasn’t our day today as we had an issue with the car just before the pit stop. It lasted the whole second part of the race and cost us the points. I’ll be looking together with the team at what happened today and then we’ll switch our focus to Austin, aiming to keep the good momentum started after the summer break” - Isack Hadjar
“We stayed out most of the race on a set of Mediums and unfortunately ended up behind a train of cars after we boxed. It’s been a difficult weekend in challenging conditions, but my focus is now on Austin” - Liam Lawson
Well, partner, it’s time to don your stetson, slip your spurs onto your boots and saddle up for Round 19 of the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship: the FORMULA 1 MSC CRUISES UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX 2025 is here in just two weeks, and we’d be delighted to see ya there.
Will Isack and Liam ride like the wind in Texas? Tune in from 17-19 October to find out.
VCARB signing off from Singapore. ✌️
Dampness In The Air© Getty Images
