Ferrari Ends Red Bull Dominance At Singapore F1 Grand Prix

Carlos Sainz once again proved to be Red Bull's kryptonite, ending another series of dominant wins. In 2022, Sainz ended Red Bull's dominance after six race wins at the beginning of the season, while George Russell ended the dominance after nine races in the penultimate Grand Prix of the season.

Sainz showcased G.O.A.T. performance levels at the Singapore Grand Prix with a strategic move to keep Lando Norris within a second of his gearbox so he had access to DRS, perhaps the smartest thing we've seen this year. Not even the Ferrari strategy team could think that far ahead, warning Sainz that Norris was in the DRS zone. He simply responded that it was by design.

The move helped Norris fend off an incredible charge from the Benz Boys, who were closing in at a rate of two seconds a lap on fresh medium-compound tires and would've despatched with both the McLaren and Ferrari in a matter of laps had it not been for the extra dash of pace. Sainz driving slower instead of faster to win the race seemed counterintuitive but was actually sheer genius.

George Russell was leading the Mercedes charge but lost control of his car at a crucial moment, crashing out on the final lap of a race he thought he could win. Sir Lewis Hamilton was right behind him, ready to pounce, claiming third with Norris in second and Sainz on the top step.

Charles Leclerc finished fourth, scoring valuable points for team Ferrari. Max Verstappen lucked into fifth after Russell attacked the wall, but it was a beautiful recovery race in a car that vehemently disagreed with the Singaporean conditions. Gasly placed sixth, with Oscar Piastri driving from 17th to seventh, Sergio Perez finishing eighth, Liam Lawson earning his first F1 points in ninth, and Kevin Magnussen scoring a point in tenth place.

That performance from Piastri was epic, but we already know the Australian has talent. It's not his first time in the top 10. We want to lavish some praise on Lawson, who not only scored two points on his third outing in Formula 1 but also became the first-ever rookie to score points at the Singapore Grand Prix in his debut season.

As for the race, it was as expected. Red Bull knew it was at a disadvantage beforehand, and even rival teams jumped to RBR's defense, saying the new flex-wing regulations that came into effect this weekend had nothing to do with the poor performance.

The RB19 has been unstoppable this year, but Red Bull couldn't find a setup that worked, with Toto Wolff likening it to Mercedes' 2014 season when Singapore was a complete anomaly for the Silver Arrows. At times, Verstappen would have been better off with his Civic Type R company car.

Max Verstappen said Red Bull would let the other teams have one and hit back at Suzuka. Luckily, we have less than a week to wait to see if his prediction rings true.

Did Red Bull's poor performance this weekend dampen Max Verstappen's chances to win the championship early? Not really. After winning the Italian Grand Prix, Verstappen eliminated the Ferrari duo from Championship contention.

There are still 206 points left on the table this season; that's seven race wins plus one point for the fastest lap and three sprint race victories. Everyone below 168 points is mathematically out of the equation, leaving only Perez (223), Hamilton (180), and Alonso (170) still in contention. Alonso is on the cusp of being eliminated, and Verstappen can eliminate Hamilton by winning both the Japanese and Qatar Grands Prix. His biggest rival remains Perez, who is 151 points behind.

But the above detracts from an excellent Singapore Grand Prix, once again proving that Formula 1 is not boring and that even the most dominant team can be cut down to size.

Well done, Smooth Operator.