Formula 1. Singapore Grand Prix. Race. Max Verstappen's long road to victory

It took Max Verstappen 12 seasons to conquer the Marina Bay circuit and win today, October 11, a convincing victory at the Singapore Grand Prix. During this time, the Dutch driver won four championship titles in Formula 1, won 50 poles and 72 races, but the top step of the podium of the Singapore circuit until that time remained unconquered in front of him.

Winning the Mylasia Grand Prix a week ago gave the first hope that in Singapore Max will try to break the “racing curse”, as drivers call the phenomenon of his constant failures on a particular track. Thanks to the titanic efforts of the engineering staff of the Austrian stable and their American partners from the company Ford, responsible for the creation of reliable hybrid power plants, the European part of the Formula 1 calendar was the fastest to complete. I could not believe that at the very beginning of this difficult season, the first with new regulations and new cars, more recently, the championship team Red Bull was only the 4th fastest.

But time doesn't stand still. First, a confident double at the end of September in Baku with his young partner Isaac Hajar, where only 0.3 seconds were not enough to win at the finish of the Azerbaijani Grand Prix. Then, finally, the first win of the season, which Verstappen confidently scored at Sepang. It was the starting point, returning to the Red Bull fans the hope that the Austrian stable has not disappeared, it is still able to win and achieve success. The current win in Singapore has broken all the negative stereotypes of this seemingly enchanted track for Max.

At the four official competitions scheduled for Marina Bay this weekend, all victories went to Verstappen. Of course, winning the race is above all else. But it was the 4-time champion's total dominance that was a compelling argument for both his driving potential and the speed of his car. And even the title of Racer of the Day, as the Audience Choice Award, received by Max for the second time in a week, is an additional confirmation of the revival of Red Bull. In truth, even theoretically, the Dutch driver remains one of the few contenders for the championship title this year.

Confident and tight start

On dry asphalt after starting from pole, Max Verstappen managed to maintain his leading position. The Ferrari pilots, slightly better reacted to the dimmed signals of the starting traffic light, tried to impose a fight on the pilot of the Red Bull at the entrance to the first corner. But the Dutch champion skillfully chose the trajectory, blocking the way first to Charles Leclerc, and then to Lewis Hamilton. The status quo has been maintained.

In the second three, Kimi Antonelli was noticeably faster. He even tried after the second turn to hold his Mercedes attack on the British champion, but Lewis managed to defend his 3rd place. In general, there were no changes in the order of riders in the top six. The group of leading teams kept their positions unchanged until the start of pit stops.

But in the second tier, everything was not so prosaic. Pierre Gasley on his Alpin could not resist the pressure of Racing Bulls Liam Lawson and Audi Nico Hulkenberg. Instead of partner Liam Briton Arvid Lindblad, who lost 4 places in inexperience at the start, Carlos Sainz broke through in the top ten at the first hundred meters, playing 3 positions at once. His Williams became a reference point for those mid-range drivers who were going to finish the race with points.

In general, the start was without accidents, the safety car was not needed. All three races, which took place for technical reasons, were held with the safest possible consequences. As if on the eve of the race-sprint took over the entire arsenal of planned incidents. It was a bit surprising how the pilots professionally removed the cars from the track, so as not to prevent the others from fighting for victory and score points. Gabriele Bortoletto was the victim of a failure of the gearbox on his Audi. The Brazilian parked the car in reverse on the exit from the pit lane. The announced VSC mode, a virtual safety machine, gave no advantage to anyone, since entry to the pit lane was prohibited by a red traffic light while Gabriele’s car was being removed.

Exactly “at the equator” of the race distance for the same reason parked his “Alpin” in the security pocket of Franco Collapinto. Because of the broken clutch stopped on the 39th lap of his smoky "Aston Martin" Lance Stroll. VSC mode was again announced for a couple of laps, only now pilots could go to the pit lane to the boxes of their mechanics to change tires. Perhaps that was the only element of intrigue at this Grand Prix.

Tactical error is not Ferrari, but its pilot

When it comes to tactical and strategic mistakes of the teams during the race, the Italian Scuderia is most often mentioned. It’s understandable, she’s always had a lot of attention. This is the only racing stable that has not missed a single season in the 76 years of Formula 1 history. However, there is another reason why Ferrari comes to mind when referring to “tactic mistakes”. Too often, questionable decisions are made on her command bridge.

In Singapore, we were once again surprised by the performance of the Italian team. When in the virtual security machine mode there was an opportunity to conduct a pit stop with minimal time loss, then for some reason only Charles Leclerc went to the boxes. He was then in 2nd place, unsuccessfully trying to catch the leading Max Verstappen. Ferrari decided to take advantage of the convenient moment and put on the car Monegasque new set of soft and fast tires "soft". In the end, the plan worked, though not completely. Leclerc failed to overtake the Dutchman’s Red Bull, but he confidently kept the pace of the leader, not allowing his rivals to even catch up.

In the second car "Ferrari", contrary to the seemingly logical conclusion, drove past the entrance to the pit lane. We have already discussed the details of the race, we once again began to scold the Italian strategists, but everything turned out to be much more prosaic. Lewis Hamilton himself, contrary to orders from the boxes, decided to stay on the track on the old set of tyres. So did Max Verstappen and both McLaren pilots. This allowed the British champion to win one position against his teammate.

However, the condition of the tyres on the “Ferrari” Hamilton was worse than the mentioned drivers from the group of leaders. Therefore, when Lewis car because of the old tires completely lost pace, yielding on each lap more than two seconds to rivals, he became easy prey first Charles Leclerc, then Kimi Antonelli, and then Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. In this order, they all finished after the winner of the Singapore Grand Prix. And Hamilton got a modest 6th place in the finish line.

After analyzing the incident, Lewis admitted his mistake and apologized to the team. After all, he really had a chance on the new tyres to compete not only with Charles, but maybe even with Max Verstappen himself for the victory. Completely upset and very tired after the exhausting race, the British champion turned to the medical center of the track for help. Stewards, on this basis, allowed the Ferrari driver to even avoid a mandatory meeting with the press after the Grand Prix. As they say “no comment”, that is, “no comment”.

Breakthroughs are halfway

As for the breakthroughs of George Russell (Mercedes) and Isaac Hajar (Red Bull), which started from the tail of the peleton, the features of the city track of Singapore did not allow this to be done in the colorful manner that Kimi Antonelli filigree demonstrated a month ago on the high-speed track in Monza. Only by the middle of the distance, George managed to get to the point zone, and even then, only due to the time-delayed mandatory pit stop. At the finish, Russell and Hajar were closing in the group of the first “ten”, for being in which they give score points. The stumbling block for the Mercedes pilot, remaining the main competitor to the championship leader Kimi Antonelli in the fight for the championship title, was the German veteran Nico Hulkenberg. On his Audi, unsuccessfully chasing the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson, Nico nevertheless successfully repulsed Russell's attacks until the appearance of a checkered flag at the finish line.

On the podium poured real champagne Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Kimi Antonelli. Thanks to a successful performance, the championship leader has now increased the gap from his team-mate Mercedes to 102 points. After all, George Russell never managed to climb above 9th place, earning only 2 points. Max Verstappen reached the 4th position in the personal standings of the championship, ahead now thanks to his victory of Charles Leclerc by 6 points. It is hard to believe that one of these drivers will be able to impose a fight for the championship of Kimi Antonelli. In motorsport, anything can happen. And until we get ahead, handing out championship regalia.