We’re heading into the final stretch of the F1 season with this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix.
The last time there was an F1 Singapore Grand Prix was back in 2019 when Sebastian Vettel, who recently announced his impending retirement, won while racing for Ferrari, and Lewis Hamilton was coasting to another championship.
Now, in 2022, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is on track to win his second straight title as he now has a 116-point lead over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez is currently in third place, and nine points behind Leclerc, while George Russell of Mercedes is seven points behind Perez.
In the Constructor Standings, Red Bull has also built up a seemingly insurmountable lead, leading Ferrari 545 to 406. In fact, Mercedes has closed the gap and now only trails Ferrari by 35 points for second place.
The biggest news as we head into the Singapore Grand Prix is that Verstappen is on track to do something that even Lewis Hamilton hasn’t done. With a win at Monza last race, Verstappen has now won 11 races this season. That’s his career-high, but also ties Hamilton’s career-high. That means one more win by Verstappen and his 2022 season would be more dominant than any that Hamilton put together.
The Dutch driver has won five straight races and is outperforming his competitors by leaps and bounds. Leclerc has been struggling of late, losing in Hungary due to poor Ferrari strategy, hitting the wall in France, and finishing a disappointing 6th in Spa.
Another interesting thing to watch is that the course this weekend at Marina Bay doesn’t hold many straightaways with 23 total corners. This means that cars like Red Bull and Ferrari, which have clear advantages in top-end speed, won’t have as much of an edge as they do on other tracks.
The race is also unique for the physically demanding nature of just how hot the race gets. We’ve seen videos of Carlos Sainz cycling inside a sauna in order to prepare for the heat that he is likely to face inside that car this weekend. When you have issues of heat and dehydration coming into play, there are a lot of unknowns that could drastically change the outcome of the race.
Since we’ve seen a safety car in every single Singapore Grand Prix since it’s introduction in 2008, I’m not sure we should expect any difference this weekend.
Singapore Grand Prix TV, how to watch
Qualifying
- Date: Saturday, October 1st
- Time: 9:00 a.m. ET
- TV: ESPN NEWS
The Race
- Date: Sunday, October 2nd
- Time: 8:00 a.m. ET
- TV: ESPN2
For more F1 Coverage, visit amNY Sports
2022 Singapore Grand Prix Odds
| Driver | Odds to win | Odds to finish on podium | Odds to finish top 6 | Odds to finish top 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Verstappen | -190 | -450 | -700 | -750 |
| Charles Leclerc | +450 | -190 |
-650 |
-700 |
| Lewis Hamilton | +850 | -105 | -550 | -700 |
| Carlos Sainz | +1000 | +125 | -550 | -700 |
| Sergio Perez | +1200 | +175 | -550 | -600 |
| George Russell | +1400 | +135 | -550 | -700 |
| Lando Norris | +20000 | +850 | +120 | -400 |
| Fernando Alonso | +20000 | +2200 | +125 | -330 |
| Esteban Ocon | +50000 | +3500 | +275 | -300 |
| Pierre Gasly | +50000 | +4000 | +800 | +130 |
| Daniel Ricciardo | +50000 | +3500 | +550 | +150 |
| Lance Stroll | +90000 | +15000 | +1600 | +165 |
| Sebastian Vettel | +90000 | +4000 | +1000 | +125 |
| Yuki Tsunoda | +90000 | +20000 | +2000 | +275 |
| Alex Albon | +90000 | +10000 | +1600 | +275 |
| Kevin Magnussen | +90000 | +20000 | +2200 | +225 |
| Mick Schumacher | +90000 | +25000 | +2800 | +275 |
| Guanyu Zhou | +90000 | +25000 | +2500 | +300 |
| Valtteri Bottas | +90000 | +15000 | +1400 | +150 |
| Nicholas Latifi | +90000 | +30000 | +10000 | +1800 |
For up-to-the-minute odds for the Singapore Grand Prix visit DraftKings here.
Singapore Grand Prix Top Picks
Max Verstappen to win (-190)
I’m just not sure how you can bet on anybody else right now. Verstappen is in great form and his -190 odds, while a bit high, aren’t so high that he should be avoided altogether. I’d love to maybe parlay this pick with one of the others listed below to improve our odds just a bit.
Fernando Alonso Finishes Top-Six (+125)
Alonso usually hovers around the top-six, so this isn’t exactly a crazy bet. However, we covered that there is almost always a safety car in Singapore, which means there could be some chaos that takes a driver like Alonso onto the podium. We’re not going to go that far, but if you wanted to bet on that his +2200 odds to finish on the podium could turn you a big profit.
But you can also play it safer and say that Alonso finishes inside the top-six, which feels very likely to me. Alonso’s +125 odds for top-10 mean that if you bet $100, you could see a $125 profit, which I still think makes this an attractive bet.
Singapore Grand Prix Darkhorse Pick
Mick Schumacher to Finish Top-10 (+275)
Mick Schumacher qualified P8 last race and looked like he was on track to finish top-10 and score points, but a poor pitstop ruined his race and lost him the chance to finish in the points. Since the track at Marina Bay doesn’t have a lot of straights, this Haas isn’t going to be too hurt by its lack of top-end speed. As a result, I think Schumacher, who has been driving well of late, could easily finish in the points.
Sebastian Vettel to finish Top-10 (+120)
We already covered that Vettel won this race back in 2019. He’s actually won this race five times. I know he’s not in the best car, but we can’t ignore how well he performs at Marina Bay. He clearly knows the track well and feels comfortable here, which means that we could see him push that Aston Martin into the top-10 on Sunday.
