This weekend sees McLaren F1 Team head into Round Seventeen of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 season for the Singapore Grand Prix.
2022 sees the return of the Singapore Grand Prix after a two-year absence from the calendar. The whole race is held at night from start to finish and is one of the toughest races of the season for everyone involved, due to the heat and high humidity added to the threats of rain on track and the minimal margin for error.
Lando Norris has been in a rich vein of form all season, outperforming his experienced team-mate by a big margin and has pulled the McLaren team way above where their performance has been. Norris might only have one podium to his name this season, but he remains the only driver outside of the top three teams to bring home a podium. Norris has raced at Singapore once before with McLaren and earned himself a points finish that day, but he is excited to get back out on track.
“I’m excited to be heading back to Singapore this year, it’s another race returning to the calendar and it will only be my second time racing there! I can’t wait to get back into the car, especially with the new OKX livery we have for Asia.
“Marina Bay is another unique street circuit, and I was in the points there in 2019 so hopefully we can keep that up and bring back more points for the team this time.”
Norris finished seventh last time out at the Italian Grand Prix, and turned around a few points on the team’s Championship rivals BWT Alpine F1 Team.
“Monza was a good result in the end, we’ve had time to look back at the data over the last two weeks before going into this weekend’s race. We have a great team working at track and back at the factory to continually push us forward, so let’s keep the momentum up for the remainder of the season!”
Daniel Ricciardo Looking To “bounce back with a positive result”
Daniel Ricciardo is currently without a seat as we head towards the business end of the 2022 Formula 1 season. The Australian was replaced by fellow countryman Oscar Piastri ahead of the 2023 season after a season of poor results for the eight-time race winner. However, with no eye on next year with McLaren, Ricciardo will be looking to impress other teams on the grid and earn himself a seat.
Ricciardo has stood on the podium in Singapore before, and while that sort of result is rather unrealistic, he is still looking forward to the challenge.
“Singapore, it’s good to be back! The atmosphere should be electric with the return of night racing in Asia. We’re celebrating the return with a bespoke OKX livery, which will look ace under the lights!
“I’ve had some good weekends in Singapore with podiums in the past and I’m looking forward to the challenge the Marina Bay Street Circuit provides both physically and mentally. It’s an intense weekend and you have to be on it but that’s all part of the fun.“
The Australian was on for a positive result in Monza, running in the points but a late issue saw him retire and come away empty handed, he will be hoping this weekend for some more luck.
“I had a frustrating Sunday in Monza with issues to the car, but the team have worked hard to look into that and we’re now ready to bounce back with a positive result after a two week break in the calendar. We’ll continue to push hard as a team to pick up more points in the final few races, let’s go!”
Credit: McLaren Media Centre