How Sainz snapped Verstappen’s record streak

For the primary time this season, someone aside from a Red Bull driver stood at the highest of the rostrum.

Not only did Max Verstappen’s and Red Bull’s record winning streaks come to an end, however the team was shut out from the rostrum altogether.

In a surprise turn of events and an exciting finish, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz took the checkered flag Sunday on the Singapore Grand Prix ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes.

Here’s the way it all went down in our takeaways.

HOW IT ENDED

Simply put, Red Bull never quite found their footing in Singapore. Right from practice on Friday there have been concerns about rear grip from each Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez as they were about seven-tenths of a second slower than eventual pole-sitter and winner Sainz.

Those struggles continued into qualifying. Verstappen was bumped (figurately not literally) out of the highest 10 by rookie Liam Lawson, filling in for Daniel Ricciardo on sibling team AlphaTauri, through the second session and missed the cut for the ultimate round. That meant Verstappen was forced to begin eleventh on the grid and one row ahead of Perez, who didn’t fare a lot better as he spun out and qualified in unlucky thirteenth.

Verstappen was also summoned to the stewards for 3 separate incidents during qualifying, nonetheless, he escaped with a fantastic and avoided any penalties that will have shuffled him further back on the grid.

Still, Verstappen has overcome the percentages before — as we saw winning at Miami in May after starting ninth — however the Singapore street circuit is a difficult, twisty track with fewer opportunities to keep up top speed and this was one deficit too deep.

Verstappen finished fifth (because of George Russell’s last-minute lapse) and continues to hold an insurmountable lead within the championship — 151 points over Perez with seven events to go — but for the primary time this season, he’s appeared human and the title coronation can have to attend just a little bit longer.

When your “worst” result all 12 months is throughout the top five though, you’re doing something exceptional. Red Bull’s reign can have ended for no less than one week but Verstappen’s 10 consecutive victories — and the team’s 15 straight wins — will certainly stand for a while.

HOW FERRARI PULLED IT OFF

The sleek operator is back as Sainz scored his second profession victory from pole position — his first got here after starting P1 on the British GP last season.

Sainz had the pace practically all weekend however the query was how would his Ferrari delay over the course of a whole Grand Prix when durability has been a difficulty. Just fantastic, because it turned out.

The gap between first and fourth, from winning to not even standing on the rostrum, was roughly 1.1 seconds at one point through the nail-biting conclusion. Sainz was capable of hold on with worn tires because of some 4D chess and his good ol’ pal Norris.

Sainz ensured Norris was throughout the one-second threshold behind, thus capable of use his drag reduction system (DRS). That gave Norris a lift of speed, nonetheless, he needed it to carry off the Mercedes cars of Russell and Hamilton and stop them from making a charge to the front.

Clever guy.

Now, we’re not letting Ferrari off the hook entirely. It wasn’t an ideal Sunday for the Scuderia as Charles Leclerc lost precious time during their double-stack pit stop attempt under the security automobile with the team citing traffic for the holdup.

Their overall strategy didn’t work in Leclerc’s favour as he was lucky to cross the finish line on his fading tires in fourth place when he did. Verstappen was behind by only .264 seconds and would have made a move had he not run out of real estate.

The top result’s what matters though and Ferrari gained ground within the standings.

DOUBLE POINTS FOR MCLAREN

Just when it gave the look of McLaren had been cooling off previously few weeks, the team is heating up again. Norris grabbed his third second-place finish of the season while teammate Oscar Piastri, who began seventeenth on the grid, made up a formidable 10 spots to complete seventh and help McLaren rating double points.

Sure Sainz played Norris like a fiddle through the home stretch, but he did a fantastic job defending Russell and Hamilton as with that sort of pressure and on that specific track, one slipup may lead to disaster. (Ominous music playing.)

BY GEORGE

While Hamilton scored his (checks notes) 196th profession podium, it got here on the expense of his teammate Russell, who caught a curb and ran right into the barrier on the last lap of the race.

That shall be a tricky one to swallow and fortunately for Russell, the Japanese Grand Prix is next week, allowing him to quickly park it and move on.

OH NO, ALONSO

Hamilton also earned the fastest lap bonus point and surpassed Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso for third place within the standings. Meanwhile, Ferrari overtook Aston Martin for third place within the constructors’ championship. Yeah, not a great weekend for Aston Martin.

Lance Stroll was involved in a heavy crash during qualifying and although he walked away, he was held out of the race as a precaution. All eyes were on Alonso to deliver, but he finished out of the points for the primary time this season on account of a series of unforced errors.

First, Alonso crossed the pit entry line (twice) leading to a clear-cut penalty. A lengthy pit stop after serving his penalty made matters worse and the yellow flag also made a transient appearance when Alonso nearly lost it while making a turn.

All of that adds as much as a Fifteenth-place finish — or last amongst all cars that really crossed the finish line.

ALPHATAURI’S DILEMMA

Making his third-ever start in F1, Lawson scored his first profession points along with his ninth-place finish. What’s also remarkable is it’s actually the most effective result for anyone driving for the basement-dwelling AlphaTauri this season. Teammate Yuki Tsunoda has finished tenth 3 times, Nyck de Vries didn’t rating any points during his 10 appearances before being sacked and Ricciardo was also held pointless in his two starts prior to his hand injury.

The 21-year-old Lawson has shown he’s worthy of a full-time spot on the grid and might need thrown a wrench into AlphaTauri’s future plans with each seats up for grabs next season. It seemed highly likely Tsunoda and Ricciardo would each be back (while also potentially pitching to exchange Perez on the foremost Red Bull team for 2025). That might still be the case, but one must throw Lawson’s name within the hat for consideration.