Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes (P6, 8 pts): 8/10
You certainly can't say that Lewis Hamilton isn't throwing his all into his driving, even this close to his departure from Mercedes at the end of the season. He struggled for speed on Friday but both he and George Russell perked up in final practice and it was a very pleasant surprise when they ended up locking out the second row of the grid in qualifying (Hamilton seemed particularly happy to have pipped Russell for once). What confused us is why Hamilton alone of the those in the top ten opted to start on soft tyres instead of mediums. It achieved nothing at the start and inflicted a costly early pit stop. It was soon evident that this had been a bad call and Hamilton spent a long period making his complaints known over the team radio about the offset having essentially killed any chance he had of finishing on the podium. Getting hot and bothered under the race suit collar combined with the heat and humidity of Marina Bay leaving him feeling dizzy and ill by the finish and he was excused media duty in the paddock so that he could cool down - on more than one front.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari (P5, 10 pts): 8/10
Charles Leclerc wins our nomination as the most frustrating driver of the week: he should have been right up there, vying with Lando Norris for victory, and instead he was having to do everything he could to hustle together a recovery drive on Sunday. That was a far cry to practice when he and Norris were trading the top spot back and forth, separated by less than a tenth of a second, and Singapore was looking like a two-horse-race. That outlook was shattered when Ferrari faltered in FP3, and then came the horror show of qualifying where Sainz crashed and Leclerc had his only lap time deleted for exceeding track limits, meaning they lined up alongside each other on the fifth row on Sunday. Leclerc shouldered past Yuki Tsunoda at the start but then got stuck behind Fernando Alonso; only after completing a long first stint and switching to a fresh set of hards did he finally manage to get past. He was quickly ushered past Sainz to successfully take on Lewis Hamilton for fifth. Despite trying his best, he ran out of tyres and time before he could take care of George Russell.
