Sainz, who took his second career victory, led the race from start to finish. On Saturday the Spaniard took pole position and on Sunday he didn’t let anyone overtake him at the start.

At the start of the race, Monegasque Charles Leclerc of Ferrari took second place and the two drivers of this team quickly gained an advantage of more than 1.5 seconds over the third Briton, George Russell of Mercedes.

Dramatic ending. Bad luck for Russell

However, at the end of the race, it turned out that Russell was not destined for the podium that day. On the last, 62nd lap, the Briton, who was in third place, went off the track, hit the safety barrier and did not finish the race. It was only thanks to this that seven-time world champion Hamilton rose to third place.

The Singapore race ended the dominance of this year’s season by Red Bull drivers, who had won all previous rounds. Before Singapore, Verstappen won twelve victories, ten of them in a row, and two – the Mexican Sergio Perez, the second in the Mercedes team. In Singapore, Verstappen finished fifth and Perez eighth.

ROUND 62/62

“Agggghhhhhh, no, no!!!!”

Russell is in the barriers and out! #F1 #SingaporeGP pic.twitter.com/4h8ybvTy1F

– Formula 1 (@F1) September 17, 2023

Ferrari has long awaited a triumph

Ferrari won for the first time in 26 races. They had already won the Austrian GP in 2022, when Leclerc was fastest. And Sainz recorded his second F1 triumph, he also won the British GP at Silverstone for the first time last season.

In Singapore, after the first six laps, Sainz was in the lead, followed by Leclerc, Russell, Norris and Hamilton. Verstappen, starting from 11th position, was chasing the leaders. The Dutchman quickly moved up three places, but later he could not overtake Frenchman Esteban Ocon from Alpine for a long time.

There was some confusion during lap 20 when Williams’ American Logan Sargeant hit the safety barrier and a safety car appeared on the track. By then, most drivers had changed tires, with only Verstappen, Perez and Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Botas remaining on the old ones. Thanks to this, Sainz remained in the lead, but Verstappen took second place and Perez fourth.

However, both Red Bull drivers had seriously worn tires and lost positions in the following laps. On lap 32, Verstappen reported on the radio that he was “driving like on ice”, but his team decided not to change his car’s tires. When it finally happened on lap 41, the Dutchman returned to the track in 15th position and Perez in 18th.

Our first victory of 2023!! 👏 Does it feel good or what?! 💪#SingaporeGP 🇸🇬 pic.twitter.com/b7x9EP57QF

– Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) September 17, 2023

Max Verstappen off the podium this time

Later, the world champion systematically overtook his rivals, and ultimately he was sixth for a long time. Verstappen’s fifth place in Singapore was down to Russell, who was unable to keep up with Sainz’s pace in the end. And he was already very, very close to the Spaniard, sometimes only 0.3 seconds behind his rival.

A fierce fight for the podium took place over the last ten laps. The fastest of this group was Leclerc, who was overtaken by Russell and Hamilton on laps 53 and 54. Later, Norris pressed Sainz, but he fought back. And Russell didn’t finish at his own request, even though he and Hamilton had the best tires on the entire grid.

Verstappen is still leader in the F1 World Championship standings – 374 points. Perez is second – 223. Hamilton advanced to third place – 180 points, ahead of Spaniard Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – 170 points. Alonso finished 15th in Singapore.

The next round of the F1 World Championship’s round of 16 will be the Japanese GP at Suzuka on September 24.

Max Verstappen gained 18 seconds in *just* 5 laps

Unreal performance, unreal driver. pic.twitter.com/aWjN4rz2Z0

– Verstappen News (@verstappenews) September 17, 2023

Singapore GP results:

1. Carlos Sainz (Spain/Ferrari) 1:46:37.418
2. Lando Norris (GB/McLaren) 0.812 seconds behind
3. Lewis Hamilton (GB/Mercedes) 1,269
4. Charles Leclerc (Monaco/Ferrari) 21,177
5. Max Verstappen (Netherlands/Red Bull) 21,441
6. Pierre Gasly (France/Alpine) 38,441
7. Oscar Piastri (Australia/McLaren) 41,479
8. Sergio Pérez (Mexico/Red Bull) 54,534
9. Liam Lawson (New Zealand/AlphaTauri) 1:05.918
10. Kevin Magnussen (Denmark/Haas) 1.12.116
World Championship ranking (after 15 races out of 22):
1. Max Verstappen (Netherlands/Red Bull) 374 points
2. Sergio Pérez (Mexico/Red Bull) 223
3. Lewis Hamilton (GB/Mercedes) 180
4. Fernando Alonso (Spain/Aston Martin) 170
5. Carlos Sainz (Spain/Ferrari) 142
6. Charles Leclerc (Monaco/Ferrari) 123
7. George Russell (GB/Mercedes) 109
8. Lando Norris (GB/McLaren) 97
9. Lance Stroll (Canada/Aston Martin) 47
10. Pierre Gasly (France/Alpine) 45
Manufacturer ranking:
1. Red Bull 597 points
2.Mercedes 289
3. Ferrari 265
4. Aston Martin 217
5. McLaren139
6. Alpine 81

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/ empe, PAP