F1 | Not just Norris’s DRS, here’s the secret to Carlos Sainz’s win in Singapore – Race pace analysis. Here's the secret to Carlos Sainz's win for Ferrari in Singapore.

A race that kept all Ferrari fans on the edge of their seats and ultimately returned the Prancing Horse to the top step. The biggest concerns were focused on managing rear tire degradation, given the stress it was under. Now, in the race analysis, let’s look at the pace set by the top 5 finishers, plus George Russell, during the Singapore GP.

The first 20 laps of the race did not see a frantic pace from the leading drivers, as the primary goal was to preserve their tires. In the initial stint, Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, and George Russell maintained a consistent and closely matched pace. With the yellow tire used at the start, the drivers managed to stay consistently in the low 1:40s. Even Charles Leclerc, starting on the soft tire, managed to stay in the low 1:40s, despite it being a used set. This is very evident in the graph, with almost overlapping lap times in the leftmost part. It’s interesting to note that Sainz was able to increase his pace before the pit stop, a sign that he was managing his tires effectively until that point.

At lap 20, the Safety Car came into play, opening the ideal window for pit stops. Here, everyone switched to the harder compound to cover the remaining 42 laps. The number of laps to complete on this compound was quite high, and after the SC period, another tire management phase began. In this second part of the race, the fastest laps were set by Sainz and Norris, who maintained a consistent pace in the mid to high 1:39s, followed closely by Charles Leclerc. Max Verstappen had an anonymous stint on the white tire, further highlighting the technical difficulties Red Bull faced during the weekend.

Crucial VSC to contain tire degradation

At lap 40, the element that made Carlos Sainz’s victory possible and allowed the two Mercedes to mount a strong comeback came into play. The Virtual Safety Car (VSC), triggered by Ocon stopping at the pit exit, froze the positions and slowed the pace. This allowed the tires to catch a breather and the rear axle temperatures to drop. Additionally, it enabled the two W14 cars to make a pit stop and switch to the yellow tires for the final 20 laps of the race. Verstappen had a stroke of bad luck as he made his pit stop just before the VSC period, losing over 28 seconds. After the VSC, a 20-lap sprint race began, with the leading drivers maintaining a blistering pace until their tires held up. This allowed Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris to fend off the two Mercedes, which maintained a steady pace around 1:36.5, approximately 3 seconds faster than the top two.

In conclusion, Carlos Sainz’s tire management during the race proved crucial. This was made possible by optimizing the mechanical setup between Friday and Saturday, as it was revealed that the rear axle was not in the optimal window. This sacrifice slightly affected the qualifying performance, but in hindsight, it can be said that it was the best choice. Of course, there is still room for improvement in rear-end grip, and Ferrari is working to address these shortcomings.

Source: f1ingenerale