.png "os2 trasparenza (1)")
The 2023 Singapore Grand Prix is the fifteenth round of the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship season, which will take place on Sunday 17th September at the Marina Bay circuit. Having reached more than half of the Championship, it is time for analysis and possible predictions about the manufacturers' and drivers' rankings. The Austrian team Red Bull Racing can become world constructors' champion for the sixth time in their history and the second in a row at this event. The Milton Keynes team have a 310-point advantage in the standings over second-placed Mercedes. The title will come if a double will be achieved with the bonus for the fastest lap, for a total of 44 points, with Mercedes gaining one point. If Red Bull Racing achieve a one-two without the fastest lap, for a total of 43 points, and Mercedes fail to obtain points, the Milton Keynes team's advantage will be equal to the number of points still obtainable in the season, 353, but Mercedes will not be able to win in the event of a tied finish due to Red Bull Racing's more victories in the season against the German manufacturer. No team in the history of Formula 1 have ever won the championship with seven races remaining. The current record is held jointly by McLaren, in 1988, and by Ferrari, in 2004, who won with five races to spare. In the most recent cycles the record belongs to Mercedes who won the title with four races to spare, in 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2020. Starting from this Grand Prix, the Federation imposes a new technical directive, TD018, which impacts the flexibility of the wings and bottom of the cars. It is the second regulation to come into force after the regulatory change valid from the previous season, followed by the technical directive TD039 introduced on the eve of the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix. According to article 3.2.2 of the technical regulations, it is established that all aerodynamic components that influence the performance of the single-seaters must be rigidly fixed and immobile with respect to their reference frame. These components must also produce a uniform, continuous, solid, hard and waterproof surface in all circumstances. The new directive also defines new constraints for the design of wings and supports. Tuesday September 5, 2023, the Federation announces that, during 2022, all teams respected the $141.2 million budget cap. Unlike last year for the controversial 2021 season, the Cost Cap Administration reports that it has completed its review of the reporting documentation submitted by the teams and has issued certificates of compliance to all ten teams. In the previous championship, Red Bull Racing was fined and penalized in the use of the wind tunnel, for this season, due to irregularities found in the 2021 balance sheet. On the eve of the Singapore Grand Prix the top of the drivers' standings, Max Verstappen, defines himself as curious to discover how the new Marina Bay layout will influence the driving and performance of the single seaters:
"I'm looking forward to the night race in Singapore. Marina Bay is a cool circuit. This year it will be interesting to see how the revised track layout will impact the general behavior and set up of the car, I think the lap times will be much quicker. Singapore is probably going to be the most challenging weekend out of the upcoming races as the stakes are heightened on a street circuit and the field is usually very close, not to mention the heat and humidity. Last year we had a very unlucky weekend, hopefully this year it will go a bit better, and we'll of course do our best to make sure we score maximum points this weekend".
Sergio Perez proudly remembers the great race he completed last year in Singapore, calling it one of the best races of his career:
"I am looking forward to going back to Singapore, last season was probably one of the best races of my career. It was such a hard one to navigate, with the heat, the track conditions and the concentration that is required around a street circuit. Of course, I would love to repeat the win but it will be tricky, the new track layout is going to do things quicker in sector three and there will be rain, so it could be fun ! This weekend is my 250th race in Formula One and I never would have imagined I would race an F1 car that many times when I started my career. It has been a dream, and I am proud to have represented Mexico all over the world for this many years and I would love to give them another win this Sunday. I have a one-off helmet to mark the moment and I think it's going to look very special under the lights at night".
At Ferrari, Team Principal Frédéric Vasseur says he is confident in the difference that a single driver can make on street circuits:
"We go racing again at a circuit that could not be more different to Monza. The Marina Bay track requires a high level of aerodynamic downforce, to particularly efficient car in terms of traction and one that is well balanced, to give the drivers the confidence required to race between the walls in Singapore. Like all street circuits, the driver can really make a big difference here. We have done plenty of preparation work in the simulator and now the key will be for Carlos and Charles to do as many laps as possible in free practice, to extract all the potential from the SF-23. In Monza, we had a really exciting and positive race, and we want to continue that trend this weekend in Singapore, aiming to once again pick up plenty of points".
On Singapore, Carlos Sainz Jr. analyzes the Marina Bay circuit as one of the most stressful for the tyres, an element to therefore keep under control also in terms of strategy:
"Here there is more stress on the tires, which it's a tricky one topic for us and it's also a high downforce track, so I expect a very close race, where the smallest detail can make the difference. Some teams that were behind us in Monza will be on ours level here, I know it will be vital to do everything right to make the most of ours potential. I like the Singapore track a lot, but this Grand Prix has plenty of pitfalls. First and foremost, it's a very long race, in suffocatingly hot conditions and you have to concentrate from the first to last lap, because the walls are always there to catch you out. I won't deny it can sometimes be good to have a Safety Car here, because it gives you a chance to catch yours breathe and relax for a moment. If the race is red flagged, then you can cool down and drink something that doesn't feel like hot tea which is what the drink we have on board flavors like after just five or six laps. It's pretty disgusting, but you need to keep hydrated, so you drink it anyway".
