Not since Mercedes in 2015 has a car as dominant as the RB19 been as “humiliated” in a race as the Red Bull in Singapore, according to Ted Kravitz.
In a season in which Red Bull has strung together race wins, with Max Verstappen winning by double digits to the closest non-Red Bull driver, the team’s incredible run came to an end in Singapore.
Complaining about the grip behind and a sharp front, neither Verstappen nor Sergio Perez could get into the fight at the front, and it was a fight.
With Red Bull teammates at the bottom of the top ten, Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were involved in the war for the most exciting victory ever seen this season.
All four drivers were separated by less than 3 seconds when Sainz kept Norris at bay, not so Mercedes could simply attack him, but to give him DRS to keep the Brackley drivers at bay.
The Ferrari driver crossed the finish line 0. 8 seconds ahead of Norris, with Hamilton moving a moment ahead as Russell fell from third on the final lap.
It was a war that would last for centuries and remind Formula 1 enthusiasts of the joy of the sport. Even Kravitz, a journalist in the stands of Sky Sports, was jumping up and shouting cheers at the most sensible four.
“It’s just fun, isn’t it? It’s fun,” he said in his post-race paperback on Ted.
“Alright, listen, the cynics among you can say that’s what happens when Red Bull is in racing. But if Red Bull wasn’t so dominant, then they could participate and we could do it every week. “.
“It’s not his fault. Of course, they are dominant and will return to Japan. . . I mean, they will be this weekend, Red Bull.
“After the race, Max said ‘we’re going to leave you one and then we’re going to reload them’ – he didn’t say regret – at Suzuka, where the car is, we think it will be like that. “Oh, really?We’ll find out. “
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On a weekend in which Verstappen finished fifth and Perez eighth, it was the first Grand Prix of the season in which Red Bull not only did not win, but did not even get on the podium.
“Never before, with the exception of Mercedes, where they were dominant and had such a terrible Singapore Grand Prix in 2014, 2015, never such a dominant car in one season, this RB19 erasing everything in front of it, had been so humiliated at a grand prix,” he added.
Red Bull aside, the Briton was left a little speechless as to why those battling Sainz for victory had chosen to bet on him in a tactical race control game rather than trying to overtake the Spaniard and pass him off as “fast”. as possible.
“The result was a very entertaining race where everyone rode as slowly as they could on the first stint and then as fast as they could on the last stint. And I still can’t figure it out,” he said.
“I didn’t understand it, but if someone had come out as fast as they could in that first stint, would that have changed?Could they be further ahead?
“But it’s just entertaining, isn’t it? In the end it is wonderful.
Although Verstappen continues to lead the drivers’ standings ahead of Sergio Perez, there is a new call up in 3rd position with Hamilton ahead of Fernando Alonso by 10 points. Ferrari reduced the gap to Mercedes to 24 points in the constructors’ championship.
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