Wednesday, March 19, 2025

2025 Singapore Grand Prix




 






Michelle Matheson further solidified herself as the driver to beat in Singapore, once again securing pole position in qualifying and running a perfect strategy despite several safety car incidents which saw her claim victory at the Marina Bay circuit.

As if looking to outdo the chaos of the Australian Grand Prix, Anjali Aslam dropped from 4th to 8th in heavy fighting on the opening lap while Michelle Matheson and Katie Mulligan fought each other for the race lead. This battle for the lead would continue until lap 7 when the Ferrari of Isabel Villard went off and caused a safety car. All drivers opted to pit for new tyres with the exception of both Lotus drivers who had gone out in Q1 as a result of wildly changing weather conditions. Jessica Dodson on mediums inherited the lead, while Chantal Roca on hards moved into second.

Not long after the safety car peeled back into the pits and the two Lotus drivers had to defend their new positions from the rest of the grid, Olivia Gaines went off on the same lap that normal racing resumed which led to a virtual safety car.

On lap 20, the field would be tightened up thanks to a red flag and full restart caused by Kimberley Taylor running into Anjali Aslam, taking both drivers out and leaving their cars in the middle of the track on the main straight.

After the race restarted, Matheson was able to make a strong attack on Dodson thanks to the lead that the Lotus drivers had acquired being fully erased, and she was able to reassume the race lead after a brief fight with the Lotus driver. Dodson herself avoided disaster on lap 27 when the Haas of Ella Lankinen made contact with her twice, but neither car sustained visible damage. The incident was swiftly investigated, but no penalty or warning was delivered to either driver.

On lap 51, Lina Willems made an error that resulted in her Sauber colliding with a wall and retiring, and prompting a virtual safety car that did not result in any impactful position changes throughout the field. The McLaren drivers, having been on hard tyres since lap 20, opted not to pit during the VSC caused by Willems, and their pace immediately started dropping off quickly in the final stages of the race. Ashley Bell quickly started dropping down the grid before going in for new tyres. Naomi Jones waited too long and suffered a total tyre failure, retiring from the race on lap 58.

Ella Lankinen looked set for a second place finish before tyre degradation issues dropped her down the points, allowing Jessica Dodson to inherit second position. Michelle Matheson, ten seconds ahead, claimed a comfortable and trouble-free victory to correct the mistakes that cost her the win in the season opener in Australia.

Gabriela Ribeiro rounded out the podium, finishing an impressive third for the Racing Bulls team while the Emily Tan in the Haas was again able to make the worst of a bad starting position, starting 20th and finishing in 7th position.

Kiyoko Nakamura fought desperately to try and get Ferrari on the board, driving from 22nd to 11th and having rapid pace in the closing stages of the race and finishing seven points off of collecting Ferrari's first point of the season.











Jessica Dodson was driver of the day, starting in 21st after her rapid qualifying pace failed to get her through Q1 due to changing weather conditions dropping her from the top ten and to the back of the grid in the final two minutes of the session. Her decision not to pit during the safety car caused by Isabel Villard, followed by careful tyre management throughout the race, saw her gain nineteen positions in the race and pick up enough points to tie Michelle Matheson for first place in the drivers championship.




























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