Ferrari arrived at the Marina Bay as the underdogs, unsure of whether they would secure a podium place, let alone a race win. But as they leave the famous night-racing venue, they are right on top, having thrilled fans and perhaps moved the Vettel-admirers to a state of tears.
Singapore Grand Prix 2019 Race Highlights
As Mercedes struggled, failing only for the eighth time in the current hybrid era to make it to the podium, the grueling Singapore slugfest ensured a decent result for Red Bull as Max Verstappen finished with a strong P3. But what were the key talking points from the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix? Here are the top 5 Singapore Grand Prix 2019 Race Highlights-
A Ferrari 1-2 after a long time
The last that one saw a Ferrari 1-2 was back in the 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix where Kimi Raikkonen finished a strong second as his teammate and close-friend Sebastian Vettel emerged the race-winner. It was over two years back in time that one saw a strong and rewarding finish from the most popular racing marquee in all of Formula 1.
But from that point on, what one has seen has been a constant struggle for the red cars with the 2018 season producing no more than 6 Grand Prix victories, 5 of them belonging to Sebastian Vettel.
And where the 2019 season panned out, particularly in the first half, there was this growing concern about Ferrari losing out their superiority in front of a very Hamilton-dominated Mercedes show.
But then Singapore corrected a serious anomaly in the Ferrari form as the final bits of the 61-lap contest produced an unnerving although a closely-fought battle between the two Ferraris giving literally nothing away to the other cars.
Vettel’s win
Among the biggest talking points, Singapore Grand Prix 2019 Race Highlights was the great win bagged by Sebastian Vettel. Vettel, who seemed ever so capable of garnering a pole after a sensational flying lap in the opening stint of Q3 on Saturday lost all the form in the final flying lap and from there on in, his effort was reduced to playing catch up to Leclerc and Hamilton. But on race day, Singapore unveiled an aggressive and alert German in the front.
While on the one hand there were incessant smiles for the experienced German driver, his younger teammate, it could be said, eloped with mixed feelings.
That Ferrari’s undercut worked tremendously well (over Mercedes) and formed among the key talking points for the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix was hardly a doubt but that Vettel emerged right on top of a spot that had cheated him for a little over a year was the true crowning moment of the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix.
Clearly a driver who all felt was driving to secure his fledgling career, Sebastian Vettel, who’s the winner of four world championships desperately needed a triumph. And it could be said that Vettel’s much-needed, nearly career-saving breakthrough arrived right in midst of perhaps his most challenging run in Formula 1.
How desperately he needed that win, didn’t he?
And boy, did anyone see that winning moment coming at arguably the most physically taxing and mentally challenging track of the year? While it’s easy to state that Vettel was the best driver, someone who was also ultimately voted as the ‘Driver of the day,’ what we mustn’t underplay is that it wasn’t going to be easy for the track leader to maintain his lead after the Grand Prix was intervened by the Safety Car on multiple occasions.
Max Verstappen bettering the two Mercedes
Among the big talking points from the Singapore Grand Prix 2019 race highlights were the third-place finish secured by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Max Verstappen, who is yet to win a Grand Prix at the taxing Marina Bay circuit collected a fine result in a race where there was hardly any dearth of the safety car deployment.
And in doing so, he emerged on top of his new teammate, Alex Albon, newly-promoted to the Milton Keynes-outfit.
But implicit in Verstappen gathering a decent 15 points from the race was his excellent defending from Valtteri Bottas in the first half of the contest and later on, in the closing stages, his defiance against Lewis Hamilton. Singapore’s result was also a much-improved performance from the 21-year-old who bettered his P8 at Monza.
While Verstappen’s last podium came at Hungary, it could be said, he may be up for another great performance especially at the forthcoming contests at Mexico and Brazil where he’s reigned supreme in the past.
Lando Norris outscoring Sainz again
If there was someone among the big talking points from the Singapore Grand Prix 2019 race highlights, then it was a young rookie driver!
Lando Norris, a teenager, after all, happens to be among the best young drivers out on the track today. And truth be told, the 19-year-old seems to be clear in his elements right in his rookie F1 season.
It wasn’t too long ago where Lando Norris outraced and outscored his more experienced teammate in Carlos Sainz Jr. It was just a fortnight ago where Norris ended on a respectable tenth at the daunting Italian Grand Prix of Monza as his Spanish teammate failed to finish his race.
And who would’ve expected that the young Briton would emerge on top at McLaren, yet again, whilst contending in his very-first 2019 Singapore Grand Prix? But a few hours back, Norris was at it again, finishing on a very strong P7, right behind Alex Albon of Red Bull and comfortably ahead of Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly.
But the key to Norris’s impressive Singapore drive was a smooth getaway right at the start where he held on this ninth place on the track and tried his best in getting past the Alfa Romeo of Antonio Giovinazzi. Once he hung in there, Norris was quick to make the best use of the frequent grid changes as brought out by the series of pit stops and would eventually be the only points-scorer for McLaren.
Mercedes missing the podium: not an everyday outing
It’s not every day that one sees a Mercedes missing out among the top three on the podium but at Singapore, Ferrari and Red Bull didn’t cut any corners and didn’t give much of leeway to the exciting racing outfit to score memorably.
In fact, owing to his superb form all throughout this season, a year where he’s already won 8 Grands Prix, one can’t remember when Lewis last ended on a P4.
Also, it wasn’t the greatest of races for Valtteri Bottas, who at the closing stages, seemed strong enough to elope with the fastest lap before Haas’ Kevin Magnussen ruined Finn’s effort to emerge fastest.
But all of that said, one would still wonder whether Mercedes shot themselves in the foot after making a seemingly tactical blunder by overcutting Ferrari who benefitted, as we saw in the end, with Sebastian Vettel pitting first?
Nonetheless, that both Lewis and Valtteri will be keen to hit back at Ferrari at the upcoming Russian Grand Prix will be something that will be watched with intense emotions and unflickering interest.