2023-12-31 08:30:00
SERIE 5/8 – During a season which saw Red Bull win 21 of the 22 grands prix contested, the Spaniard was the only one to prevent a perfect season by winning in Singapore.
During the end-of-year holidays, the sports editorial team of Le Figaro brings you a series on the “robbers” of the sports year, these personalities or entities not necessarily expected and who have been talked about in 2023. This day, victory from the Spanish to Singapore.
Nobody is perfect. Including Red Bull. If the Austrian team has won 21 grand prizes this season, one will have escaped it. September 17, 2023, in Singapore, on a circuit which, once in a while, gave Max Verstappen nightmares. Never in the rhythm all weekend, the Dutchman had already shown significant signs of weakness by only setting the 11th fastest time in qualifying. Without sanction. And just to demonstrate that the Red Bull had lost its wings, Sergio Perez had to be content with 13th time. Very clearly, a window had just opened for the rest of the paddock. But only one would be able to benefit from it. And this one was Carlos Sainz Jr, at the end of a truly beautiful “masterclass”.
Already the author of pole position, the Ferrari driver did not miss his start and, as in a dream for the Scuderia, Charles Leclerc, starting 3rd on the grid, managed to surprise George Russell, 2nd, to come and settle behind his teammate. Then began a magnificent demonstration of teamwork among the Reds, which the Monegasque agreed to apply: namely slowing down the pace, and therefore holding Russell’s Mercedes behind him, to allow Sainz to take a cushion of around five seconds in advance, to avoid any unpleasant surprises during the first pit stops. However, this might not have been enough at the end of the race, when the Briton decided to take advantage of a virtual safety car to make a second stop and put on fresh mediums for the end of the race.
Carlos did a great job all weekend, being super intelligent throughout the race, managing the situation very well.
Frederic Vasseur
It was then that the Spaniard had the intelligence to slow down his pace to allow the McLaren of Lando Norris, who was then between him and the threatening Mercedes, to benefit from DRS and therefore be able to resist better. to the attacks of the Silver Arrow. This foresight paid off since Sainz Jr won the race, while Russell ended up in a wall during the last lap. A tactical sense greeted with a huge smile by Frédéric Vasseur, the boss of the Ferrari team: “Carlos did a great job all weekend, being super intelligent throughout the race, managing the situation very well. I’m beyond happy for him. We had a super clear plan from the start, which went wonderfully. We didn’t have to push any further than that, because strangely we had to keep people behind us.“As for the main person concerned, he could savor this second success in F1, after that in Great Britain in 2022. “It’s an incredible feeling, an incredible weekend. I want to thank everyone at Ferrari for all these efforts, for changing the way this season turned out after a difficult start. We knew what we had to do, that we had to do them perfectly well.» During this season, he will only have been in position once, and he will have done it.
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