The trip to Singapore is a father-and-son expedition which we booked last October, having failed in our earlier attempts to secure decent grandstand seats for this year’s Australian Grand Prix. As it happens, choosing Singapore for what will be my son’s first GP attended in person, and my first since 1995, has turned out to be a great choice.
We are heading to Singapore to see Lawson line up fresh from his best F1 result, at Baku last weekend, on a track where he notched up his first points-scoring F1 finish back in 2023, and which should suit his Racing Bulls car well.
The chat right now is that with Isak Hadjar favoured to move to Red Bull as Verstappen’s 2026 team-mate, Racing Bulls is still deciding between Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda as to which of them will have a place next year as team-mate to F2 graduate Arvin Linblad. Lawson’s masterful performance holding Tsunoda and others at bay for some 20 laps at Baku will have done the Kiwi’s cause a power of good. Ideally, he will out-qualify and out-race Tsunoda again at Singapore.
While some unashamedly parochial cheering will certainly be in order, Singapore is also shaping up to be an interesting race for a raft of other reasons. These include the fact that McLaren’s dismal performance at Baku means the papaya team has still to clinch the F1 constructors’ title. Also, Oscar Piastri’s absolute ’mare last weekend has given his team-mate Lando Norris a sniff that the fight for the drivers’ title may not be quite over.
On a personal note, along with Verstappen, I am looking forward to seeing two of the other true greats of 21st century Formula One – Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.
Filter in the allure of Singapore being a night race, plus the off-track attractions of Singapore’s fabulous food, and an outstanding F1 concert line up, and this coming week’s flight out of Christchurch can’t come soon enough.
Rallysprint
Returning to motor sport closer to home, last weekend’s Ashley Forest Rallysprint ran in conditions that were not conducive to new course records being set, but Otago drivers were certainly well to the fore.
As expected, Cromwell’s Hayden Paddon dominated the event, with his final run in his Hyundai I20 AP4 more than four seconds faster than that of second-placed Neil Webb (Nelson) in his highly modified Mitsubishi Mirage.
Emma Gilmour also did well, finishing fifth overall and first in the 4WD rally car class in her Citroen C3 Rally 2. She finished just ahead of Cromwell’s Daniel Feck (Mitsubishi FTO) in the final standings.
Of the other Otago competitors, Cromwell’s Corey MacAskill (Subaru Impreza) was second in the pre-1996 classic 4WD class and a credible 15th overall and Dunedin’s Waide Bridgeman Tallon took his new Nissan Pulsar GTi-R to 19th overall. Chris Hey was 19th overall and won the 2WD class for another year in his Toyota MR2, though the Mosgiel driver was well shy of his previous best times at the event.
David Thomson
Editor
Drivesouth
