Minichamps 1:43 Williams FW45 – Alexander Albon, Singapore GP 2023 Art. 417231623

A 1:43 model of the Williams FW45 as raced by Alexander Albon at the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix. Resin, light blue livery, in a protective display case.

The hardest two hours in motor racing

Singapore is run at night, on public roads, in about 80 per cent humidity at around 30 degrees, and it takes close to the two-hour maximum a Formula One race is allowed to last — longer than any other event on the calendar.

Cockpit temperatures reach the high fifties. Drivers lose three or four kilograms in fluid over a race, take more than a hundred gear changes a lap, and have concrete walls within a metre of the racing line for the entire distance. There are no run-off areas; a mistake ends the race.

Several drivers have needed medical attention afterwards. Teams put extra drinks bottles in the car and train specifically for it. It is the one race where fitness, rather than machinery, decides who is still going at the end.

The one Red Bull lost

Singapore 2023 is the only Grand Prix Red Bull failed to win all season, ending a fifteen-race streak that stretched back to the previous year. Carlos Sainz won for Ferrari, holding off three faster cars for the final laps by deliberately backing up the field to keep his pursuers within each other's DRS range — a piece of tactical driving that was talked about for the rest of the season.

Verstappen finished fifth. It was the only time in 2023 he failed to reach the podium in a race he completed.

In the range

Set 417231602 is his team-mate Logan Sargeant's car from the same race — limited to just 130 pieces.

Specifications

Scale: 1:43 · Resin · Protective display case · Limited edition · Age: 15+