Verstappen gets a 10 from Nichol despite losing a place at Singapore Sprint start

Max Verstappen topped Jake Nichol’s ratings for the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix weekend with a 10, despite losing a place at the Sprint start. Nichol deducted half a mark for the setback, then restored it for Verstappen’s overall dominance across the weekend. He also judged that Verstappen peaked at the right time for Grand Prix pole and that the race was settled once he emerged from Turn 3 ahead.

Charles Leclerc and Liam Lawson shared the next-highest rating, 9.5. Leclerc finished third in the Sprint, then second in Grand Prix qualifying and the race. Nichol thought Leclerc could hardly have done more, though he wondered whether Leclerc could have been more aggressive off the line against Verstappen into Turn 1.

Lawson’s fifth in the Sprint matched his best F1 result to that point. Nichol rated Lawson’s Grand Prix qualifying slightly below par after Gasly got ahead of him on the grid. Lawson made a decisive move at Turn 3 in the race to finish seventh; Nichol considered the Singapore weekend perhaps Lawson’s strongest of the 2026 season to date.

Jake Nichol gave Lando Norris a 5, deducting marks for the Sprint crash involving his team-mate. He wrote that Norris apparently showed little contrition in the aftermath. The impression, he said, persisted even hours after Grand Prix qualifying, despite what he considered an obvious dressing-down. In the Grand Prix, he also criticised Norris for not immediately passing Hamilton, whom he described as struggling; Kimi Antonelli did pass him.

Valtteri Bottas received the lowest numerical rating, 3. He was a tenth slower than Perez in Sprint Qualifying; his deficit to Perez grew to eight-tenths in Grand Prix qualifying. Nichol noted that Bottas had to lift and coast during the race to protect the brakes. Bottas finished 19th, three laps down, while Alex Albon retired on lap 59 but was classified 18th, ahead of him.