Carlos Sainz issued a warning in Singapore on Saturday after winning his second consecutive pole position following pole position at Monza two weeks earlier. “I am in my best moment since I arrived at Ferrari.” On Sunday, the Spaniard confirmed these feelings by taking his second victory in Formula 1, thanks to the impeccable management of a historically delicate race, not only because of the overwhelming environmental impact, but also because it runs through a very narrow passage surrounded by walls. Sainz took advantage of Red Bull’s incomprehensible trigger and Max Verstappen (he finished fifth), punished by his team’s decision to lower the height of his RB19, turned into more of a torture rack than the red buffalo that had been at his side so far roamed around. far where it circulated.
With the most vulnerable energy cars of the season, Ferrari didn’t fail this time and planned a perfect strategy, which Sainz applied with the precision of a surgeon. The Madrid native’s victory is the second of his service records in the World Cup, after the one he achieved last year in Great Britain, and also the first this year that Red Bull is not celebrating. Sainz was chosen to break Verstappen’s winning streak, which will eventually stand at ten consecutive events, and that of the Red Buffalo brand, which had a string of 15 Grands Prix before landing in Singapore.
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Lando Norris finished second and benefited from the appearance of the safety car (lap 20), which allowed him to overtake Charles Leclerc on the first visit to the workshop of the leading group, always led by Sainz, infallible in all the maneuvers he performed was. Lewis Hamilton completed the podium, while Fernando Alonso finished 15th after race stewards handed him a five-second penalty for exceeding the track limit at the entrance to the workshop lane. Aston Martin had described this stop on the calendar as the best opportunity for the Asturian to celebrate his long-awaited 33rd birthday. However, the Silverstone structure seems to have lost some of the drive that made it the surprise of the year. You had to be ready in case Red Bull’s bird arrived and those who took a step forward were the “Scuderia” and Sainz, who were fully committed to the rebuilding process that his team is going through.
The Ferrari driver got off to a very good start and stayed at the front of the field from the first stop. He then pulled the anchor, or rather the handbrake, to control the pace of the field at will, which is a privilege on most racetracks and even more so in a mouse-like country like Singapore. With pole on Saturday, the son of the two-time rally world champion (1990 and 1992) made his speed clear; The next day’s victory was a control victory, one of those that adds prestige by upsetting those behind it. The best testimony to this came from George Russell, who was completely helpless and tied up most of the time in the role of the caged lion. Revenge came for the Brit thanks to the breakdown in Esteban Ocon’s Alpine (lap 43 of 62), which led to the activation of the virtual safety car protocol and opened the window for the two Mercedes to resort to the new game of medium tire bands, the had been saved.
With less than 20 laps to go and with fresh tires, Russell got everything sorted and put the turbo through a deliberate rest test up until that point. Faced with the real threat from the Silver Arrows, Sainz got serious and suddenly reduced his time by around two seconds per lap; a move that did not help him escape, but served to realize a final masterful move that ultimately led him to glory: he used Norris as a shield and even dragged him, offering his friend the effect of the movable rear wing (DRS ) to keep him between himself and Russell, so tortured that he ended up on the wall in the last lap. An example of the level of excellence that Sainz has achieved and which, by its own efforts, has become the main asset of the most universal symbol that exists in the world of racing.
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