The Monegasque Charles Leclerc declares himself enthusiastic about returning to one of his favorite circuits and claims that it will be necessary to focus heavily on qualifying:
"As you know, I love street circuits, and this is undoubtedly one of my favorites. But its characteristics will probably note suit our car that well, because in the past it has performed inconsistently on high downforce tracks. Better to keep our feet on the ground, see how free practice goes and then we will have a clearer understanding. I think that in qualifying, the driver can make a difference. Whereas when it comes to the race, it's more a question of the overall execution from the team. I expect that, between the next five teams in the classification behind Red Bull, the gaps will be very small both on Saturday and on Sunday and it will be particularly important to prepare everything down to the smallest detail. Both in Zandvoort and Monza, we learned a lot as a team about the behavior of the SF-23 and I'm sure that here, we will make the most of the information we acquired. The goal for this weekend is to execute each phase as well as possible and if we do, then we can see how many points we can bring home”.
At Mercedes, the first statements come directly from Toto Wolff, who reflects on the importance of the points obtained in Monza for consolidating in the constructors' championship:
"We maximized the result in Monza with the package we had. That will be important across the rest of the season to secure second in the Constructors '. At a circuit that didn't necessarily suit the characteristics of our car, we were still competitive. It's encouraging to see that the W14 is performing well across a range of tracks. We've had some time to debrief an intense double header and we're now heading into another one. Singapore is a unique challenge for every team. The hot and humid conditions are tough on the drivers, team members and the cars. It's a bumpy track and there are some changes to the layout for this one year, too. It should make the lap more flowing and slightly kinder on the tires. The battle with us nearest competitors is incredibly close. It's hard to predict just how the order will shake out each weekend. Nonetheless, we typically perform better on high downforce tracks, so we're hopeful of a competitive showing".
On Friday, September 15, 2023, first day of free practice, becomes clear that he new layout of the Marina Bay Street Circuit drastically reduces the lap time. Thanks to the cut-out of the four corners from the harbour section that also included a grandstand, it takes ten seconds less than before to drivers to complete a full lap and it also gives the drivers one more chance of overtaking at the braking point of Turn 16. The lap time reduction is immediately clear thanks to the fastest man of free practice 1, Charles Leclerc, who clocks a time of 1'33"350, just 78 thousandths of a second ahead of his teammate Carlos Sainz. Ferrari is already looking strong but FP2 will definitely give a better insight to what the real potential of the Maranello-based team is. This excellent performance may be partially motivated by the new front wing brought by Ferrari to Singapore, even though they are not the only team to have fit their car with upgrades. In fact, many teams have decided to evolve their cars for F1’s most famous night race, both technically and aesthetically. Among those, McLaren has nearly introduced a new spec of their car: new bodywork, aerodynamic surfaces and suspensions and a new stealth livery with black as the main colour instead of papaya. Alpha Tauri has new floor, diffuser, sidepods, and mirrors, Alpine new inlets and cooling louvres, while Alfa Romeo has gone for a more conservative approach, by only bringing a new floor. However, a not-so-positive debut for it as on track action sees Zhou Guanyu, who has renovated his contract for the 2024 season, smell smoke out of his Alfa Romeo as some kind of damage or technical failure has occurred and cut his session short. George Russell does not go easy on Sergio Perez after he is impeded by the Mexican driver at turn 3. Finally, several yellow flags are waved due to unusual track invasions: some giant lizards cross the track and drivers have to be notified.
Scuderia Ferrari extends its domination on Friday with another 1-2 in FP2. However, this time the bragging rights belong to Carlos Sainz Jr., as the Spaniard takes off a whole second from his teammate’s lap time to set a 1'32"120 and finish the day in first position. Still, Leclerc is very closely behind, with a gap of just 0.018s FP2 is the first representative session of the weekend, since it is held at night like both qualifying and the race. And in racing conditions Ferrari seems to have something more than the other teams, even though the classification is quite short, as Russell sits in third place just 0.235s behind Leclerc. Sainz is also impeded by a slow Verstappen after the bridge at Turn 13, with the two being a little too close for comfort. The weekend has started badly for Red Bull: both drivers find difficulties in setting up the car and cannot seem to find an effective solution, especially Perez who is struggling with a very loose rear. On the other hand, Mercedes appears on form as both drivers put their cars on the edge: Hamilton rides over the kerb and goes out at Turn 7, while Russell has risky opposite lock at the last turn, showcasing impressive car control. With Singapore being a street circuit and drivers progressively finding the limit in practice, there is not a shortage of barrier tap highlights, as it occurs to Magnussen and Ocon at Turns 3 and 4 respectively, whilst Stroll brushes the wall at Turn 13. A difficult day for Williams, which is sporting a special light-blue livery to celebrate their new partnership with Gulf, and which is going to be used for the next three races. In fact, Alex Albon is able to complete only five laps completed due to a power unit problem, while Logan Sargeant goes out in the run-off area at turn 18 due to a dangerous snap of oversteer. After a fantastic pole position and a podium in Monza, Carlos Sainz Jr. seems ready to continue his excellent streak:
"A positive Friday. The car seemed to be in the right window from the very first lap in FP1 so we kept focused on fine tuning the set-up during the second session. I expect the track to improve for tomorrow, so we should have higher grip and then we’ll see how much our competitors and ourselves can improve for qualifying".
