There is barely time to recover from a dramatic weekend in Malaysia before Formula 1 gets back on track. The triple-header comes to an end in Singapore, where the final Sprint weekend of the season adds another challenge to one of the most demanding races on the calendar.
Sepang had delays, rain and plenty of uncertainty, but it also delivered something we had not seen all season: Max Verstappen on the top step of the podium.
The four-time World Champion’s chances of repeating his remarkable 2025 championship comeback are extremely slim. With seven Grands Prix remaining, it would take an extraordinary sequence of events for him to become a serious title contender. But that does not mean Verstappen cannot become a major factor in how the rest of the season unfolds.
Red Bull had already shown signs of improvement in Baku, where Verstappen came close to beating George Russell. Malaysia confirmed that progress.
Verstappen took the first non-Mercedes pole position of 2026 before securing his first victory of the season. Perhaps even more importantly for Red Bull, it was the first win for Red Bull Ford Powertrains as a power unit manufacturer.
For the first time this year, Red Bull looked capable of challenging Mercedes throughout an entire weekend rather than simply taking advantage of specific circumstances. The question heading into Singapore is whether Sepang was particularly well suited to the RB22, or whether Verstappen finally has a car capable of regularly fighting for victories.
If it is the latter, back-to-back wins are certainly not out of the question.
While Red Bull arrives in Singapore with renewed confidence, Mercedes faces a very different situation.
The team introduced a significant development package in Malaysia that was expected to deliver around three tenths of a second per lap. Instead, Toto Wolff suggested after qualifying that the new parts may actually have cost Mercedes roughly the same amount.
The situation was not as disastrous as that assessment might suggest. Kimi Antonelli and Russell were still able to put Verstappen under pressure at different stages of the race and appeared to be heading towards a double podium.
Then Russell stopped.
A suspected power unit issue forced him to retire while running third, adding another failure to what has become one of Mercedes’ biggest weaknesses this season. Worse still, the consequences will carry into Singapore: Russell is set to take a grid penalty and start from the back.
Mercedes therefore arrives at Marina Bay with two separate problems to solve. Reliability remains a concern, but the team must also understand why an upgrade expected to move the car forward appears to have done the opposite.
And this is hardly the ideal weekend to search for answers.
Because Singapore is the final Sprint event of the season, Mercedes will have only one practice session before the competitive action begins.
For Russell, the timing could hardly be worse.
His retirement in Malaysia allowed Antonelli to finish second and extend his Drivers’ Championship advantage to 84 points. There are still 183 points available, so the title is far from mathematically decided, but the Italian is now in an extremely comfortable position.
Antonelli could technically retire from three consecutive Grands Prix, watch his closest rival win all three, and still remain championship leader.
That margin is particularly valuable after Baku, where Antonelli described his performance as his worst weekend of the season and saw his advantage reduced by 15 points. Malaysia provided the response he needed, and Singapore now offers another opportunity to move closer to his first Formula 1 World Championship.
With Russell starting from the back, it could also be a particularly important one.
Another driver arriving in Singapore with reasons for optimism is Fernando Alonso.
There has not been much for Aston Martin to celebrate in 2026, but the team has gradually moved forward since introducing a new chassis in Hungary, followed by improvements from an updated Honda power unit in the Netherlands.
Malaysia finally delivered a result to show for that progress.
Alonso finished eighth at Sepang, Aston Martin’s best result of the season, despite being among the drivers who were disadvantaged by starting the race resumption on slick tyres while those on intermediates built a significant gap.
He then had to defend from Lando Norris in the closing stages to secure only his third points finish of the year.
Aston Martin has already warned that its competitiveness will continue to vary significantly depending on the circuit. Some tracks simply suit the car far better than others.
The encouraging part is that Alonso has identified Singapore as one of those opportunities.
And Marina Bay will provide enough variables even before car performance comes into the equation.
Singapore hosts the final Sprint weekend of 2026, meaning the teams have just one practice session to find the right set-up around a circuit where confidence is essential and mistakes are rarely forgiving.
There is another unusual element this year.
The Grand Prix will begin at 20:00 local time, as usual, under the floodlights. But Saturday’s Sprint starts at 17:00, before sunset. Drivers will therefore face significantly different track and ambient conditions between the two races, potentially changing the competitive order from one day to the next.
So far this season, every Sprint weekend has produced different winners in the Sprint and the Grand Prix. The last driver to win both races during the same weekend was Lando Norris in São Paulo last year.
Between the limited practice time, changing conditions and the demands of racing between the walls of Marina Bay, Singapore was already unlikely to be straightforward.
Now add a resurgent Verstappen, a Mercedes upgrade that still needs answers, Russell starting from the back and Antonelli getting closer to the championship.
Under the lights, the final Sprint weekend of the season has plenty at stake.
