2023-09-16 17:44:52
SINGAPORE – Will the Singapore Grand Prix be the scene of the end of Verstappen and Red Bull hegemony in Formula 1? In difficulty since the start of the weekend, the solid leader of the championship Max Verstappen and his teammate Sergio Pérez will start far behind the holder of the leading position Carlos Sainz, Sunday on the urban circuit of Marina Bay.
The Dutchman will only start 11th, ahead of his Mexican teammate Pérez, only 13th.
“I just had a terrible moment,” reacted the first, double reigning world champion, who was the subject of investigations for having hindered drivers on the track and in the pit lane during the qualifications. He ultimately did not receive a grid penalty but reprimands for two of the three actions for which he was targeted.
This is the first time since the Russian GP in 2018 that no Red Bull competed in the final qualifying session where the leading position is at stake, and that only the ten fastest in Q2 (where were eliminated the Red Bulls) can race.
Earlier this season, Verstappen started from 15th place in Saudi Arabia, his worst performance in 2023, due to a problem with his car. However, he finished the race second behind Pérez… A good omen for the race on Sunday?
The main person concerned doesn’t believe it: “We don’t expect much for tomorrow, we can’t really overtake on this circuit, and usually we have a pace advantage, but here, we won’t have it », he lamented at the microphone of Canal+.
Sainz continues
Red Bull’s setbacks have made people happy, including Ferrari and its driver Carlos Sainz, who signed in the night, and the furnace, from Singapore, his second consecutive pole after the one won in Italy at the beginning of September.
Very comfortable at the wheel of his Ferrari, he will start on Sunday ahead of the Briton George Russell (Mercedes) and his teammate, the Monegasque Charles Leclerc, 3rd.
The Austrian team relegated far behind, “this is the best opportunity we have had to beat them since the start of the season”, rejoiced Leclerc.
Since the start of the year, Red Bull has won in each of the 14 rounds already contested, including 12 victories for Verstappen alone. During the last GP, he even set a new record of ten victories in a row after his success in Italy.
On Sunday, the team also has a first theoretical chance to claim a second title in a row in the constructors’ world championship. But to achieve this, its drivers would need to finish in the first two places in the GP.
At the same time, if Mercedes, second in the championship, does not score any points (or just one if Red Bull also recovers the point for best time), Red Bull will then be declared champions for the sixth time in its history. However, this is an unlikely scenario.
Violent clash
The first part of qualifying (Q1) was marked by a violent exit from the track by Lance Stroll.
In his last fast lap to secure a place in the top-15, synonymous with passage to Q2, the Canadian violently hit the wall at full speed, tearing off a large part of the left front of his Aston Martin, before ‘fail in the middle of the track.
The driver, who almost got hit by the McLaren of Lando Norris who was following him, emerged from his car unscathed. He will start 20th and last on the grid on Sunday.
On a circuit shortened and modified due to works, going from 23 to 19 turns with a longer straight line, the New Zealander Liam Lawson, who replaces the Australian Daniel Ricciardo who is still injured in his hand, once again shone at the wheel of his AlfaTauri, even affording the luxury of knocking Verstappen out of the top-10 in Q2.
The young 21-year-old driver will start 10th, behind the Haas of German Nico Hulkenberg, 9th and the Alpine of Frenchman Esteban Ocon, 8th.
Knowing that it is difficult to overtake in a race, the positions on the grid and the quality of the starts risk being crucial at the start of the race.
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