Ferrari are on the back foot after being humbled by Mercedes, for the second year running, in their home Grand Prix at Monza and the pressure is now on the Prancing Horse to deliver in Singapore.
The Marina Bay circuit has been the home of the Singapore Grand Prix since 2008 but there has been motor racing in the sovereign state since 1961. This is a race which Ferrari have to be targeting and it’s been a happy hunting ground for their number one driver Sebastian Vettel. The German has won at Marina Bay in four of the last seven years. However, Mercedes were successful in 2014, through Lewis Hamilton, and in 2016 when Nico Rosberg was first past the chequered flag. Hamilton took advantage of a rush of blood from Vettel last year when the German took out Max Verstappen and team-mate Kimi Raikkonen at the start. That victory all-but sealed the title for Hamilton and Vettel will want to make amends
The Scuderia will be desperate to wrest the advantage back from Mercedes as Vettel trails Hamilton by 30 points in the Drivers’ Championship following the latter’s win at Monza.
The cars have 61 laps of the 5km Marina Bay street circuit to cover, all under floodlights. Singapore may not yet rival Monaco in prestige but it’s getting there. Like Monaco, Marina Bay is not a track that is power-friendly. There are short straights, tight corners which require constant adherence to the brake pedal, and a bumpy surface. It should suit Ferrari but Vettel may not get much help from Raikkonen as the team have announced that he will be replaced by Charles Leclerc at the end of the season, even though the Finn is currently enjoying his best season for many years – he will take Leclerc’s seat at Sauber in 2019.
Unsurprisingly, bookmakers are concentrating on the battle between Hamilton and Vettel. The former is a best 7/2 to win the Singapore Grand Prix with the latter priced up at 11/8 to win again at Marina Bay and re-ignite the title race. However, this is definitely not a two-horse race. With less reliance on power, Red Bull should also come into contention and there are few better drivers of street circuits than DANIEL RICCIARDO.
Available at 6/1 with Sportingbet, the Australian has finished second at Marina Bay in each of the last three years and might be an each-way bet to nothing, though bookmakers nowadays are trying to force us to accept place terms for only the first two in F1 so shop around. Ricciardo, of course, got the better and Vettel and Hamilton in Monaco earlier this year. Team-mate Max Verstappen is a general 4/1 to win the Singapore GP before practice gets under way with Raikkonen priced up at 9/1 with most layers.
Singapore Grand Prix 2018 Current Best Odds
Sebastian Vettel 11/8
Lewis Hamilton 7/2
Max Verstappen 4/1
Daniel Ricciardo 6/1
Kimi Raikkonen 9/1
Valtteri Bottas 18/1
Nico Hulkenberg 1000/1
Carlos Sainz 1000/1
Kevin Magnussen 1000/1
Esteban Ocon 1000/1
Romain Grosjean 1000/1
Sergio Perez 1000/1
(Odds Correct at 11.30am September 11)
