Sainz Holds on to the Top spot and Wins in Singapore

September 17, 2023Ramon Jones
Formula 1

Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) held off a feisty Lando Norris (McLaren) to take the wins at the Singapore Grand Prix. The win ends the dominance by Red Bull in 2023 as the first race this year that red bull did not win. 7 time world champion Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) finished third for another podium on the year. Charles Leclerc finished fourth. Championship leader Verstappen had a tough race but was able to salvage a P5 finish to round out the top 5.

Sainz was able to capitalize on his pole position finish in qualifying to secure his first win of the season and Ferraris first win in a very long time. The team has been in a drought in recent times not quite finding the race strategy to get themselves back in podium contention. The race was plagued with safety cars that essentially destroyed any early advantage Sainz had built up in the race after pulling away. However, he stayed focused on the task and brought it home. The win didn’t change the champion standings drastically. Lewis Hamilton secured 1 point for the fastest lap of the race. Verstappen will still inevitably clinch the title soon with Sergio Perez an almost sure second place finisher.

Elsewhere on the Grid

Liam Lawson secured his first points finish for Alpha Tauri. It was his best finish of the season securing P9 ahead of veteran teammate Yuki Tsunoda who did not finish the race. Lawson has come off of the reserve list hitting the ground running and we have to imagine the tension in the red bull camp might worsen if Lawson proves to deliver better results than Tsunoda and Ricciardo.

After his nasty crash in qualifying Lance Stroll did not start the race.

More to follow.

2023 Singapore Grand Prix Results

PositionDriverPoints
1Carlos Sainz25
2Lando Norris18
3Lewis Hamilton15 (+1)
4Charles Leclerc12
5Max Verstappen10
6Pierre Gasly8
7Oscar Piastri6
8Sergio Perez4
9Liam Lawson2
10Kevin Magnussen1
11Alex Albon
12Zhou Guanyu
13Nico Hulkenberg
14Logan Sargeant
15Fernando Alonso
DNFGeorge Russell
DNFValtteri Bottas
DNFEsteban Ocon
DNFYuki Tsunoda
DNSLance Stroll