The Mexican took advantage of the error in the start of the Ferrari leader to achieve victory, on the day that Verstappen could only be seventh and Alonso left due to a mechanical problem.
There was a point of cruelty in the victory of sergio prez about Ferrari in Singapore, where charles leclerc he wasted his pole Y Carlos Sainz He had enough to hold onto his position on the podium. After more than two hours, on a wet and treacherous asphalt, the Mexican resolved the situation with unprecedented ease, as if it were the very same Max Verstappen, relegated all night to positions away from the head. Neither in the absence of the next champion, nor under the sword of a sanction against Pérez -for a double irregular maneuver on the starts- did Ferrari know how to win at Marina Bay.
needed to claim Czechbecause since his victory in Monaco he had not complied with what was demanded of him Christian Horner Y Helmut Marko. That is why he attacked Leclerc from the start and bravely sailed every meter of this intricate urban track. His was the final exhibition, with just under half an hour on the clock, when the Monegasque also had the advantage of the DRS, finally activated by the stewards after an eternal wait. Prez was on the ropes, the victim of a power delivery failure. Nor was Sainz going through his best moment, struggling with the Ferrari to contain Norris.
In a couple of laps, however, the situation turned around. A skid caused Ferrari’s 16th to lose almost a second against an increasingly consolidated leader. Sainz caught his breath for his eighth podium finish of the year. by radio, Xavi Marcos he spurred on Leclerc so that he did not lose more than five seconds. If he stayed within that range, a hypothetical punishment to the leader would give him victory. Not even that could the Monegasque, who crossed the finish line more than seven. When Czech came down from the RB18 exhausted, not even the strictest judge could object to his victory. And when the punishment was confirmed, almost three hours after the checkered flag, many in Ferrari must have thrown their hands in their heads. The triumph had escaped by 2.5 seconds.
to know more
“Losing 60 points is unacceptable”
“Losing 60 points is unacceptable”
In Red Bull, on the other hand, there were more than enough reasons to toast Prez’s titanic effort in Marina Bay, with the difficulties of humidity, heat and the proximity of the walls. The agony of stress and a cool head waiting for the right moment to attack. The first regrouping took place after the touch between Nicholas Latifi Y Guanyu Zhou, which put both of them out of action. Only eight laps had passed, so there was no more news than the traditional parade in single file after the safety car.
Verstappen, who sweated ink after Sebastian Vettelnot only did he recover the half minute he had been losing to the leaders, but at the very moment of the restart, he surprised the Aston Martin at turn 5. And after getting rid of Pierre Gasley, began his particular battle against Alonso. In his wake, he lost two seconds per lap with respect to the head. Until the engine of the Alpine grip and the Asturian, in his 350th race, he was stranded in the loophole at turn 10.
Sainz was never able to compete against Leclerc in his first stint with the intermediates and was already content to keep Hamilton at bay. He was riding third thanks to his push at the start, when I didn’t hesitate to take out the Mercedes leader. Towards lap 18, the Ferrari engineers ordered him to cool the tires due to the wet areas of the asphalt.
The first to dare with dry erasers was George Russellwho had departed from the pit lane and had nothing to lose. It was a reckless move that cost him more than three seconds a lap. The confirmation for the favorites, that they should still take a little longer. Of course the victory will be played in the strategy. The question was to choose the right moment for the decisive stop.
5.3 seconds in the pits
When alexander albin he rammed the front wing of his Williams into the Turn 8 guards, the first hint came. Right next, the break of Stephen Oconwith his engine shattered, he fluttered his nerves during the virtual safety car. Hamilton stalked Sainz and Verstappen Norris. But neither team moved in boxes. He had panic to be the first.
Finally, on lap 35, Leclerc paraded, with such bad judgment that he did not know how to stop the car: 5.3 seconds in the process, more than double that of Pérez and Verstappen, who also placed averages. Hamilton had already lost his options with an erratic braking against Sainz. He was even able to cause some severe upset by rejoining ahead of Verstappen, front wing trailing.
without a moment of respite, yuki tsunoda trigger the second safety car and the work to recompose the protections confirmed the evidence: there was no time to complete the 61 laps. That rush must have affected Prez, whose relaunches did not go unnoticed by the commissioners. And even more to Verstappen, author of a resounding error against Norris. Even after another change of tires, the Dutchman knew how to recover the position again against Hamilton and Vettel. This seventh place is enough for him to prepare for the champion’s party in Suzuka.
According to the criteria of
