2023-09-17 14:45:00
A perplexed Max Verstappen crashes and Carlos Sainz liberates Formula 1: Red Bull’s great winning streak ended with a clear defeat in Singapore, the dream of the perfect season is gone – and the premier class finally has another winner once more: Sainz gave Ferrari triumphed in the night race, for the first time this year the winner is not in the Red Bull.
And the world champion racing team was miles away from the podium. After ten victories in a row, Verstappen crossed the finish line in fifth place, while teammate Sergio Perez only finished eighth – just a few championship points for the team that had Formula 1 in a headlock since the beginning of the year.
Pole-sitter Sainz took the first Ferrari victory since July 2022, Lando Norris celebrated second place in the McLaren ahead of Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton. Nico Hülkenberg missed the points in 13th place.
Verstappen and Perez, meanwhile, struggled with the sliding Red Bull, which usually works so well on every track. “It’s like I’m driving on ice,” Verstappen radioed to the pits at times.
Verstappen still clearly ahead
None of this has any major impact on the title fight; Verstappen still leads Perez by a large margin. Not at the race next Sunday in Japan, but at the following Grand Prix in Qatar (October 8th), the Dutchman might perfect his third title in a row.
Even before the race, Verstappen didn’t even want to talk regarding his chances of winning; he had already failed in qualifying before the final section. “You can forget that,” he said, “on other routes it might be possible, but here you can’t overtake.”
However, from eleventh place, Verstappen made up the first positions quite early and was eighth following six laps. Something happened right at the start too. Charles Leclerc, who had the advantage on the soft tires, passed George Russell in the Mercedes before the first corner, and Ferrari completed the first laps with a double lead. Sainz in front of Leclerc, behind Russell, Norris and Hamilton.
Russell crashes in the final lap
Little happened now, the pilots kept a safe distance, but there were hardly any major gaps. It was also a poker game with a view to a possible safety car phase – and that came following just 20 laps. Logan Sargeant crashed into the barriers with his Williams and left behind numerous pieces of debris on the way into the pits, and the safety car was deployed.
Almost all drivers changed their tires for the first time, but Red Bull decided not to: both were on long-lasting hard tires. This maneuver pushed Verstappen and Perez up to second and fourth place – but following the restart, both had no chance. Russell, Norris, Hamilton and Leclerc passed Verstappen in quick succession; Verstappen had only been overtaken on the track once in the entire season. The RB19 looked like an average car at this stage.
Verstappen was only sixth – and hadn’t stopped yet. The gaps at the front were still small, but all podium candidates were extremely careful not to need another stop and conserved their tires. Only in the final phase did they let go of their restraint, the top four raced close together through the final laps – and Russell threw away his podium place with a late crash.
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