What happened last time out in Singapore? A recap from a shock 2023 race

Red Bull's domination drops

The domination from Red Bull Racing in 2023 saw many records broken in a season that may never be seen in F1 again. The Austrian team recorded the highest percentage of wins in a singular season with 95.45%, winning 21 out of the 22 Grands Prix, as well as 15 consecutive wins for the team. However, their one loss came around the Marina Bay Circuit, a huge upset in the season.

Practice highlighted that the RB19 was not at home on the streets of Singapore, with what was seen as an unbeatable car looking very average around the Marina. It was even more evident after qualifying, as Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez did not even make it out of Q2, qualifying in P11 and P13, respectively. Verstappen was looking for his 11th consecutive win of the season, with Red Bull going for win number 16 in a row, but a dismal qualifying put a stop to the dreams of an unbeaten season

Sainz uses terrific tactics

Without the two Red Bulls near the front of the grid, Carlos Sainz was able to outpace George Russell to pole, with Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton rounding out the top five. Sainz held onto the lead from the start, with teammate Leclerc jumping Russell to take P2. An early safety car came out, but it did not shake up the order.

However, a virtual safety car later on allowed Mercedes to double-stack Russell and Hamilton, allowing them to take advantage in the race, easily overtaking Leclerc to take third and fourth, respectively. With Sainz and Norris battling at the front, the Spaniard used some superb tactics, strategically allowing the McLaren driver and his former teammate to remain in DRS range, making it harder for the Mercedes drivers to overtake Norris and trouble Sainz.

As the laps ticked down, the tyre advantage for the Mercedes pair became weaker. Hamilton, who looked after the tyres better than Russell, looked likely to win the race if he was allowed through by his teammate. However, he could not make the move, and it resulted in both of them destroying their better tyres as neither could make it past a DRS-assisted Norris, meaning Sainz's tactics looked set to give him a fine win.

Final lap crash causes chaos

The top four drivers were within two seconds of each other as the final lap got underway. However, a final lap crash from Russell gave a superb race one more twist. While sitting in the final podium place, he clipped the wall and broke his suspension causing him to lose control and crash into the turn 10 wall, shattering the hopes of a podium.

A clip of the same wall from Norris almost ended his race, but his car remained undamaged, meaning he stayed in P2 when the chequered flag fell. But it was Sainz who was able to take advantage of his tactics to take his first win since the 202 British Grand Prix, and Ferrari's first win since the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix. Hamilton was able to take the final podium spot in Singapore after Russell's crash.