Singapore’s night always has a way of exposing edges. On Saturday it sliced deep: Mercedes banked a statement pole with George Russell, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris traded barbs over qualifying etiquette, and Williams had both cars thrown out of the session for a rear-wing breach.
The headline sting came late. Post‑qualifying scrutineering flagged the rear wings on both Williams entries, leading to the exclusion of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon from the results. They’d originally lined up 12th and 13th around Marina Bay, a decent launchpad on a circuit that punishes mistakes and rewards discipline. Instead, they’re out of quali, with the team facing a long Sunday of damage limitation after the FIA’s call. No gray area here: it’s a double disqualification for a technical non‑compliance.
Up front, Russell delivered under the lights. He was inching toward a lap that felt like it belonged in a time capsule, threading the needle through the twisty final sector to secure his first Marina Bay pole. Mercedes have flattered at street tracks before, but this one had bite — a lap set cleanly, decisively, and against the run of recent Saturdays.
Behind that, a familiar flashpoint. Verstappen, on a hot lap and sniffing Russell’s sector times, arrived on a McLaren cooling down. Norris had already banked his run and was trundling back to the garage when the Red Bull popped up in his mirrors. The radio traffic was spicy: Gianpiero Lambiase told Verstappen he could “thank your mate” for the compromise. Norris, never one to get dragged into someone else’s gripe, parried it away later: Red Bull, he said, “complain about everything.” Singapore’s walls take no prisoners; neither did the commentary.
McLaren, it must be said, were plenty busy off track too. The team confirmed Nyck de Vries has rejoined in a simulator role — a pragmatic hire for a squad that’s been as methodical in the factory as it’s been punchy at the track. De Vries’ attention to detail and endurance racing mileage make him a useful weeknight operator in Woking’s dark rooms, where lap time is carved long before FP1.
Woking’s comms box also gets a reshuffle. Luca Colajanni, a long‑time Ferrari communications chief with a deep F1 Rolodex and a cool head in hot paddocks, is heading to McLaren to replace the departing Sophie Ogg. It’s an old hand for a team that’s grown comfortable in the spotlight again. The timing, on a high‑pressure weekend like Singapore, tells its own story.
Elsewhere in the paddock, Felipe Massa announced a strategic tie‑up with EMW Global, a move that comes just weeks before his long‑trailed legal case over the 2008 world championship result. The number being thrown around is $82 million — an eye‑watering figure that underlines how far this saga has travelled beyond late‑night debates into boardroom seriousness. However the case lands, the ramifications won’t be small.
One rumor that isn’t going anywhere, at least according to Aston Martin, concerns Christian Horner. Team boss Andy Cowell knocked that line flat, saying there are “no plans” for Horner to join in any capacity. Cowell even looped in owner Lawrence Stroll to close the door properly after some comments earlier in the weekend had left it ajar. In a sport where speculation tends to linger like tyre smoke, that’s as firm a denial as you’ll hear.
Back to the immediate business. Russell’s pole sets a new rhythm for Sunday in Singapore. Verstappen’s Red Bull looked lively in sectors one and two before the lap fizzled; Norris’ McLaren has consistently carried medium‑to‑high‑speed confidence; and Ferrari — minus one car in the Williams camp and the other parked behind the stewards’ decision — will have to make their evening on strategy and safety cars. It’s Marina Bay, where fortune flips with a single Virtual Safety Car and track position is currency you don’t squander.
And for Williams, this one hurts. Two cars, same infringement, on a night when the midfield was wide open. The team has been rebuilding its operational muscle; Saturday was a reminder that in 2025, the margins don’t forgive. The FIA’s badge was everywhere in parc fermé. So was the implication: if you want to play at the sharp end here, you bring a legal weapon — and you bring it to the gram.
Roll on Sunday. The walls are close, tempers closer, and the first to blink rarely wins in Singapore.
