After a record-breaking 10 consecutive wins, Max Verstappen’s Red Bull couldn’t handle the Singapore heat. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz took pole in qualifying and secured his second career win in Formula 1.
A fight up front
The race weekend brought a top-four battle as Sainz’s shredded tires slid across the black and white finish line ahead of McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari. Verstappen’s undefeated season-long dominance skidded to a stop — albeit a likely short-winded one — after failing to make it into the final qualifying round on Saturday. Verstappen’s 11th and Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez’s 13th starting position marked the first time since 2018 that neither Red Bull made it into the third qualifying shootout.
Sainz, in contrast, was on fire.
The Spanish driver topped two free practice rounds, qualifying and the race. He managed his tires on a scorching track, finding the balance between keeping a leading pace and reducing degradation. As he pushed through the final laps, Sainz kept the rubber on the racing line despite his front two wheels fading out.
In a show of sportsmanship uncharacteristic in the cut-throat world of F1, Sainz and McLaren’s Lando Norris helped each other secure the top two podium steps. As the Mercedes of George Russel and Lewis Hamilton closed in on the McLaren, Sainz eased off the gas, allowing his former teammate to enable the Drag Reduction System (DRS) and hold off the hovering competition.
“By giving him DRS I saved his P2 and by him defending as well as he did from Russell, he helped me to get P1,” Sainz said, praising Norris.
After years of Ferrari strategy blunders, Sainz took matters into his own hands.
"I slowed down just a bit to give him DRS into Turn 7 to hold them off and keep my race under control,” Sainz said. “It was my strategy and it worked and I’m glad it did.”
Jolyon Palmer, a race commentator and former F1 driver, pointed out that a flip has switched in team dynamics at Ferrari since the summer break. Sainz, consistently finishing in fifth place this season, has shown his frustration with team strategy calls and taken the reins. It seems to be working in his favor.
In the final laps, the number 55 driver’s race engineer radioed in to warn “Lando [Norris] 0.8 [seconds] behind with DRS.” Sainz responded with a deadpan, “Yeah, it’s on purpose.”
While Sainz basked in victory, Charles Leclerc lagged behind. As Russel’s race engineer analyzed mid-race, the team looked “like they’re going to sacrifice” the Ferrari driver.
Leclerc, coined “Il Predestinato” or “The Predestined” by Ferrari fans, has held a status as the favored driver in terms of strategy. However, the Monegasque’s future world champion potential seems to be slipping. Leclerc ranks sixth in the championship standings, behind his teammate in fifth and his own second-place rank last year.
He remained composed after the race, acknowledging his responsibility to keep the competition at bay. After a long pitstop and botched pitting strategy following Logan Sargeant’s Virtual Safety Car-inducing crash, Leclerc didn’t have much to offer. His biggest victory came on the final stretch where he held off Verstappen.
Russel’s mishap cost Mercedes a double top-four finish
Russel’s weekend was spotless until it wasn’t.
If Russel’s choked-up post-race interview was any indication, heartbreak was the only trophy the Mercedes driver took home. After grabbing third in the second free practice session and second place in both the third practice session and qualifying, Russel held strong in third throughout Sunday’s race. Clipping the wall, the Brit drove head-on into the barriers on the last lap.
Russel said tip-toeing over the limit left him looking like a rookie.
Lawson scored points for AlphaTauri
Despite Russel’s frustrated comments, rookies are raising the bar.
Sainz may have shined but Liam Lawson sparkled. The Super Formula driver, standing in for Daniel Ricciardo, knocked the reigning world champion out of the second qualifying session and finished ninth on Sunday.
After just three races in an F1 car, Lawson scored two points — out-scoring the former AlphaTauri driver, Nyck de Vries, who raced in 10 grands prix. The 21-year-old rookie is just one point behind Yuki Tsunoda who has called AlphaTauri home since 2021 and competed in 59 grands prix. Tsunoda retired in the first lap of the race.
While the majority of drivers have allowed Verstappen to breeze by, Lawson put up a fight. His defense had the Red Bull searching for a gap and offered a wheel-to-wheel battle for a few brief, sweet moments.
“He’s dispelling the rumor of rookies struggling,” Palmer said.
Lawson officially holds the highest grid finish for the Italian team this year. With a performance that left seasoned drivers and former F1 drivers beaming, the New Zealander is on the path to securing a full seat.
Off the back of an imposing race, Lawson still picked apart his performance.
“We just didn’t quite have the speed,” Lawson said. “The start was terrible and that’s on my side. I need to get on top of that because it’s now two weekends in a row that I’ve lost two spots off the line and it just makes our life more difficult.”
In a similarly calm, collected and critical fashion, Oscar Piastri jumped from 17th to seventh. The McLaren rookie was poised for a higher qualifying position just as Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin careened into the wall on Saturday. Despite a low starting grid position, his ability to finish within the points in his first Singapore Grand Prix was more than most could hope for.
Piastri is another example of a rookie defying the odds as he closes in on his teammate, Norris.
Japan brings a fresh start for Piastri, another chance for Lawson to wow and an opportunity to place Red Bull back in front.
Photo courtesy of Qian Jun/MB Media/Getty Images