Preview: The Singapore Grand Prix

The Formula One has left Europe for this season and has landed in Singapore, where this weekend's action will be taking place at the Marina Bay Street Circuit; time for a preview!

Flashback

Last season's race started with absolute carnage at the front of the pack. Max Verstappen, who almost took pole but ended up in P2 behind Sebastian Vettel, had a good start, but got wedged in a Ferrari sandwich and nowhere to go. Verstappen, Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen all got taken out, and Fernando Alonso also got hit as an unlucky bystander.

Lewis Hamilton, who started the race from P5, took full advantage, and took the lead from T5 onwards, with most of the cars in front of him being wiped out. His lead was never in doubt after that, and he led Daniel Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas to the podium. It was the fourth consecutive podium for Ricciardo at Singapore without having won, which must have been frustrating for the Aussie. A hectic but fun race!

Podium 2017

Expectations

Finally, a track that favours Red Bull. The street circuit perfectly suits the RB14 as it's very high in downforce, and isn't very straight-line speed-heavy. Much like Monaco, the Austrian team are expected to be in the mix for pole position and the win. In the Principality, they clearly had the fastest car, although Max Verstappen threw away his chance for his first-ever pole position by crashing in FP3. He could get it here, though. Both him and Ricciardo are very positive about the new engine spec from Renault.

Ferrari will have some making up to do after the extreme disappointment at Monza two weekends ago. The team can't afford any more mistakes if they really want to win either championship this season, because we all know Mercedes won't be making any. Sebastian Vettel will have to give it everything he has to slim down Lewis Hamilton's championship lead.

The Italian team will still be favourites to win at Singapore as they simply have the best package on the grid. Kimi Raikkonen has been confirmed to leave the team at the end of the season, so we'll have to wait and see how this affects Ferrari's performance this weekend. 

Mercedes are notoriously bad at Singapore, so it will be all about damage limitation for them. They were very opportunistic to get both drivers on the podium last season when both Ferrari's took themselves out, but barring something like this won't happen again, it's unlikely the German team will be anywhere near the top step of the podium

Predictions

On paper, Ferrari will be favourites to win at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. Red Bull could upset the Italians and walk away with the win, but we're pretty sure Ferrari will be ice-cold this weekend. Clinical. They have to be to keep their championship hopes alive, and they'll hope that Red Bull can keep Mercedes as far away from the podium as possible.

We predict Ferrari to take pole position, but Red Bull to cause some serious problems during the race. Their race pace is much better than their qualifying pace, and with both Verstappen and Ricciardo loving a dive-bomb, we could have a classic race on our hands.

However, this all goes out the window if it rains like last year. Looking at the weather report, this could well happen, and that could mean it's hammer-time for Hamilton. The Brit is an absolute master of the rain, and it's likely that he'll rain supreme (get it?) if the heavens open up this Sunday. He's shown this in Germany and in Hungary already. If it rains, Hamilton wins, it's that simple. Verstappen, who is also rapid in the rain, could make life more difficult for the Brit, but we think the Dutchman will not be able to beat the four-time champion

Top 5 prediction (dry)

1. Sebastian Vettel

2. Kimi Raikkonen

3. Max Verstappen

4. Daniel Ricciardo

5. Lewis Hamilton

Top 5 prediction (rain)

1. Lewis Hamilton

2. Max Verstappen

3. Sebastian Vettel

4. Kimi Raikkonen

5. Daniel Ricciardo