Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Ends Max Verstappen’s Winning Streak with Singapore Grand Prix Victory

Carlos Sainz has put an end to Max Verstappen‘s record-breaking run of victories…

The 29-year-old Spanish racing driver, currently competing in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, won a tense Singapore Grand Prix to end Verstappen’s record-breaking run and Red Bull‘s hopes of an unbeaten season.

Carlos SainzSainz drove a tactical masterclass in the final laps, keeping Lando NorrisMcLaren close enough that he had use of the Drag Reduction System (DRS) overtaking aid to keep charging Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton at bay.

In a dramatic finish, on the final lap Russell crashed out while chasing Norris to hand the final podium spot to Hamilton.

Sainz’s win was his second in F1 and Ferrari‘s first since his teammate Charles Leclerc won the Austrian Grand Prix on July 10 last year.

In the time since, Red Bull had lost only one race, when George Russell won the Brazilian Grand Prix in November.

Sainz’s victory ended Verstappen’s record run of 10 wins in a row as the huge pace advantage Red Bull had all year disappeared under the lights of Marina Bay.

Verstappen had to settle for fifth position, his first race off the podium this year.

What had been a quiet contest exploded into life in the final 10 laps.

Russell and Hamilton had been brought into contention when Mercedes used a Virtual Safety Car on Lap 45 of 62 to bring both drivers in for fresh tyres when the others did not.

The pace advantage saw them quickly catch the lead three cars, but after both got by Leclerc with relative ease, Russell was unable to get past Norris, who was always within one second of Sainz.

When told how close Norris was behind at one stage, Sainz told Ferrari: “Yeah, it’s on purpose.”

F1’s rules allowed him use of the DRS overtaking aid, and the speed boost it gave Norris on the straights was enough to keep the McLaren driver ahead, which he did with some good defending driving four laps from the end.

Having failed to get by Norris on a couple of occasions, Russell then clipped the inside wall and went straight on into the barrier on the final lap.

That promoted Hamilton to third and Leclerc to fourth in the other Ferrari.

Verstappen finished fifth, extending his huge championship lead over Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, who finished eighth.

Verstappen is now 151 points clear; a win Sunday would have given him the chance to wrap up the title in Japan next week. Instead, the earliest he can do it is October 8 at the Qatar Grand Prix. Red Bull has utterly dominated the season and will hope the race at Suzuka is business as usual.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was sixth, ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.

Liam Lawson continued his impressive start to life in F1, scoring the first points in his career in ninth.

Lawson is expected to drive again at the Japanese Grand Prix, with Daniel Ricciardo still not ready to return to racing after breaking a hand in a crash ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix. 

Kevin Magnussen managed to snatch a point for Haas to reward the team for a strong weekend that had seen both cars start inside the top 10.

Gutierrez Confirmed as Haas Second Formula One Driver

Esteban Gutierrez will be getting behind the wheel for Haas next year.

The American outfit has confirmed the 24-year-old Mexican racing driver as its second driver for the team’s debut Formula One season in 2016.

Esteban Gutierrez

It has been widely known Gutierrez would be unveiled by Haas for some time, with North American heritage and a role as Ferrari reserve driver making him an obvious candidate.

Ferrari is supplying Haas with a power unit for 2016, while the American outfit is also accepting as many components from Maranello as are allowed in the regulations.

Gutierrez, who drove for Sauber in 2013 and 2014, will partner current Lotus driver Romain Grosjean, who was unveiled at Haas’ North Kannapolis base in late September.

The announcement was made in Mexico City after the first day of practice at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodrigeuz ahead of this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix.

“I got to know Esteban through our relationship with Ferrari, and after looking at the success he’s had to earn his role there, it became clear he was an excellent choice for our race team,” said team boss Gene Haas. “He’s young and hungry, but not inexperienced. His two years running a full F1 schedule has given him some very good race experience, and having spent this season at Ferrari as their third driver allowed him to see first hand the methodology that makes Ferrari such a power in Formula One.”

“We’re very happy to have Esteban as a part of our race team. Between him and Romain, we have a strong driver lineup that will help us develop our car and, ultimately, score some points in our inaugural season.”

Gutierrez won the GP3 Series in 2010 before spending two years in GP2, where he finished third in 2012. Two seasons followed at Sauber but he only finished in the points once, at 2013 Japanese Grand Prix where he finished sixth.