Singapore GP: Carlos Sainz holds on to win Marina Bay thriller

Carlos Sainz claimed his second Formula 1 win in a thrilling Singapore Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver led every lap but it was far from easy as he held off Lando Norris and the two Mercedes’ in a frenetic finish at Marina Bay.

As for Red Bull, their 100% winning record in 2023 ended at the 15th hurdle as Max Verstappen finished a fighting fifth and Sergio Perez eighth.

Race Review

Sainz held the lead at the start with Leclerc using a soft tyre advantage to pass Russell for second.

Hamilton jumped across the run-off area at Turn 2 and briefly sat third before handing the places back to Russell and Norris to run fifth.

Verstappen gained two places upto ninth from P11 on the grid while teammate Sergio Perez remained in 13th.

Yuki Tsunoda was an early retirement on the opening lap after contact with Perez at Turn 5.

The first stint quickly became about tyre management, as Ferrari tried to use Leclerc to create a buffer between Sainz and Russell in third.

Verstappen only gained one more place upto eighth, getting stuck behind Esteban Ocon in the Alpine.

The first twist came on Lap 20 when Logan Sargeant slid into the barrier at Turn 8 leaving front wing debris strewn around the circuit.

That triggered a Safety Car and a melee in the pits as all the leaders opted to stop for hard tyres.

Sainz retained the lead while Verstappen moved up to second and Perez fourth as the Red Bulls stayed out after starting on hard tyres.

The big loser was Leclerc, who had to stack behind Sainz in the box and dropped to sixth, behind Russell and Norris.

The two Red Bulls were sitting ducks at the restart as Russell passed Verstappen to claim second at Turn 16.

Leclerc let Hamilton through after running wide at Turn 7 before the Mercedes passed Perez at the same corner a lap later.

Norris overtook Verstappen at Turn 14 to sit third before Lewis and Leclerc demoted the championship leader further down the order to sixth.

The field quickly bunched up at the front as Sainz managed his pace with less than five seconds covering the top five.

Red Bull’s hope of a second Safety Car didn’t materialise as both Verstappen and Perez pitted under green and fell to 15th and 17th respectively.

Only a few laps later, Ocon came to a halt exiting Turn 1 causing a Virtual Safety Car.

Both Mercedes took the opportunity to pit again for new medium tyres while the Ferraris and Norris stayed out on their hards.

When the track went green, Russell and Hamilton immediately put their fresh rubber to use, lapping almost two seconds per lap faster than the leading trio.

Verstappen also put his new mediums to good use moving back inside the top 10.

The Mercedes’ began to make their move with eight laps to go, dispatching Leclerc with ease to run third and fourth.

Next was Norris but Sainz would back off to give the McLaren DRS, allowing him to defend from Russell and Hamilton.

Disaster hit George on the final lap, as he touched the wall and crashed hard at Turn 10 promoting Hamilton onto the podium.

But ahead, Sainz’s strategy paid off as he claimed victory by eight-tenths ahead of Norris in second.

Leclerc moved up to fourth, pipping the charging Verstappen over the line by just two-tenths in fifth.

Pierre Gasly was sixth for Alpine, followed by Oscar Piastri and Perez in eighth. Liam Lawson claimed his first F1 points in ninth and Kevin Magnussen completed the top 10.