Fans Fear Driver's F1 Career Could Be 'Over' After Singapore GP Incident

Formula 1 fans are concerned for one driver after he crashed out of third practice for the Singapore Grand Prix.

The 17th race of the season takes place at the Marina Bay Street Circuit on Sunday afternoon.

A number of regulation changes have been introduced for the race, with a new pit lane speed limit accompanied by the first-ever FIA-declared heat hazard race.

With temperatures predicted to hit over 31°C during the Grand Prix, drivers have the option to either wear a cooling vest or add 0.5kg of ballast to the car to compensate for the vest's weight if they don't wear it.

With thunderstorms forecast for Sunday, it will be an even more challenging weekend for the 20 drivers than they may initially have envisaged.

But one driver who will be under significantly more pressure is Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson.

The New Zealander finished in an excellent fifth place in Azerbaijan, fending off Yuki Tsunoda, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton at different points throughout the Grand Prix.

But Lawson is not yet under contract with either Racing Bulls or the Red Bull team for 2026.

He told reporters ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix that he had not received a call from Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko after his performance in Baku.

The revolving door nature of the Red Bull team, and indeed at Racing Bulls, means that there is continuous uncertainty over the positions of any of its drivers not named Max Verstappen.

Lawson's team-mate Isack Hadjar has been linked with promotion to Red Bull for 2026, with current occupant Yuki Tsunoda potentially dropping back down to Racing Bulls if that happens.

It is a path, of course, that Lawson took earlier this season when he was dropped by Red Bull after two Grands Prix.

And with Red Bull having successfully applied for a Super Licence for junior driver Arvid Lindblad - who is competing in F2 this season - there are potentially up to four drivers in contention to drive for Racing Bulls next season.

Four could turn into five if F2 star Alex Dunne, who left McLaren's development programme this week, signs for Red Bull - though the team may need to apply for another Super Licence exemption if he doesn't finish high enough in the F2 standings to earn the points required.

In second practice at Singapore, Lawson made contact with the wall heading into the final corner and lost his right front wheel.

And on Saturday morning, he rode the curb out of turn five and lost control of his car, resulting in an even heavier impact with the barrier.

His Racing Bulls team now face a race against time to fix his car in time for qualifying later on Saturday.

Reacting to the incident, one fan wrote: "These two crashes came at a bad time, close to the end of the season..."

A second asked: "What is happening to Liam Lawson? Two crashes in three practice sessions this weekend. I can't see him being an F1 racer after this season."

A third said: "Lawson again. Somewhere in Marina Bay, Helmut Marko is scribbling some notes."

And a fourth noted: "Liam Lawson redeemed himself with a great result in Baku that could potentially guarantee him a seat next season. Three practice sessions later he might have reset the clock back to zero."