(Singapore) Carlos Sainz Jr. won the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix on Sunday, ending the historic streaks of Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team.
Red Bull leaders hoped to win every race this season, but they had to settle for a fifth place for Verstappen, and an eighth position for Sergio Perez, at the end of a weekend where both drivers experienced difficulties.
Verstappen started in number 11e position, two places ahead of Perez.
Verstappen’s winning streak was stopped at 10 and Red Bull’s at 15, including one in the last race presented in 2022. These are two records in the annals of Formula 1.
Sainz fils started the race from the leading position on Sunday and held off his main rivals over the final laps of the track which took place under great tension, and despite very worn tires.
The Spanish driver scored the second victory of his career in Formula 1, and the first by a Ferrari driver since that of Charles Leclerc at the Austrian Grand Prix on July 10, 2022.
PHOTO LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Carlos Sainz led the peloton from the start of the race.
“I felt in control. I felt like I could handle (the situation) well and we succeeded. It was the best feeling,” said the Ferrari driver.
Sainz Jr. beat Lando Norris (McLaren) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes). George Russell, Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate, crashed into a wall on the final lap when he was in third position, putting Hamilton on the podium.
“We rolled the dice this weekend,” Hamilton reflected after Mercedes, in a strategic decision, allowed both cars to pit for fresh tires late in the race, meaning Russell lost the second place he held.
Leclerc, driving the other Ferrari, finished fourth ahead of Verstappen.
The two-time reigning world champion had an eventful race after starting 11e. Verstappen was briefly second on track behind Sainz Jr., but only because almost every other car stopped to have new tires fitted.
After his own pit stop, the Dutchman fought to get back into the peloton from 15e place.
In a weekend to forget for the Aston Martin team, Fernando Alonso ranked 15e after starting from seventh position.
His teammate Lance Stroll did not participate in the race the day after his violent accident from which he emerged unscathed on Saturday during the first qualifying session.