Five Formula 1 Winners & Loser: Singapore Grand Prix
Photo from Planet F1
I’ve said all year that this season is actually very exciting if you simply ignore Max Verstappen’s dominance.
Well on Sunday, we finally got to see what it would be like, and it sure wasn’t disappointing at all.
Here are the winners and losers from a hot race in Singapore.
Losers
5. Red Bull Racing
Red Bull was trying to accomplish the impossible, a fully perfect season. Winning every single race.
And quite frankly, I really thought they’d do it.
But at Singapore, they weren’t even close to the front all weekend long.
It won’t affect the championships by any means, but it’s still a brutally disappointing weekend.
4. Fernando Alonso
Alonso had a suspension issue on lap 2 that ruined his race, which isn’t his fault by any means, but it’s still a tough weekend.
3. Yuki Tsunoda
An early lap incident gave Tsunoda inoperable damage and found his race over before it could even begin.
A big shame considering that the Alpha Tauri had a good chance at points this weekend, as we will discuss later.
2. Lance Stroll
First and foremost, Lance Stroll walking away relatively unscathed from that horrific crash is a testament to the safety measures in Formula 1. I’m very, very happy that he’s ok.
But it’s yet another mistake that cost Aston Martin a chance this weekend, as the team that once looked like it was second fastest has now fallen back to 4th in the constructors standings.
It’s gotta be better.
1. George Russell
It’s hard to fault George.
He was 3rd with fresher tires on the last lap, and wanted to go for the win.
But mistakes are mistakes, and Russell missing the corner and hitting the wall taking him out of the race entirely not only took away his podium, but took away points entirely.
His loss is his teammates gain!
Winners
5. Lewis Hamilton
As it was Lewis Hamilton who was in 4th and kept the car on the track for the last lap to benefit his teammates error, and got himself another podium on the season.
Only two drivers this year have finished in the points in every race this year.
Max Verstappen (obviously) and Lewis Hamilton.
He’s having an excellent season.
4. Lando Norris
Lando’s race was excellent, as the McLaren driver notched another podium (with the benefit of some help that we will get to later).
He’s inching towards that first win.
Hell, it might happen this year.
3. Liam Lawson
Liam Lawson has done nothing but impress since he was called up for the injured Ricciardo, and Sunday got him his first ever points in Formula 1 with a 9th place finish.
Alpha Tauri seems to believe it will be Tsunoda and Ricciardo as the driver lineup again next year, but Lawson sure is making a statement that other teams have to take notice of.
2. Charles Leclerc
Formula 1 drivers are inherently absurdly competitive. Charles Leclerc is no different.
So when Leclerc purposely took a backseat to his teammate Carlos Sainz to ensure Ferrari got their first win of the season, it was a great site to see.
It doesn’t hurt at all that he executed the move to perfection, getting his team the win.
Even if it wasn’t him who got to stand on the top spot of the podium.
1. Carlos Sainz
Formula 1 cars are, more likely than not, the hardest race cars to drive in the world.
The Singapore Grand Prix is the longest race of the year, and takes place close to the equator, meaning it is terribly hot.
Carlos Sainz, despite the difficulty and the heat and all the pressure from leading the whole race, had the focus and wherewithal to let Lando Norris closer to him so that Norris would get DRS.
Despite everything going on, Sainz knew that Norris would not have the speed to pass him, but having DRS would mean he could pull away from the charging Mercedes drivers and keep Carlos win safe.
That is an insane amount of focus from the Spaniard, and gets him a well deserved victory.
I won’t make the Smooth Operator joke.
But, it was.
