1) Ferrari a force again
Sebastian Vettel is back in the title race with his third win of the season at the Marina Bay circuit. Well, maybe not. He’s only eight points behind the second-placed Nico Rosberg but still trails Lewis Hamilton by 49. Another points-switch like the one we had in Singapore would put the wind up the British driver.
What we really learned is the progress being made by Ferrari is very real. The signs are they will be a force next year, with Mercedes not having everything their own way. It could make for an enthralling season, especially if Red Bull can also get their act together following their divorce from Renault.
2) Maldonado to continue
Pastor Maldonado drives on! The Singapore Grand Prix was a boring race, with only one leader and little overtaking but there were plenty of incidents – and in that context it was a good weekend to bury bad news.
Hidden away on Sunday evening was the detail that Lotus have agreed to continue with Maldonado for a third season in 2016. It would have been nice to see a better driver in F1, which always boasts, falsely, that it has the best 20 drivers in the world.
Jenson Button drove into the back of Maldonado, which might be considered the fault of the British driver but Button thought “Crashtor” Maldonado would be accelerating, instead of standing still.
Maldonado always had a contract for next year but some people were hoping that Renault might buy him out. Renault have obviously decided the $50m (£32.2m) package he brings from the sponsors PDVSA is simply too much cash to turn away.
3) Verstappen is stubborn
Max Verstappen has the cussed, obstinate nature world champions are made of. I’ve always thought he was the real deal from the moment he entered F1 as a 17-year-old. His talent is breathtaking and he provided the best moves is a mostly dull race under the lights.
Verstappen is quite ballsy too. he was twice told to yield a position to his team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr, but he simply said “No” and carried on to claim eighth place.
The Toro Rosso team principal, Franz Tost, said: “The team wanted to swap positions because we thought Carlos was faster with the new tyres but this was not the case, he could not catch up.
“He was too far away, so Max said no, and he was right because Carlos was simply too far away, between three and five tenths behind.”
Verstappen said he had spoken to his father, Jos, about the situation. “He told me if I had let him past he would have kicked me in the nuts!”
4) Track security still an issue
Formula One is still crazy after all these years. We’ve had so many breaches of security, with people getting on to the track, most notably at Silverstone in 2003 and at China early this year, when someone tried to get into the Ferrari garage during practice because he fancied a drive.
What happened at Silverstone, when Neil Horan ran on to the track at the entrance to Hanger Straight wearing a kilt and carrying a placard which read “Read the Bible – the Bible is always right,” annoyed the sport’s chief executive, Bernie Ecclestone.
It happened again in Singapore. This time the 27-year-old man looked lucky not to get hit when he staggered across the track. I find it amazing. I have a full FIA pass, allowing me to go on the grid, though we have to leave 15 minutes before the lights go out but that pass is checked by so many people before I can go anywhere that it’s surprising, and alarming, that these interlopers can still get on the track. And on Sunday it had an influence on the result because the safety car was used.
5) Mechanics can behave badly
Even with the correct accreditation people can behave badly. It was disappointing to hear about the boorish behaviour of some Ferrari mechanics, who pushed barriers to the floor to get past security staff at the end of the race. They were forced to apologise by the FIA, marring an otherwise great day for the Italian team. Ferrari said they would “send a written unconditional apology” to Singapore Grand Prix officials and security staff.