After switching positions with his teammate in the two free practice session, Charles Leclerc is almost (positively) surprised by his car’s competitiveness but stays grounded, since he knows the rivals are ready to exploit what might be the only chance left by Red Bull to win a race this year:
"It was quite a good day. The car looks a bit more competitive than we had expected on a track like this, but we shouldn’t get carried away because I think that our competitors are not showing their true pace yet. We will work on optimising the balance on my side overnight and I’m sure we will see some further improvements for tomorrow".
Mercedes is right there with Ferrari. George Russell has the bragging rights over Lewis Hamilton as he finishes his Friday on the virtual podium:
"It was a very positive Friday for us overall. The car is feeling really good around the circuit. It definitely improved in the cooler temperatures of FP2 but equally, it still felt decent in the slightly unrepresentative conditions of FP1. The times were very tight between several cars. Ferrari looked quick, particularly on the single lap. The long run performance across a number of competitors was also strong but we can be optimistic heading into the weekend. We will do our usual work overnight and hopefully find some improvements heading into Saturday. I am really enjoying the new track layout. It makes the final sector, and the lap as a whole, much more flowing. It definitely improves the experience behind-the-wheel and should help create better racing on Sunday. The new track surface in turns one to five is also an improvement".
Lewis Hamilton praises both the work done on the circuit in terms of layout and track surface and the work done on his car, which has allowed him to complete what is, according to him, one of the best sessions of the year. The result is P5 just a couple of tenths away from his teammate and the seven-time world champion feels there is more margin for improvement:
"It's been a great day here in Singapore. They have done an amazing job with the track changes; I love driving this circuit now more than ever. The new track surface is great, and it made the track even more enjoyable to drive. Then the removal of the four corners near the end of the lap has absolutely perfected the circuit. It's incredible to drive. In terms of our day overall, FP1 was solid. We were still a little bit off where we wanted to be, but it wasn't too bad. FP2 was for sure the best FP2 session I've had this year. It was nice to finish a Friday feeling so positive. I think we've got a good platform to build off for the rest of the weekend. It's the best I've felt from a Friday this year, so I hope we can do some good work overnight, as we always tend to do, and continue to improve".
Ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix the FIA has introduced a new technical directive (TD018) which tightened the restrictions on flexible aerodynamic parts. Among those who have the most ‘flexible cars’ there is Red Bull, which is struggling here in the first Grand Prix of the Asian tour. Another problem could be the increased ride height necessary for a street circuit with high kerbs, but what is for sure is that neither Max Verstappen can seem to wrap his head around the problems of his car, all resulting in lack of confidence and in a final P8 which is very odd for the team and the driver that have been dominating the season so far:
"Our performance today was unexpected. We tried quite a few different things in FP2 and some worked, and some didn’t. We never really got the car together today, I struggled with the balance especially, so there are quite a few things to work on with the Team tonight. I will of course try to improve tomorrow but there's quite a gap, the Ferrari’s are looking fast. Let's see what improvements we can make overnight".
Sergio Perez is in the same situation of his teammate, despite Red Bull having brought upgrades to Singapore. Those include a new rear wing and a refined floor edge, which seems not to have any effect on the car’s overall performance. The Mexican driver places just ahead of Verstappen at the end of FP2:
"I think there are some interesting bits going on that we need to figure out overnight. We seem to be struggling quite a bit with the rear end of the car, especially in FP2. There are plenty of things to look at and hopefully we can come up with the best possible set-up before quali. We did expect the Ferrari to be good around here, but we are just too far away. All being well, we should be able to close the gap a bit more tomorrow, it will be quite a big challenge. The main thing is to improve the balance because right now we are too far off".
