BETTER PARTSVerstappen's disappointing performance makes Singapore the best race of 2023
Sainz breaks Red Bull's winning streak
The Dutch and Belgians of course like to see Verstappen win, but it is quite nice to see Verstappen in a difficult race. Especially now that the championship is more or less in the bag. So we really see Verstappen working again, and we also see the other drivers driving at the front again. The race in Singapore was once again really worth watching.
After the start, Hamilton shoots off the track and reenters the track ahead of his teammate, taking third place. It seems clear that Hamilton should give his place back to Russell, but he does not do this. Russell rightly asks over the on-board radio whether he will get his seat back. Ultimately, the two Mercedes switch positions again, but not without a critical note from Russell.
Max Verstappen is stubborn
Tsunoda soon drops out due to a flat tire. In the meantime, Verstappen is quietly fighting his way through the field, but not calmly enough. During lap thirteen, when he has overtaken three drivers, he is told on the radio that he is asking too much of his tires. He does not seem to immediately respond to this, because his lap times hardly change and three laps later he receives the same message.
Sargeant in the wall
On lap twenty, Logan Sargeant fails to make the corner and smashes his front wing into the wall. The car is still running and with a loose front wing he drives to the pit lane with a shower of sparks. There will be a yellow flag to clear things up and that is the starting signal for many teams to make a pit stop. Due to the crowds, Leclerc's pit stop takes a very long time and he loses two places.
Red Bull stays outside and that means Verstappen moves into second place, but he has to go in again. So it seems to be unfavorable for the Red Bulls. Alonso suffers from understeer when entering the pit, causing him to cross the line and receive a penalty. It doesn't take long before Russell overtakes Verstappen's Red Bull. Norris follows not much later. On lap 28 Leclerc also passes.
Not fun for Verstappen, but fun for the race
Red Bull has more than enough lead to experience a setback. And to be honest: it made the race more fun. Take lap 37, where Ocon and Alonso were on Pérez's bumper. And it is also cool to see that Ferrari is finally performing well again and that two different teams are hot on Sainz's heels.
The pit stop for Red Bull
In the end, Pérez and Verstappen go in and lose a lot of places. Shortly afterwards, Ocon's car stopped on lap 44. A virtual safety car was introduced. Albon, Russell, Hamilton and Alonso go inside. Alonso has a bad pit stop and then steers straight through a bend; he eventually falls back to P17.
The final phase
Towards the end of the race there is still a lot of fighting for the podium places. Sainz is in the lead on lap sixty, but Norris, Russell and Hamilton are close behind. Russell tries to overtake on the last lap, but then shoots into the wall. After almost leading the entire race, Sainz deservedly took the victory.
Norris manages to hold on to second place and Hamilton is behind him again. Verstappen comes close to Leclerc at the end, but the Ferrari driver holds on to his place and finishes fourth. Verstappen still takes fifth place.
Singapore GP 2023 results
- Sainz02. Norris03. Hamilton04. Leclerc05. Verstappen06. Gasly07. Piastri08. Pérez09. Lawson10. Magnussen11. Albon12. Zhou13. Hulkenberg14. Sargeant15. Alonso16. Russell17. Bottas18. Ocon19. Tsunoda