“I saw Hamilton losing a lot of places”: Fernando Alonso disagrees with Max Verstappen’s suggestions for F1 Singapore GP track layout
Fernando Alonso disagrees with Max Verstappen’s suggestion to make changes to the Marina Bay circuit in Singapore to improve the quality of racing. Speaking to media, including Vision F1, the Aston Martin driver noted that Lewis Hamilton had lost places during the race and that there had been some overtaking during the 2026 Singapore GP.
Verstappen and Hamilton suggested after the sprint race that the Marina Bay circuit needed some tweaks to allow for more overtaking. Hamilton noted that the sprint would not have been as exciting without the rain, while Verstappen pointed out that there was only one straight that allowed overtaking and that the Overtake Mode on the new cars had not helped.
Alonso disagreed with the duo, arguing that street circuits have traditionally been venues where much of the race result is determined by qualifying on Saturday. He felt the nature of the circuit left little room for changes to improve the racing. The Spaniard recalled an incident involving Sebastian Vettel in 2010, when he was eight-tenths of a second slower than the Red Bull driver but managed to keep him at bay for 62 laps.
The 46-year-old noted that he had seen overtaking on the circuit’s display screens, including Hamilton losing places. The Briton had been battling Lando Norris before losing a podium spot and finishing sixth in the race.
Asked by Vision F1 if he agreed with Hamilton and Verstappen that the track needed tweaking to improve racing, Fernando Alonso said:
“On this track, I don’t think there is much that we can do. You know, these are street circuit that normally qualifying means 90% of the race, and it has been like that, you know. It t has been like that from the times I remember Formula One, you know, from Senna, Prost, Michael. Myself here in 2010, I had like eight tenths [of a second], deficit from the Red Bull. I made it on Saturday to be on pole, and then I kept Sebastian behind for 62 laps. You know, this is the nature of the track. So, yeah, I don’t think there is much we can do. Unless, I mean, but there is still some overtaking I think today. I don’t know, I was watching the screens, but I saw Hamilton losing a lot of places. So there were a couple of places to be overtaken.”
Fernando Alonso believes there multiple limiting factors with the Aston Martin in Singapore
Fernando Alonso believes the power unit, drivability issues and turbo lag are costing Aston Martin lap time during races. He suggested that the Mexican and Las Vegas GPs could be challenging for the team. The two-time world champion noted that there were limitations with the car that needed to be addressed, particularly ahead of the remaining street circuits on the calendar.
Speaking about the factors that limited his performance during the race, Fernando Alonso said:
“I think there is something on the power unit, yes, that is not performing as it should do in this weekend, and yeah, we need to understand why, because obviously there are a couple of, you know, tough races coming. Mexico will be the next one with very slow speed corners, maybe Vegas, you know, and some other street circuit. So, yeah, we need to get on top of the issues that, you know, driveability, turbo lag, you know, there are a couple of things that are costing us a lot of lap time and we discovered on the hard way to this weekend.”
Fernando Alonso has been Aston Martin’s sole points scorer this season, having collected seven points so far. Aston Martin are currently tenth in the constructors’ championship and are battling newcomers Cadillac on track. After securing eighth place in Malaysia at the 2026 Bahrain GP, the team’s performance dropped off in Singapore.