On Saturday, September 16, 2023, in Singapore there is a lot of excitement before the start of the FP3 and then the qualifying. It is particularly cloudy on the Marina Bay circuit and track temperature is 39 °C. Green lights turn on and the FP3 begins and the teams are getting ready to start this session without any rush. Sainz Jr. also confirmed himself as the fastest driver in Saturday's free practice session. The Spaniard was 68 thousandths ahead of Russell, while Norris took third place, ahead of Verstappen and Leclerc. Ferrari concentrated on improving their race performance, also using medium compound tyres in the session. Red Bull Racing, despite recovering positions compared to the previous day's sessions, still had problems with rear wheel skidding, highlighted at the time of the changes. A few hours later, in Q1 Sargeant set the first qualifying time, beaten by Kevin Magnussen. The Dane is soon beaten, in turn, by Norris, who precedes Pérez by seven thousandths. Further back is Verstappen, three tenths off. The Ferraris set the fourth fastest time with Sainz Jr., while Leclerc took the top spot (1'32"523). George Russell lowered the limit in 1'32"478, while Hamilton was fifth, less than two tenths off his teammate's time. Gasly, sixth, set the best time in the third sector. Norris then climbs to second, before Max Verstappen closes with a 1'32"398, his best performance. The Red Bull Racing driver's time is, shortly afterwards, bettered by Sainz Jr. He is unable to beat the time of Spaniard Leclerc, who remains third. The top ten drivers are within just 385 thousandths of each other. The track improved steadily, so that, in the last minutes of the session, all the drivers were forced to rejoin the track, which also led to dangerous situations, with many cars proceeding slowly on their launch lap, while others, already on their fast lap, came in. Sargeant, who narrowly avoids contact with Max Verstappen, climbs to sixth, while the Alfa Romeos are further back. Yuki Tsunoda climbs first, while Hülkenberg takes second. Ocon climbs to fifth, before Pérez moves up to second. The arrival of the last drivers, however, is derailed by an accident involving Lance Stroll. The Aston Martin driver loses control of the car at the last corner, finishing at high speed against the barriers. The single-seater bounces back onto the track, destroyed.
The driver is unhurt, but the session, which had already seen the display of the chequered flag, is finally interrupted, with a red flag. Bottas, Piastri, Sargeant, Zhou and Stroll himself are eliminated. In the second phase Verstappen is the first driver to finish the lap, in 1'32"307. The world champion is immediately preceded by Kevin Magnussen (1'32"170). Then it is Lando Norris' turn to take the lead, with 1'31"951, beaten, in turn, by Sainz Jr. in 1'31"893. Leclerc, on his part, was third. Sainz Jr.'s time also lasted a short time as the best performance. Fernando Alonso, in fact, takes the limit to 1'31"835. Russell did even better than the Aston Martin driver, with 1'31"743; Hamilton, who had equalled Alonso's time to the thousandth in Q1, finished fifth. Verstappen, after being put under investigation for impeding Sargeant in Q1, is further investigated for impeding Tsunoda in this session. The World Champion undergoes a third investigation for stopping, in pit lane, in front of the green light. Pérez, meanwhile, makes a mistake, in his final attempt, does not improve, and is eliminated. Hülkenberg climbs to sixth, while Verstappen is only tenth; the arrival of Liam Lawson eliminates him, by just seven thousandths. No Red Bull Racing thus entered the decisive phase. Finally Sainz Jr. obtained the best performance of the second phase: 1'31"439. In addition to the two Austrian cars, Gasly, Albon and Tsunoda do not enter the final phase. The stewards also investigate Leclerc, for allegedly failing to observe the yellow flags, displayed in Q2, at the time of Sergio Pérez's mistake. The Monegasque was acquitted. In the decisive phase, after the times of the two Haas, Alonso took the lead, who, in turn, ceded the first position to Norris. The other Spaniard, Sainz Jr., does better, finishing his first attempt in 1'31"170, just ahead of Leclerc. The Ferraristi and Norris are the only drivers to use new soft tyres, in the first fast lap of the session. Russell is fourth, while Lewis Hamilton closes with the fifth fastest time. With the second attempt all the drivers use a set of new tyres. Sainz Jr. improves in the first sector, as does Norris, who, however, is slower than the Spanish driver. Leclerc also improves his time, compared to the first attempt, but remains behind his team-mate. Magnussen closes with the fourth fastest time; Sainz Jr. is slower in the second sector, but still maintains an advantage over Norris and Leclerc. Sainz Jr. clocked 1'30"984, with Norris finishing second, preceded by Leclerc. Who does better than the Monegasque driver is Russell who finishes just 0"072 from Sainz Jr..
Alexander Albon had a time cancelled by the stewards for not respecting the track limits during qualifying (at turn 19). At the end of qualifying, Logan Sargeant is summoned by the stewards for obstructing Lance Stroll at Turn 8, during Q1. The American Williams driver receives a reprimand, the first of the season, and the British manufacturer is fined €5.000 by the Federation. Max Verstappen is summoned for obstructing cars as they were leaving the pit lane, during Q1, for obstructing Sargeant between Turn 17 and Turn 18, during Q1, and for obstructing Yuki Tsunoda between Turn 3 and Turn 4, during Q2. The Dutch driver of Red Bull Racing, received, in the first case, a reprimand, the first of the season, in the second case no sanction, while in the third case another reprimand, the second of the season, with the Austrian manufacturer fined 5.000 euros by the Federation. Carlos Sainz Jr. took his fifth career pole position, the second of the season as well as the second consecutive pole position for the first time in his career. For Ferrari it is the two hundred and forty-sixth first-place start in history, the fourth in the championship as well as the second in a row, the third consecutive at the Singapore Grand Prix. Says the Spanish rider, at the end of qualifying:
"It feels great to get pole position here on the streets of Singapore! Yesterday we already saw we were competitive and I think we’ve done a good job building up to qualifying. Q3 was super tight but we managed to pull off good clean laps and grab that P1! The race won’t be easy due to the degradation but it is key to stay focused today and prepare well for tomorrow. The team has been working flat out and we deserve a good result. We’ll definitely go for it".
