2023-09-17 SF-23 (55) Carlos Sainz SIN-Singapore 1
The 2023 Singapore Grand Prix was held on 17 September 2023 at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Marina Bay, Singapore
The race was won by Carlos Sainz Jr. for the second victory of his Formula One career. Sainz took pole position and led the entire race, finishing ahead of Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton. For most of the race George Russell was looking at a podium but crashed out on the last lap at turn 10. AlphaTauri driver Liam Lawson scored his first points in Formula One by finishing ninth in the race.
On Lap 18, Logan Sargeant crashed into a barrier and broke his front wing. He returned to the pit lane while his car spewed debris onto the track, triggering a safety car. Red Bull Racing chose not to pit their drivers during the safety car period, meaning both were running older hard tyres at the restart. Russell, Lando Norris, and Hamilton were thus able to pass Pérez and Max Verstappen, who were both struggling due to their older tyres. The race resumed with Sainz holding his pace at the front. A few laps later, Esteban Ocon stopped on track with a gearbox issue, triggering a virtual safety car. Mercedes took advantage of this to double-stack their drivers in the pits for new medium tires. Russell and Hamilton both passed Leclerc to claim third and fourth respectively.
As the race entered its closing stages, Sainz strategically allowed Norris, running in second place, to remain in range for DRS. The DRS benefit made it harder for Russell and Hamilton (third and fourth) to overtake Norris and challenge Sainz for the lead. On the final lap, Russell clipped the wall and broke his suspension, causing him to slam into the wall at turn 10 and ending his podium hopes. Having led the entire race, Sainz won the race, his first since the 2022 British Grand Prix and Ferrari's first since the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix, breaking Verstappen and Red Bull Racing's winning streak.
