Carlos Sainz the strategist: "To win, I helped Lando Norris"

The Top 3
The 2023 Singapore Grand Prix marked the end of Red Bull’s streak of 14 consecutive wins in the season and Max Verstappen’s 10-race winning streak. The renovated Marina Bay circuit witnessed a fantastic victory by Carlos Sainz, who transformed his pole position into a win after a tense race that he and the Ferrari pit wall managed to perfection, especially in terms of strategies. In the closing laps, the Spaniard, with unusual composure, “offered” his DRS to Norris to help defend against the charging Mercedes, which had fresher tires. As a result, Lando Norris finished in second place with his McLaren, while Lewis Hamilton took third with Mercedes. On the final lap, George Russell’s other black and silver arrow was at the wall while he was in third place and trying to overtake Norris. David Coulthard interviewed the top three finishers.

1st, Carlos Sainz – Ferrari
“An incredible feeling and an incredible weekend. I want to thank every member of the Ferrari team for making an incredible effort to turn the season around. We managed to win after a tough start. We had a perfect weekend, and we won this race. We go home with a first-place finish, and I’m sure all of Italy and Ferrari fans will be proud. We had to manage our tire degradation limits. At the beginning, we had to reach the target lap to switch to the planned tires. Then the Safety Car came out earlier than expected, so we had to do a longer stint on the hard tires than planned. I had to try to keep George behind, and everything had to work perfectly. The margins were very tight, but we gave Lando some DRS to help him, and in the end, we managed to finish first. I controlled the race. I thought I had the right pace. Of course, I don’t want to lie; you’re always under pressure and close to making mistakes on a circuit like this. But I felt in control, and I managed everything well. Bringing the car to the finish line was the best feeling; I’m over the moon.”

2nd, Lando Norris – McLaren
“Today was a very tough race. But Carlos was very generous. He helped me by giving me DRS, making my race and his easier. We knew it would be tough when the Mercedes caught up; they would have had the pace to pass us, but we managed to keep them behind. We finished second and did everything we could, even more. So I’m very happy. George out? I also touched the wall in front of him, in the same lap. I did the same thing. He copied me, but it went worse for him. No, I’m sorry for him because he fought hard throughout the race. Probably he was the fastest of all today. His mistake helped me in the final corners because I could relax for a moment. These are good points for the whole team, thanks also to Oscar. We all pushed in this race; it was stressful but it was good.”

3rd, Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes
“Congratulations to Carlos and Lando; they did a great job today, and their strategy worked. We had a different weekend. We brought different tire options for the race today. In my opinion, this was a two-stop race, but it must be said that the others did a fantastic job today. What happened in the first corners was a shame, but I kept my head down and kept pushing. George? A big shame. We were pushing a lot, and we had overheated tires. In the end, though, it was a good race. A tough race? Yes, I like it. It should always be like this.”