Frédéric Vasseur, Ferrari's Team Principal, adds:
"This pole position and our overall qualifying performance, is down to the fact that every aspect of this weekend has gone well with all the team, both at the track and back in Maranello, doing a very good job right from free practice. Our drivers have topped every time sheet and tonight, Carlos put it all together to take a brilliant and well deserved pole position. As was the case in Monza, qualifying was very closely contested, so that even though Charles was less than a tenth slower than his team-mate, he had to settle for third place. It will be a long race tomorrow and strategy management will be key. We will focus on our race, on tyre management, paying attention to the slightest detail at every point in the race, while being ready to take advantage if any of our competitors slip up".
Leclerc finds they had a strong performance over the weekend:
"We've looked quite strong all weekend and it's positive to see such good performance today. Usually, we've been strong in Singapore, so we know that we shouldn't get carried away. We've learned a few things at the last race and will try to take step forward using those learnings for the rest of the season. In Q3, I made a small error in turn 17, so it wasn't enough for pole, but we have great starting positions as a team and will work on putting some pressure on George (Russel) between us".
Lando Norris finds today is a good result for McLaren:
"A very good day for us today. I'm very happy with P4. I was close to the front - two-tenths - but there was not two-tenths in it today. I felt like I got everything out of it, so I'm very happy. The team have done a great job, so I'm proud of everyone. We're in a good position tomorrow to score some good points. The race is always very tricky around here, so we're not getting ahead of ourselves, but we have a good enough car to challenge, and we'll see what we can do".
While Oscar says to be deeply disappointed during the interview because he thinks he could have made to get into Q2.
"Obviously, it was a disappointing qualifying, however, I'm glad to see that Stroll is okay. Unfortunately, there's not much more we could have done due to the Red Flag. Our first run was okay, a little bit scrappy, and then we had an issue with traffic starting the final run, but I think it would have been good enough to get us into Q2. We'll see if we can go forward tomorrow, it's going to be tricky to get points, but that doesn't mean we can't try our hardest".
Andrea Stella, McLaren’s Team Principal, finds today was a quite intense session:
"An eventful intense qualifying session here in Singapore, producing an unusual final grid. Oscar was unfortunately out in Q1, as we were caught out by the Red Flag. It's great to see that Stroll is okay but it meant Oscar couldn't progress. On Lando's side, thanks to the upgrades he has this weekend, we were able to get into Q3, where he extracted everything from the car and took a spot on the second row. Once again, I want to thank the team for the massive effort that made it possible. We're expecting a long and busy race and want to not only score heavily with Lando but also find a way to get Oscar back into the points".
George Russell is satisfied with their performance over the weekend:
"I've been really happy with this weekend as a whole. I've felt confident in the car and the team did a great job with the tyre strategy. We are on an offset strategy compared to everybody else, so we have an extra set of Medium tyres tomorrow which nobody around us has. So, to get to Q3, and then the front row, with just four sets of tyres and a strategic advantage, that's an exciting place to be. It was a challenging session in the car - sitting in the garage, it's like being in a sauna, and you just need to keep your composure and stay cool. The same will be true tomorrow: traditionally this has been a one-stop race, but the new circuit layout has possibly changed that. I think it's going to be close between a one- and a two-stop, and with that extra Medium tyre available, we can put pressure on Ferrari and try and force an error to get the upper hand. That's what we're looking for".
Lewis Hamilton underlines how they were able to challenge the Ferraris thanks to the car:
"The car was feeling incredible yesterday and we had hoped that with some tweaks, we'd be able to challenge the Ferraris. We made some pretty big changes overnight, and it just came away from me again, and we didn't have the speed today. It's obviously disappointing, especially because we clearly had a great package here and George was able to get on the front row. But tomorrow is a new day - and there is a lot to fight for. I hope George gets a great start tomorrow and puts some pressure on Ferraris; it would be great for him to get the win. On my side, I will be pushing to the maximum to go forward and see how the race unfolds in front".
And Mercedes' Team Principal, Toto Wolff, adds:
"I think we outperformed ourselves today. Singapore is a Ferrari track - they were strong here last year, too - so to get within a tenth of pole with George is fantastic. Lewis struggled more with the car, but we still have two cars in the top five, and that promises an exciting race tomorrow. As for our expectations in the race, we have got to stay humble and do the work tonight. I hope it's not going to be an easy, one-stop, cruise into the sunset - and we have a potential advantage with the second Medium tyre that none of the other teams have. So I think everything is possible - and the weather may a part - it's going to be an exciting evening tomorrow".
