The sixteenth stage of Formula 1: according to the author’s traditionally subjective assessments.
Carlos Sainz – 10
Against the backdrop of Red Bull’s woes, Ferrari for the first time was allowed to truly shine, and Sainz more than adequately took advantage of the opportunity he was given. Carlos set the best time in qualifying and then held off Norris, calculating in advance that it would be more difficult for Mercedes to catch up. It was a championship-level performance. I wish I could do it more often!
Lando Norris – 9
A great weekend for the Briton, who demonstrated the potential of the updated McLaren. Although Lando took second place only thanks to Russell’s pit stop and, being busy on defense, did not really fight for the victory, Norris finished less than a second behind the winner and took the podium for the third time this season.
Liam Lawson – 8.5
Already in the third race of his career, Lawson reached the top 10 and managed to score more points than De Vries and Ricciardo combined! In addition, Liam excelled on a completely unknown track, one he had never raced on before. At the same time, the New Zealander did not get a higher rating: in Q3 he drove slower than in the second segment, and at the start he again lost a couple of positions. However, these are nuances.
Lawson even closer to landing lead driver contract
Photo: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images
Max Verstappen – 8
For the first time this season, Red Bull did not have the rhythm to fight for victory, but Max minimized the losses as much as he could, and in a paradoxical way! On a tight street circuit, Verstappen opted for an aggressive tactic with a delayed pit stop and moved from 11th to fifth in the closing laps. Furthermore, in the end, Max literally gained 17 seconds on Leclerc in just six laps and was driving at a higher pace than the leaders.
Esteban Ocón – 8
Excellent performance at the birthday, which ended with a technical meeting. Ocon finally returned to Q3 (for the first time since Canada!), He overtook Magnussen at the start and on lap 37 ahead of Alonso, who had hesitated in the fight with Pérez. With 20 laps to go, Esteban was sixth, ahead of his main rivals, and would almost certainly have maintained the position if the car had held up.
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Lewis Hamilton – 7.5
Lewis was on the podium for the fifth time this season and placed third in the overall standings, judging by Aston Martin’s pace, until the end of the championship. Hamilton got off to a brilliant start, and largely because of this he was forced to cut the corner, on the restart he confidently passed Leclerc and caught up with the leading group. However, Hamilton was slower than Russell throughout the weekend, losing more than 0.4 seconds to him in qualifying and finishing third only after George’s mistake.
Oscar Piastri – 7.5
In Q2, the Australian did not qualify due to red flags on the last attempt, but this was already Oscar’s third fastest lap: he did not improve on the second and ended up qualifying on his first lap. In the race, Piastri stayed behind Gasly for the entire distance and finally chased him down in seventh position, not bad if he started from 17th position on an unfamiliar track!
Piastri was left out of the classification due to Stroll’s accident
Photo: Clive Mason/Getty Images
Alejandro Albon – 7.5
In Singapore, Williams was not as good as in Monza, but Albon was slower in the second qualifying segment than in the first. At first it looked like Alex couldn’t get better than 15th, but closer to the finish, thanks to new tires, he was ahead of Zhou and Hulkenberg and preparing to pass Lawson. However, it was at that moment that Perez sent Williams into the wall and denied the driver the opportunity to score points.
Carlos Leclerc – 7
The Monegasque loses to his teammate for the third time in a row and in the race, despite having the best tires, he cannot overtake him, for the second time in a row! In theory, Charles had a chance to join the battle for victory, but on the restart after Sargent’s accident he missed Hamilton and when Ocon retired he was last in the leading group.
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Pierre Gasly – 7
In addition to the drivers of the four best teams, the best in Singapore was Pierre Gasly. The Frenchman, however, was not so good. Due to a blur in the second sector, Gasly lost in qualifying to Ocon, and in the race he was stuck behind Alonso, whom, unlike Esteban, he could not overtake on the track. Probably, if it weren’t for the withdrawal of his teammate, Pierre would have remained eighth.
