Written by Paolo Alessi, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
How many times have we all experienced that strange feeling of déjà vu — of reliving a moment we are convinced we have already lived? Something similar unfolded during the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix. In some way, many aspects of this year’s race drew strong comparisons to the 2018 event at Marina Bay Circuit.
Here is a breakdown of nine (almost ten!) things that made the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix feel like a reflection of the 2018 race.
A British driver starts on pole and wins the Grand Prix
In 2018, Sir Lewis Hamilton delivered one of the best laps of his career to secure pole position at Marina Bay. The next day, he translated his incredible qualifying pace into an unbeatable performance, leading for most of the race, and securing the 69th win of his career.
Fast forward six years, and another British driver, Lando Norris, achieved something similar. Driving his Mercedes-powered MCL34, Norris stormed to pole by two-tenths of a second.
The next day, for the first time in his F1 career, the 24-year-old maintained his lead on the first lap and went on to dominate the Grand Prix, finishing an incredible 20 seconds ahead of second-placed Max Verstappen.
Max Verstappen Starts and Finishes Second (after a P5 in the previous race)
Speaking of Verstappen, the Dutchman started second on the grid and finished in second place. As is the striking resemblance to the race in 2018, he was unable to overtake the leader on lap one and had to settle for the runner-up spot, well behind the race winner.
Additionally, Verstappen finished fifth in the race immediately preceding Singapore. In 2018, a time penalty after contact with Valtteri Bottas saw him drop to fifth in Monza. In 2024, a late crash between his teammate Sergio Perez and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz allowed the flying Dutchman to claim fifth, just behind Norris.
Spanish affinity: Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso finish P7 and P8
Both Spaniards on the 2024 grid, Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso, finished their races just seconds apart, earning six and four points respectively. After a tough qualifying session, Sainz recovered well to claim P7, while the 43-year-old Alonso managed a solid P8 after starting from sixth.
What is fascinating is that in 2018, they also finished P7 and P8—but with their positions reversed, with Alonso taking seventh for McLaren, followed by Sainz for Renault in eighth. Their teams and roles have evolved, but the end result is still incredibly similar.
A Ferrari finishes P5
With so many parallels already noted, it should be no surprise that a car branded with a Prancing Horse — Ferrari — finished fifth in both 2018 and 2024.
In 2024, Charles Leclerc’s costly qualifying mistake kept him from fighting for pole or the win, while in 2018, Ferrari’s race pace couldn’t match the leaders, with Kimi Raikkonen settling for P5. Interestingly, in both seasons, a Ferrari driver was sitting third in the standings before and after the race.
The second Mercedes in the Standings starts and finishes fourth
Valtteri Bottas and George Russell have gone wheel-to-wheel a couple of times during their career, but share a common thread in this stat.
As the second Mercedes car in the standings, both drivers started and finished P4 at Singapore in 2018 and 2024 — being outqualified by the seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton respectively.
While Bottas kept pace in 2018 to claim fourth, Russell used a clever strategy and late defensive manoeuvres to secure his fourth place against charging Charles Leclerc.
Car finishing in P7 is the first one not to be lapped
On both occasions, the seventh-place finisher was the last car to be shown the blue flag before being lapped by the race leader. In 2018, Sainz narrowly avoided being lapped, while this was the case for Alonso in 2024. This stat underlines the sheer dominance displayed by the two British drivers who led the pack six years apart.
Lance Stroll finishes P14
A race out of the points is not something uncommon for Lance Stroll, who has failed to score at least a point in 12 out of 18 races across 2024. The 2024 Singapore Grand Prix was no different for him either. Stroll finished the race down in 14th, lapped by race leader Norris.
With no surprise, even though the Canadian was racing for Williams back then, he finished the race in 14th, a lap down on the leaders. Another striking coincidence was finishing behind a Frenchman — it was Esteban Ocon in 2018, and Pierre Gasly in 2024, who are now teammates at Alpine.
Nico Hülkenberg finishes in the top-10
Nico Hülkenberg has had an impressive 2024 season, currently sitting tenth in the championship standings.
The German once again secured points for Haas, finishing ninth after fending off challenges from the chasing Red Bull of Sergio Perez. This resembles his outing in 2018 when he finished in the top ten for Renault, just behind eighth-placed Leclerc in the Sauber.
A new race fastest lap record is set
Both the 2018 and 2024 Singapore Grands Prix saw new track records set, partly due to minor layout changes. In 2018, Kevin Magnussen set a new fastest lap of 1:41.905 on lap 50, after turns 16 and 17 were re-profiled.
In 2024, Daniel Ricciardo set the new fastest lap with a blistering 1:34.486s, thanks to the addition of a new straight in the final sector, eliminating the slow corners.
In what would with all probability be his last Formula One outing, Ricciardo set the track record. Despite this, the Australian didn’t earn the bonus point for the fastest lap, as he finished outside the top 10.
Magnussen’s almost fastest lap (Again..)
For a brief moment in the 2024 race, Kevin Magnussen held the fastest lap, clocking 1:34.754 on lap 51. However, his time was disallowed for exceeding track limits, leaving Lando Norris to hold that record for nine more laps.
Had Magnussen's time still stood, Ricciardo’s eventual fastest lap would have denied him the glory he was able to achieve on this track, preventing him from adding to his two fastest laps in 2018 and 2019.
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