Singapore Race Reaction
Image: F1 Media
Max Verstappen’s record-setting streak has come to an end this weekend at the Singapore Grand Prix as Ferrari takes a much-needed victory and points haul under the lights of the Marina Bay circuit. This was Carlos Sainz’s second win for the Scuderia, being on new form after the summer break. So, with the first non-Red Bull win since November 2022, let’s dive into what was a monumental weekend.
Qualifying
It was a qualifying session that would surprise us all, giving us the first non-Red Bull Q3 appearance since Russia 2018. Q1 was fair standard bar Lance Stroll’s massive crash at the end of the session. Yuki Tsunoda topped the timing sheets in the first session, with Sergio Perez and Hulkenberg trailing behind. Lance Stroll’s crash hindered the lap of Oscar Piastri who, on his first visit to Singapore, was knocked out in P17. Stroll’s crash was so severe, that the Canadian was advised to sit out the race.
Q2 was an equally exciting affair with both Red Bulls seemingly struggling with the tight and twisty streets of Marina Bay. Ferrari and Mercedes made excellent progress, with all their drivers making it safely through to Q3. ‘King of the Streets’ Sergio Perez spun on his final lap, placing him P13 on the grid. Max Verstappen nearly made it through to Q3 but failed to put in a sufficient lap and got knocked out by Alpha Tauri junior Liam Lawson, who wriggled his way to P10, eliminating the two-time world champion in the process.
Q3 was somewhat less chaotic, with Sainz clinching pole position and a rapid George Russell splitting the two Ferrari cars. Lando Norris put in an amazing lap to qualify P4 for McLaren, giving them a great shot at a podium. Both Haas cars managed to find their way into the top ten, with Kevin Magnussen an astonishing P6. This mixed-up grid set the scene for an exciting race with so many quick cars out of position.
Brakes on the Bulls
It was a weekend to forget for Red Bul as its 15-race-long winning streak came to an end last weekend. Having achieved history at the Italian Grand Prix with a record-breaking ten Grand Prix wins in a row, Verstappen seemed to never fully gel with his RB19 in Singapore, a strange sight from the formidable team from Milton Keynes.
Starting the race in P13 and P11, the Bulls focused their sights on a top-five finish. But alas, it was never meant to be. Verstappen got off to a great start but failed to make progress after overtaking the Haas cars. The top five, however, disappeared into the distance, with Sainz leading the pack.
Perez didn’t have the best Singapore Grand Prix, having won there just a year ago. Also racing in his 250th Grand Prix, the Mexican struggled to overtake the slower Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso and was overtaken by Esteban Ocon, in a rather lovely double-overtake.
The first stint was disastrous for Red Bull, as a safety car brought out by a crash from Logan Sargeant meant that the team would have lost much more time. The second stint was much better for Red Bull as the tyres finally rubbered in and the cars didn’t seem to slide about as much.
Whilst Perez came home an average P8, Verstappen fought his way through the pack to P5, just missing out on overtaking Charles Leclerc for P4, just three-tenths down the road.
This was only the second time in the last 26 Grands Prix that Red Bull failed to win, an impressive feat from a team that’s only been around for nearly two decades. We’re sure that Red Bull will be back to its current form in the following race in Suzuka.
The Horse Prances Again
Image: Scuderia Ferrari
With just one car on the podium in Monza, Ferrari was left with a bad taste in its mouth. Recent races have revealed Carlos Sainz to be the quicker of the two Ferraris, currently ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc by 19 points in the driver’s championship.
As was the case in Monza, Sainz was the quicker driver, leaving Charles Leclerc to battle the two Mercedes cars, who were equal on pace with the Scuderia.
Sainz was extremely quick, holding off an advance from Russell and from Leclerc. From the very first lap, it looked like Sainz had it under control. Meanwhile, Russell had lost a place to Leclerc at the start, placing Ferrari first and second on the opening lap.
Leclerc, despite his lightning-quick start, failed to make any more progress following a strategy blunder from Ferrari, which saw him sit stationary in his pitbox, allowing, Russell, Hamilton and Lando Norris to jump him in the pits.
After this affair, the Monegasque found himself in fifth, a decent margin behind his teammate. He was lucky to avoid being overtaken by Verstappen at the end but came home a rather disappointing fourth when a 1-2 was so easily within reach at one point.
Sainz was our driver of the weekend as he put in a stellar performance. Despite his tyres falling off a cliff in the closing stages of the race, Sainz managed to strategically keep Lando Norris within DRS range, as he kept the much quicker Mercedes behind.
History will see Sainz as the man who ended Red Bull’s dominant streak, whether he can keep it up will have to be seen.
Mighty Mercedes
Image: Mercedes F1
With 2023 proving an up-and-down season for Mercedes, both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell needed a weekend like Singapore. With the track favouring downforce over top speed, Mercedes were the unlikely favourites heading into the weekend.
Russell’s P2 in qualifying demonstrated the lightning-quick pace of the W14, with Hamilton not too far behind, starting P5.
The start was somewhat disappointing for Mercedes, with Russell losing that P2 and Hamilton cutting across to the runoff, ultimately giving back positions gained to Russell and Norris.
The Mercedes shone in the final chapter of the race when a virtual safety car for Esteban Ocon came out, allowing Mercedes to double stack for fresh tyres. Despite the time gap, both Russell and Hamilton made mincemeat of the completion, breezing last Leclerc and closing in on Norris in P2 and Sainz in the lead.
It was too close to call as for the final 15 laps, the top four cars were separated by just 1.5 seconds. With Leclerc fighting on his own with Verstappen for P5, Sainz reinforced to the team that his tyres were gone.
Russell and Hamilton followed fellow Brit Lando Norris very closely, who was aided by Sainz’s DRS. It was going so well until Russell clipped the wall on the final lap and was launched into the barriers. Classifying P16, Russell was distraught, having ruined a potential P2 finish and a good points haul for the team.
“(I’ve) no idea what happened, how that happened. Maybe a lack of concentration, maybe the frustration of knowing that was the last lap and the opportunity was gone.”