Valtteri Bottas – 7
Alfa Romeo prepared updates for the Singapore stage, but this time they had no effect. Bottas qualified only in 16th place, started strongly and counted on the subsequent appearance of the safety car. Finally, after changing tires, Valtteri fell to the back of the pack and then retired due to technical problems. With such presentations, the broker could hardly change the situation.
Valtteri Bottas
Photo: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images
Kevin Magnussen – 6.5
An excellent qualifying and a fighting race at the bottom of the top ten almost ended on lap 36 when Magnussen, after passing Gasly, went off the track. What saved the Dane was Ocon’s abandonment and the possibility of changing to soft tires; Otherwise, Kevin would have finished the race in the back rows. Well, Russell’s retirement gave him another position and a point in the championship standings.
Nico Hulkenberg – 6
A mediocre race for Niko, whose problems were due to the loss to his teammate in qualifying. In the double pit stop after Sargent retired, Hulk was behind Magnussen and returned to the race only in 15th place. The German managed to recover a little, but in the end the team did not change his tires and Nico eventually finished alone. 13th, behind Magnussen, who switched to soft.
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Sergio Perez – 5.5
Pérez is slower than Verstappen not only with a good car, but also with a bad one. For Checo, the classification ended with a spin at the beginning of the last attempt, and in the race the Mexican did not advance a single position in the first 20 laps, although he was left behind the inexperienced Lawson. Furthermore, Sergio made an extremely sharp turn in the fight with Albon and only thanks to the kindness of the stewards did he finally retain eighth place. If it weren’t for the judges and Russell’s retirement, Checo would have been left without any points.
Fernando Alonso – 5.5
It was the former champion’s worst weekend this season. The Spaniard crossed the white line that separates the pit lane from the track first, receiving an automatic five-second penalty, and with 15 laps remaining he spun at turn 14 and finally crossed the finish line in last place. In theory, Alonso could finish between sixth and eighth, but in practice he was left without points for the first time this year.
Alonso still hasn’t driven so badly this year
Photo: Clive Mason/Getty Images
Guanyu Zhou – 5.5
If Zhou had qualified higher than 19th (almost half a second behind Bottas), he would not have had to invent tactics with a pit stop on the second lap and a change to medium 42 laps before the finish. At those pit stops, Guanyu was the only one choosing medium tires and of course there weren’t enough for the rest of the race.
George Russell – 5
Until the last lap, Russell was having a great weekend. Excellent classification, a bold strategy in the fight for victory and a whole series of overtakes. It was not possible to hold Leclerc at the start, but he himself fell during the first pit stops. Aggressive tactics cost second place, but it is better to fight for victory than to finish second. However, the podium turned to dust due to a momentary loss of concentration.
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Yuki Tsunoda – 4
In the last two races, Yuki did not even complete a full lap: in Monza the car broke down already on the warm-up lap, and in Singapore after contact with Pérez at the start. And on the one hand, it’s great that Tsunoda was able to compete with a person who started two positions higher, on the other hand, Yuki himself ruined his attempt in qualifying and finished Q2 without a time.
Spear ride – 3
For the Canadian, the Singapore Grand Prix ended even before the start, with a heavy crash at the end of the first qualifying segment. However, in the first place, Stroll was unlucky with the timing of the selective weigh-in: because of this, on the first attempt he found himself in a traffic jam and was forced to attack under the checkered flag. And secondly, the final twist is really dangerous: it’s not that hard to miss it a little.
Lance Stroll after a fall in qualifying
Photo: Mark Thompson/Getty Images
Logan Sargent – 2
The American debutant also scored another accident: after a third of the race, Logan stopped and tore off his front wing. In addition, the rating failed again: in one of the episodes the broadcast failed, but Sargent himself made mistakes. The difference with Albon ended up being just 0.6 seconds.
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