The suspense for the ranking of the drivers’ world championship has not been revived, but the world of Formula 1 experienced a small earthquake and a renewed appeal on Sunday, September 17, during the Singapore Grand Prix. After five months of invincibility for Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and his ten successes in a row, it was Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) who won on the Marina Bay circuit after a fierce battle at the end of race.
Always threatening, even when he starts at the back of the grid, Verstappen was much less so in Singapore. Saturday’s qualifying, at the end of which the double Dutch world champion finished 11th, gave a glimpse of an RB19 in great difficulty against the other teams, and more particularly Ferrari and Mercedes. Author of a second pole position in a row, after the Monza Grand Prix at the beginning of September, Sainz took advantage of this reversal of the hierarchy to win.
The Spanish driver was not the only one who wanted to take advantage of the opening represented by Red Bull’s mistakes. But the start of the race was beneficial to him: his teammate Charles Leclerc, who moved from 3rd to 2nd place, was able to slow down the pursuers and let him gain some margin on the Marina Bay street circuit, where it is particularly difficult to exceed.
Despite the safety car after the retirements of Logan Sargeant (Williams) and Frenchman Esteban Ocon (Alpine) on the 20th and 43rd laps, Sainz was able to maintain his lead at the head of the race. Even when it became much more intense, when the two Mercedes drivers, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, changed tires to try to get victory in the final laps.
Ferrari’s first victory since July 2022
By insisting, Russell made a mistake in one of the last turns and said goodbye to a place on the podium, occupied by Lando Norris (2nd) and Hamilton (3rd) alongside Sainz. The latter won his second victory in Formula 1 after his success in Great Britain in July 2022. A week later, in Austria, Leclerc won the very last Grand Prix won by Ferrari.
The Italian team therefore waited more than a year before winning again. This victory represents a huge relief for her, as she goes through a complicated year 2023. The tears of Frédéric Vasseur, the boss of Ferrari since the start of the season, spoke volumes. Long criticized in recent seasons for its faulty racing strategies, which cost Sainz and Leclerc victories, Ferrari was able to perfectly manage the specificities of the Singapore circuit and the racing facts on Sunday to lead Sainz to victory.
“It’s an incredible feeling and an incredible weekend. I want to thank everyone at Ferrari for all the efforts made. We won the race and that will do us good, after a complicated start to the season,” said Carlos Sainz at the end of the race, aware of having benefited from a weekend without Red Bull.
After winning the last fifteen Formula 1 races, the Austrian team had to settle for Verstappen’s 5th place. The latter is still firmly anchored at the top of the drivers’ standings, with 374 points, far ahead of his teammate Sergio Pérez (223 points), who finished 8th, two places behind Pierre Gasly, the other French driver from the Alpine team ( 6?).
