The 2025 Singapore Grand Prix is set at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in downtown Singapore. The race weekend typically culminates in the Grand Prix on Sunday evening (local time), following practice and qualifying earlier in the weekend. Street circuits in Singapore are held at night under floodlights, which is standard for this event.
Ahead of the Singapore round, there were no high-profile injury absences or substitute drivers widely reported in the lead-up. None of the main drivers are known to be sitting out due to physical injury, and no teams publicly announced replacement drivers. Most focus was instead on car setup, durability, and handling under heat stress.
In pre-race strategy analysis, several tactical themes emerged. Tire management and degradation were expected to be critical given the street layout, slow speeds in many corners, and likely high thermal stress. Teams were studying one-stop versus two-stop strategies, with a wide pit window anticipated. Track position is also very important in Singapore, so overtaking is difficult—so qualifying and early race pace were emphasized. Some teams also prepared for safety cars or neutralization periods, which are often part of street circuits, and might influence when to pit or stretch stints.
Media previews highlighted George Russell’s strong qualifying pace, securing pole, and cast him as a frontrunner. Many outlets emphasized how difficult overtaking is in Singapore—so whoever starts ahead has an advantage. Some reports also flagged concerns about car handling in the hot, humid conditions, and how cooling and durability might become limiting factors. Also, Charles Leclerc expressed optimism about Ferrari’s pace despite a messy Free Practice 2 with traffic and red flags.
In studio segments and pundit commentary, analysts generally leaned toward Russell as a favorite given his qualifying performance and the advantage of starting from pole. Yet they often cautioned that race execution would matter a lot—tyre drop, consistency, and reacting to safety cars could swing the result. Some analysts suggested that Mercedes would need to manage race pace carefully to avoid overheating or tyre degradation. Others flagged drivers like Verstappen or the McLaren pair (Norris, Piastri) as potential challengers, especially if they can apply pressure or capitalize on small mistakes.
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