It is an incredibly bad day for Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen. The floor tested on Friday did not give the desired results, and the short time to work on the set-up did not allow the Dutch driver to get a good result in qualifying:
"It hasn’t been a great weekend for us so far, qualifying was hectic. I couldn’t break late and hard because I would bottom out, I’ve also been struggling with the low speed corners, we just had no rear support. It is of course very hard to pass in Singapore on the street circuit so I’m not expecting a lot tomorrow. We’ve had so many successful weekends this year, we can be proud of what we have achieved so far. It’s more important that we understand where we are going wrong this weekend".
Sergio Perez is completely disappointed with the result because this is not what they have expected. He explains that the issues were mainly the changes made to the cars:
"I had a complete disaster, I am really disappointed with the result, it was not really what we were expecting, it really hurts. We made a lot of changes to the car this weekend but nothing really worked, we need to understand it. We started really well with a nice balance in FP1 but then FP2 was very difficult and since then it has been tough because we have been making a few changes here and there but nothing seems to transform the balance. It has been tricky out there with the amount of sliding we have been doing and the balance is changing corner to corner. It made it worse that I couldn’t get my final attempt in Q2. The thing we are struggling the most with is ride and it made what happened there even worse. I had a massive under delivery from the engine, it kicked really hard and I ended up losing the car. It was a shame and today is a massive shame. Singapore is a street circuit and it is very hard to pass here, if we are able to score some points tomorrow I would be pleased".
So the Red Bull Racing Team Principal, Christian Horner, adds:
"There’s a lot for us to consider this evening. First thing we need to do is put the disappointment behind us and look to work out what has caused our drop in pace and performance. We tried a new aero part in practice, but what we went into qualifying with is tried and tested. For whatever reason, the car just hasn’t responded at this circuit. There is a lot to do but we won’t give up on anything. Starting outside of the top 10 at a track that is notoriously hard to overtake on is going to be tough but we certainly haven’t written this weekend off. The points are awarded on Sunday and there is plenty to play for".
On Sunday, September 17, 2023, the evening of Singapore is set to be the magical time where the next Formula 1 race will be held. Sainz will start from pole, while Verstappen and Perez are surprisingly outside the top-10. Zhou will start from the pit lane as Alfa Romeo made changes to his C43, while Stroll will not compete, still suffering from the effects of the qualifying crash. A lot of drivers will start on mediums while Leclerc, Tsunoda, Zhou, and Piastri opt for the softs, with the Red Bulls and Bottas on the hards. Good start for Ferrari when the lights go out as Sainz manages to keep the lead and his team mate Leclerc overtakes Russell, who loses out to his team mate, Hamilton, who started fifth annd is already third.
"Is he gonna let me past?"
Asks Russell to his team, due to Hamilton going off track at Turn 1 to gain the place. He let his team mate pass on the next lap. Tsunoda on the first lap has a collision with Perez and is forced to retire due to the damage this caused.
Further back, Alonso and Ocon are now sixth and seventh, with Verstappen up to ninth from P11. Zhou is the first to stop to swap his softs for hards. On lap 7, Verstappen passes Magnussen’s Haas at Turn 16 for eighth, while his team mate Perez overtakes Piastri for 13th into Turn 1. Verstappen is showing good race pace and also passes Ocon. On lap 10, Leclerc is told to try and give a three-second gap to Sainz Jr. out front, while the Spaniard says:
“I could go forever at this pace”.
As he continues to keep the lead. Magnussen and Hulkenberg are respectively ninth and 10th, while Gasly is right behind them.
"I think Carlos is slowing down".
Leclerc affirms on the radio, while Lawson seems to have the same pace of the leader. Hamilton is trying to pass Norris for fourth, and sets the fastest first sector on lap 14. On lap 18, Russell’s engineer tells him to mantain the pressure on the Ferraris ahead, while the McLaren team tells Piastri that there is a possibility of rain hitting the track in five minutes. Suddenly, a yellow flag is waved: Sargeant had gone straight into the barrier at Turn 8 and is forced to retire. A Safety Car is triggered and the top seven drivers decide to pit for hard tyres, with the Red Bulls opting to stay out. Now Verstappen is second and Perez fourth. Leclerc and Hamilton are delayed to avoid traffic and emerge in sixth and seventh, while Alonso is seen crossing the line at the pit entry, with race control investigating the incident. At the restart, on lap 22, the order is: Sainz. Jr., Verstappen, Russell, Perez, Norris, Leclerc, Hamilton, Alonso, Ocon, and Bottas. Magnussen is 11th, ahead of Gasly, Piastri, Lawson, Hulkenberg, Albon, Zhou and Sargeant. Russell attacks Verstappen, while Norris tries the same with Perez. Leclerc avoids a crash with Norris at Turn 7, and this forces him wide with Hamilton, who takes advantage to move up to sixth. Russell overtakes Verstappen, while Norris passes Perez and Alonso is handed a five-second penalty for crossing the line at the pit entry. On lap 24, Norris makes a move past Verstappen into Turn 14, while Hamilton overtakes Perez round the outside on the exit of Turn 7, although he goes on the curb and wide at the corner, with the Red Bull driver asking for the position back. At the front, Russell mantains the pressure on Sainz Jr. for first place. Magnussen gets a black and white flag for forcing Gasly off the track, while Hamilton gets past his 2021 title rival Verstappen for fifth, down the inside at Turn 7. Also Leclerc makes his way past Verstappen down the inside at Turn 7, while Perez is under pressure from Alonso for seventh.
