Carlos Sainz WINS the Singapore Grand Prix ahead of Lando Norris in second and Lewis Hamilton in third
- Carlos Sainz has achieved the second F1 victory of his career in Singapore
- Lando Norris came in second, while Lewis Hamilton took third place
Max Verstappen’s long run of success came to an end under the Singapore lights when Carlos Sainz took Ferrari’s first win of the season with a perfect drive from pole position.
It was also the first non-Red Bull triumph of 2023, ending the superteam’s quest to become the first invincibles in Formula 1 history. Their form disappeared over the weekend without explanation, something that was previously thought impossible.
Verstappen finished fifth and scored 10 points. He cannot win the title in Japan next Sunday and will have to wait until Qatar on October 8. The procession, because that is still the case, could even head to Austin on October 22, with four races to go.
His teammate Sergio Perez finished eighth. The gap between the pair increased from 145 points to 151 with a maximum of 206 points.
Lando Norris finished second after a brilliant late duel with George Russell, who crashed in a crazy final phase on the last lap. Russell chased Sainz for much of the race but was never a life-threatening threat until the death throes when he gave it his all on medium tires but ultimately met his demise by clipping the wall. Russell’s crash allowed Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton to take third place.
Russell shouted ‘no’ over the radio as his hopes evaporated.
Sainz took the checkered flag 0.8 seconds ahead of Norris, who was 0.4 seconds behind Hamilton. “I had such good pace there at the end,” Hamilton said.
Russell’s best hope was a good start from second on the grid, but he got away relatively slowly, losing ground not only to Sainz but also to the other Ferrari of Charles Leclerc. Hamilton cut the opening chicane, but had to give places back to Russell and Hamilton.
The safety car came out on lap 20 when disaster kid Logan Sargeant hit the wall in Turn 1. Here Russell Leclerc jumped into the pits after the Ferraris were double stacked.
Red Bull kept Verstappen, who had started thirteenth and risen to eighth, out on the hard tires he had started on. Ditto Perez. What else could they do? Each was passed, by Russell and Hamilton respectively.
Sainz controlled the race with Russell second and slightly back, with Norris third and Hamilton fourth.
Mercedes pitted with 17 of 62 laps remaining when a virtual safety car was deployed for Alpine’s Estaban Ocon retirement, putting them on mediums in an attempt to use the faster rubber to their advantage. But they surrendered second and fourth for fourth and fifth during the attempt – on a track not known for its generosity in overtaking.
Russell was 18 seconds behind Sainz at this point. It was quite a task. The Ferrari had bags in reserve. Norris was second and Leclerc third when the race resumed. All three leading cars were hoping to come home on hard tires after their only stop at the Sargeant-inspired safety car phase.
Russell and Hamilton passed Leclerc and were chasing Norris and Sainz. It was nail biting. They were locked in a train, from start to finish, all at the limit.
We held our breath. Sainz, who controlled the race superbly, held the rubber which turned into ribbon. Russell wiped the wall. Hamilton advanced. Leclerc finished fourth.