F1 Singapore GP: Sainz holds off Norris to win tense race as Russell crashes

The Spaniard led every lap of a slow-burning race from pole position, and delivered a tactical masterclass to ward off a rapidly approaching Mercedes duo in the race's second half by employing Norris as a bodyguard.

Mercedes had forecasted a potential strategic advantage after qualifying on Saturday, with Russell stating that he had saved an extra set of medium tyres available for the race should there be an opportunity to two-stop.

Esteban Ocon's stopped Alpine presented that opportunity, and the following virtual safety car ensured that both Mercedes drivers could pull in for a cheaper pitstop on lap 44 and claim their fresh sets of tyres.

This gave them a distinct advantage and, although they ceded track position to drop into fourth and fifth, Russell and Lewis Hamilton were around two seconds per lap quicker than the cars ahead.

Charles Leclerc, who had dropped positions amid the round of pitstops under the earlier safety car having got up to second at the start, was first up for the two Mercedes, who picked him off swiftly and rapidly began to reel in Norris ahead.

Recognising that his best chance of victory was to ensure Norris had the tools to defend, Sainz backed off to ensure Norris had DRS for the closing stages, which protected the Briton against the threat from his countrymen behind.

Russell put Norris under heavy pressure on lap 59, but the McLaren driver did just enough to hold firm and keep Russell in his place, buying Sainz some more time.

The leader backed off again to imbue Norris with DRS for the final few laps, and it proved to be enough; Russell put the result beyond doubt after crashing at Turn 10 having hit the wall on the outside to ensure Sainz could clinch victory.

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL60 (Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images)

Norris was able to defend from Hamilton in the final lap to secure second, in the first non-Red Bull podium - or indeed, victory - of the season.

Russell had been unable to challenge Sainz off the line and was usurped by a soft-shod Leclerc at the start as Ferrari began to manage its race early to ensure it could work through the tyre degradation phase.

The field was largely in lockstep, although Leclerc was told to give Sainz more space - first being told to create a three-second gap, before the demand for a five-second gap grew - to create a margin for a pitstop.

But Logan Sargeant's clip of the wall on lap 19 put debris over the circuit and, although the American got the car back to the pits with a broken front wing, a safety car emerged regardless.

This gave the field license to stop, and Leclerc had to check up in his pitbox for Mercedes traffic - which cost him positions to Russell and Norris once he exited the pitlane.

Sainz was then ordered to keep the field bunched up to ensure that Mercedes could not find a gap to pit and bolt on their second set of fresh mediums - but the Ocon-enforced VSC effectively ended that strategy as the Alpine driver retired with a suspected clutch issue.

Leclerc ultimately finished fourth having come to the end of his life, having been effectively 'sacrificed' in Ferrari's hunt for the win - per the Mercedes team radio.

The Monegasque held off a fast-charging Max Verstappen, whose alternate strategy paid off for fifth having carved through the order on the medium compound of tyre. Neither Red Bull pitted during the safety car period, and their out-of-position nature at the front on the hards made them easy meat.

Regardless, Verstappen managed to dig out an effective drive to claim a top five result, having passed Pierre Gasly for sixth and then moving up a place when Russell retired.

Gasly finished three seconds clear of Oscar Piastri, who did not have the new McLaren upgrades for this weekend, while Sergio Perez managed to grab eighth having gone to the back after his sole pitstop.

Perez clashed with Yuki Tsunoda on the first lap which put the Japanese driver out with damage, and is also part of an investigation with Alex Albon as the two made contact at Turn 13.

Liam Lawson claimed his first F1 points with ninth place to cap off a stunning weekend in Singapore, as Kevin Magnussen completed the top 10 to add an extra point to Haas's 2023 tally.

Albon and Zhou Guanyu finished 11th and 12th, with the latter starting from the pitlane having taken a new power unit, and Nico Hulkenberg could only muster 13th having factored in the battle for the points early on.

Sargeant recovered from his prang to claim 14th, as Fernando Alonso had a miserable race in which he sustained a five-second penalty for passing over the pit entry line and later had an off while suffering with an "undriveable" car. The Aston Martin driver was the last of the drivers to finish.

 

Main Information Additional Data Additional Data Driver Info Driver Info

         

Driver Info			Main Information Additional Data
Cla	Driver	#		Laps	Time	Interval	km/h	Pits	Points	Retirement	Chassis	Engine
1	C. Sainz Ferrari	55		62	-			1	25		Ferrari	Ferrari
2	L. Norris McLaren	4		62	+0.812	0.812		1	18		McLaren	Mercedes
3	L. Hamilton Mercedes	44		62	+1.269	0.457		2	16		Mercedes	Mercedes
4	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16		62	+21.177	19.908		1	12		Ferrari	Ferrari
5	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	1		62	+21.441	0.264		1	10		Red Bull	Red Bull
6	P. Gasly Alpine	10		62	+38.441	17.000		1	8		Alpine	Renault
7	O. Piastri McLaren	81		62	+41.479	3.038		1	6		McLaren	Mercedes
8	S. Perez Red Bull Racing	11		62	+54.534	13.055		1	4		Red Bull	Red Bull
9	L. Lawson AlphaTauri	40		62	+1'05.918	11.384		1	2		AlphaTauri	Red Bull
10	K. Magnussen Haas F1 Team	20		62	+1'12.116	6.198		2	1		Haas	Ferrari
11	A. Albon Williams	23		62	+1'13.417	1.301		2			Williams	Mercedes
12	G. Zhou Alfa Romeo	24		62	+1'23.649	10.232		2			Alfa Romeo	Ferrari
13	N. Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team	27		62	+1'26.201	2.552		1			Haas	Ferrari
14	L. Sargeant Williams	2		62	+1'26.889	0.688		2			Williams	Mercedes
15	F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing	14		62	+1'27.603	0.714		2			Aston Martin	Mercedes
dnf	G. Russell Mercedes	63		61				2		Accident	Mercedes	Mercedes
dnf	V. Bottas Alfa Romeo	77		51				1		Retirement	Alfa Romeo	Ferrari
dnf	E. Ocon Alpine	31		42				1		Retirement	Alpine	Renault
dnf	Y. Tsunoda AlphaTauri	22		0						Collision	AlphaTauri	Red Bull
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