"It’s like driving on ice".
Says Verstappen on the radio. Russell has closed the gap to Sainz Jr. once again, while the top four are covered by just three seconds. Gasly is forced off the track by Magnussen, as the two drivers go wheel-to-wheel through Turn 7 and 8. Then, Magnussen runs off so Gasly takes the 10th position. On lap 38, Perez, Alonso, and Ocon have a three-way fight for seventh. The Aston Martin driver loses out to Ocon, while Perez manages to stay ahead. On the next lap, Ocon forces Perez off-line before making way past at Turn 9. Also Alonso and Gasly pass Perez, who boxes for the mediums. He emerges at the back of the field, with Verstappen also pitting a lap later for a set of the medium tyres and emerging 15th. Sainz is still holding on to the lead, while Alonso says on the radio that his car is undriveable. Ocon who is in sixth position, stops at Turn 2 with smoke coming from his A523. Albon is the first who pits for mediums. Then the Mercedes drivers do the same and emerge fourth and fifth. Alonso due to the penalty and the slow stop in the pitbox for softs is now 15th. Then he goes off at Turn 14 and drops to the back of the field, while Verstappen passes Hulkenberg for ninth. On lap 50, the gap continues to close between the top three and the Mercedes drivers. The stewards announce that they will investigate a possible VSC infringement by Perez and Albon after the race, while Russell closes in on Leclerc, and his team mate, Hamilton is even quicker. On lap 53, Russell makes his way past the Ferrari driver at Turn 14. Also Hamilton overtakes the Monegasque on the outside at Turn 7.
Verstappen is now seventh after overtaking Piastri, while Bottas retires with a hydraulics issue. Sainz asks his team for information on the gap to Norris, while Russell and Hamilton continued to close in but struggle to reach Norris, who is offered some DRS to help by Sainz to him stay ahead of the Mercedes pair. On the final lap, Russell, trying to get past Norris, clips the barrier on the entry to Turn 10 and goes straight into the wall. Lewis Hamilton is now third, while Carlos Sainz Jr. wins the race. Norris finishes second, while Charles Leclerc takes fourth place, with Max Vesrtappen ending fifth. Pierre Gasly is sixth, ahead of Oscar Piastri, Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson, and Kevin Magnussen. Good day for Ferrari as Sainz managed to get his first victory of the season:
"It has been an incredible weekend right from the start. The team deserves this win for the enormous work they have done both here and in Maranello and I’m proud to dedicate it to all of them and the tifosi. We executed the weekend perfectly on my side and I think we managed the final thrilling part to perfection, giving Lando DRS and controlling the pace all race long. Of course, pitting earlier meant we had to make our tyres last for a longer stint and the final laps were on the limit, but I’m extremely happy we made it work. Tonight we celebrate, but from tomorrow we’ll start preparing Suzuka. Let’s keep it up".
Charles Leclerc is also satisfied with the work done by the team :
"I’m really happy for the team. So much work has been done in order to understand the car better in the past few weeks and today it paid off. Congratulations to Carlos who did a really good job all weekend. Our plan was for me to start on Softs and position myself ahead of George (Russell), which was the right choice and worked out well. Unfortunately, we lost some positions due to traffic during the pit stop under the Safety Car. Still, our race execution was good today so I’m happy. It’s great to see that we’ve made a step forward in terms of performance overall and hopefully we can confirm it next week in Japan".
Frédéric Vasseur, Ferrari’s Team Principal, is proud of the team and proudly aware of the fact that they still can fight for the second place in the Costructors’ Championship:
"I am proud of what the team has achieved this weekend with everyone doing a really great job. We know we’ve been making progress and here in Singapore we managed to get everything out of the SF-23, thanks in part to the great work done in Maranello. We proved to be competitive in qualifying and today that was also the case in the race. Carlos produced a magisterial performance in the race, always in control of the situation, especially in the final laps when he intelligently ensured Norris had DRS to defend against Russell. But for traffic in the pit lane, Charles would probably have also finished on the podium. We are pleased to be the first team to have ended Red Bull’s winning streak and are happy to have picked up these points which keep us in the fight for second place in the Constructors’ Championship. Now we move on to Suzuka, a very different sort of track, where we will do our utmost to continue this positive trend".
Norris was second during the last stages of the race and drove a defensive masterclass to keep both Russell and Hamilton at bay:
"Incredible. Carlos, Charles, Lewis, George, and I really pushed each other hard all evening. The end of the race was very stressful, but it paid off. We knew it was going to be tough as soon as Mercedes boxed, especially with only a couple of cars for them to overtake - but we held them off, did what we needed to do and we're on the podium with P2, so I'm super-happy this evening. The team is amazing, and I can't thank them enough for their hard work in giving me this car. It was good to see Oscar fighting his way through to P7, cementing the points for the team also. The car looked great in the Stealth Mode livery and it's just a great result for the team tonight. I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do in Japan".
