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Singapore Preview: Talking points ahead of Round 5
Embarking on F1 ACADEMY’s fifth stop of the season, the 2024 field are about to take it to the streets in Singapore, as the famous city skyline provides the perfect backdrop for a blockbuster battle.
Alpine’s Abbi Pulling aims to be crowned Champion at the earliest opportunity. However, her rivals will be wanting to bring the heat and seize the top step of the podium.
Preparing for what will be their toughest test of the campaign, let’s take a look at what the Marina Bay Street Circuit could have in store.
The title is within reach
Four rounds down and with 190 points to her name, Pulling is on the edge of glory this time out. 168 points are still left to play for between now and the final chequered flag in Yas Marina, but a lead of 112 points or more by the end of Round 5 will be enough for the Rodin Motorsport driver to take home the title.
Holding a 71-point advantage over second-place Doriane Pin, the Briton needs to outscore her by 41 points across the weekend. The most she has bettered the Mercedes junior’s haul by across one round was 32 points in Barcelona.
Last time out in Zandvoort showed that Pulling might not have it all her own way, as her run of top two finishes ended in Race 2. Yet if she continues in familiar fashion, her hold on the top spot will be hard to overcome.
Who’s going to beat the heat?
From the moment they stepped off the plane, the field were immediately hit by one thing — the heat. Temperatures will be hovering around the 30˚C mark for all four sessions, with the possibility of rain never off the cards in Singapore.
Whilst drivers and teams have been diligent in their preparations back at base, it doesn’t make the race weekend any less of an uphill battle to overcome. Although five of the current crop have previously raced at the track in 2022, none have driven on the revised layout adopted last year and they’ll have little time to wait around with only one Free Practice session to get on the pace.
Similarly to Miami early in the season, those drivers who have already experienced some of what Marina Bay has to offer or have returned for a sophomore season might have an initial advantage. But also keep an eye out for how British racer Ella Lloyd fares this weekend as she looks to show everyone what she can do on her F1 ACADEMY debut.
Hunting down podiums in the fight for P3
It’s nip and tuck for a spot inside the top three of the Drivers’ Standings. Only five points separate Chloe Chambers, Nerea Martí and Maya Weug in fifth, with a further 32 points back covering Hamda Al Qubaisi and seventh-placed Bianca Bustamante.
Chambers couldn’t quite match up to the highs of her Barcelona performances whilst in Zandvoort. Tied with Pin on 81 points leading into Round 4, the Haas driver now has a 30-point deficit to second and faces stiff competition behind.
READ MORE: 'I really needed it' – Weug delighted to bounce back in Zandvoort as she looks ahead to Singapore challenge
Her Campos Racing teammate Martí added another piece of silverware to her tally in Zandvoort, whilst Weug’s resurgent form earned her two back-to-back podium finishes, fending off Standings leader Pulling in the process, and elevating the Ferrari driver into the top five once more.
Chambers already has one win to her name, with Martí and Weug’s best results courtesy of two P2 finishes. A taste of victory in 2024 has to be top of their to-do list and would add a valuable haul of points that could prove decisive by the season’s end.
Can ART return to the front of the field?
Sitting bottom of the Teams’ Standings is a position no team wishes to be in, but it’s the one ART Grand Prix currently find themselves. Without a podium in the last two rounds, the French outfit’s victory drought means they haven’t stood on the top step since Léna Bühler’s victory in Monza Race 2 last year.
One point behind MP Motorsport on 91 points, both teams have yet to have their trio all finish inside the points in one race, losing them ground to the three teams ahead. Campos Racing are currently third on 192 points, so it would take a monumental push to overhaul the Spanish team.
READ MORE: Round 4 In Review: Dominant displays and confidence-boosting comebacks
Yet the signs for optimism are there. Although it won’t be a home race for the Philippines-born Bustamante, she’ll be feeling the love wherever she goes this weekend, with fans across southeast Asia getting behind her.
Meanwhile, Aurelia Nobels will be riding a wave of confidence after her best-ever performance last time out with P5 in Race 2 and Lia Block will be looking for her fifth points finish of the year, with the Williams driver taking each unfamiliar race destination in her stride.