Also Oscar Piastri had a good race, he started 17th and finished seventh:
"P7. Not a bad night's work! Obviously, our pace was decent, and I feel that I took advantage of the stuff going on around me after a good first lap. All-in-all, pretty happy with that. I don't think there was too much left on the table there. It's great to see Lando on the podium and for the team to be rewarded for all their hard work. I'm looking forward to the upgrades next week and hopefully we can have some more fun".
Andrea Stella, McLaren’s Team Principal, is extremely satisfied:
"Tonight, we are celebrating a very good result for the team here in Singapore. Our aim for Oscar was to get him into the points, he did an excellent job, rising from P17 to P7. Our decision to leave Lando out at the VSC paid off with P2. It worked out well, but it was marginal and could have easily gone the other way, the end of the race was very tense! We had great pit-stops today, good strategy and everyone on the race team has worked very hard all weekend in tough conditions - but I want to take the opportunity to thank everyone at the factory for getting this upgrade onto Lando's car and making this possible. We're heading to Suzuka now, where we look forward to another good race".
Lewis Hamilton managed to get the last podium spot, even he wasn’t very comfortable with the car:
"We rolled the dice this weekend and went with an offset tyre strategy. I felt like the race was a two-stop today and the team did an amazing job to get us back up there. Having to give back the two positions from the first corner was a shame, but I kept my head down and kept pushing. Overall this weekend, I haven't felt fully comfortable with the car. Today it was in a better place though. If I had had that same feeling yesterday, I think I could have been fighting for the front-row. That may have changed my race today, but I'm still pleased to get on the podium. It was extremely unfortunate what happened to George. We were pushing so hard to catch the guys ahead and our tyres were so hot. He's been phenomenal all weekend and I know he will bounce back. We're now looking forward to Japan so let's see what we can do there".
George Russell was pushing hard during the last lap, when clipped the wall and ran straight on into the barriers:
"I am lost for words. I think we were half a car's length away from winning the race today. If I was able to pass Lando (Norris), I am sure I would have been able to overtake Carlos (Sainz). Unfortunately I missed that opportunity. I made a mistake by one or two centimetres on that last lap, and I clipped the wall. It's a mistake that has overshadowed my whole weekend. Up to that point, it had been a fantastic race weekend. The car felt great, and the team had done an incredible job. Our strategy was superb, and we were bold and aggressive. It was exciting out there and it's heart-breaking to be standing here with zero points. Nevertheless, there are positives to take away. I will likely have a bad night tonight and even tomorrow morning. But I will put this behind me and come back stronger next weekend in Japan".
Toto Wolff, Mercedes’ Team Principal & CEO, adds:
"Lewis had a brilliant race, and he did a super job to get on the podium. It was of course a shame for George at the end. It was one very small error after a strong weekend but that's racing - he got it 99.99% right today. It was clear that it was going to be difficult to win the race if we followed everyone else's strategy. We were aggressive and took the opportunity to put on the Medium tyre under the Virtual Safety Car. The data was robust, and we went for it. At the end, to get on the podium was great and we were very close to making it so much more than that. Overall, it feels that we are continuing to make progress with the W14. We've had a really quick car all weekend, so let's see how we go in Suzuka. Bring it on".
Max Verstappen looks forward to the next weekend in Japan:
"I think we did the best we could today. We had good pace and we were just unfortunate with the timing of the safety car, if it weren’t for that, I really think that we would have been in a good place to fight up front. With the strategy today it was really important to not make any mistakes. In the end I was able to have some fun catching up on the mediums. For now, the target is to win next weekend in Japan. Everything needs to be perfect to win every race in a season, I knew this day would come and it’s absolutely fine. Everyone sees how dominant we can be and they don’t realise how difficult it really is, we need to get a lot of things right".
Sergio Perez admits this wasn’t a good day for the team, as they had many struggles with the car:
"It was not a great day for us, it was as tough as we expected it to be, we struggled all race and nothing really worked. The safety cars came at the wrong time and it was similar with the VSCs, it was just not our day. In the end we were on a different strategy to everyone else and that was the best we could do. I think we have plenty of things to investigate after this weekend and a lot to understand as a Team. I think the issues were circuit related and we should be stronger next weekend, let’s move on and look forward to Japan".
In a World Championship that threatened to end with Red Bull Racing's monopoly of victories, a red lightning momentarily halts a streak of absolute domination. Although it is to be expected that Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing will return to winning ways from the next Grand Prix, where among other things the Anglo-Austrian team can already become World Constructors' Champion, taking advantage of a negative day for the rivals, Carlos Sainz Jr. and the Scuderia Ferrari obtained a victory that undoubtedly gives morale to the Maranello team. Next stop is now Suzuka for the Japanese Grand Prix, which takes place from September 22-24. The World Championship is now coming to an end. Will there be more surprises?