Those 15 INTENSE Final Laps _ 2023 Singapore Grand Prix

A late send from the world champion, and Max Verstappen fights his way back to the points. And Joe Guan Yu's hopes of another point scoring finish would be his third of the season evaporate thanks to that move. That's the sort of thing we're going to have to see from a Norris or a Russell or whoever if they're going to try and find their way to the front of signs. They've got to be brave. You know, those sorts of moves that we're seeing there from Verstappen. Yes, he's got a quicker car, but you commit and there is no way to back out of it. You're basically saying to the person, leave the door open or we're both crashing. Yeah, it's a brilliant move, really. It was a red miss move there. And if Joe had hovered in the middle, I think they, who knows, it would have been a bit of a rear end. But it was nice commitment Verstappen back into the points. He's got Nico Hülkenberg only just ahead of him. Just checking with Liam Lawson, who started his third Grand Prix today. Eighth place on for his first points in Formula 1. This is the moment that Fernando Alonso needed to go down the escape road. Three-point turn and he's back in the race. But out of the points, down 10 places from where he started this one. Yeah, look, we heard him earlier, seeing the cars on drivable. This is one of the most uncharacteristic drives we've seen from Fernando in a long time. Usually, he's so metronomic behind the wheel. Here's your race leader. Go with his pace. Lead faster if you can till the end. Oh, that's not what you want to hear. You want to hear it's all good, it's all cushy. You're on for a win. 14 laps to go. Find a little bit more. And Sainz did up the pace on the last lap. Comes through and he's lost 6 tenths. But he doesn't want to lose the tyres either, because if Russell does get there, then he wants to have something left to try and defend with. Really lovely defensive shape thrown over the bridge for Hülkenberg that counts for absolutely nothing when it turned into a traction race. That fresher medium tyres for the dominant Red Bull of this season. Up to ninth place. Verstappen's going to have an interesting cameo here as we focus on the battle from the top five. Russell pitting from second. Hamilton also pitting for new rubber as well to go down to fifth. Both of them with extreme pace in relation to the cars out front. But it is tough to overtake in Singapore. That is the task that has been set for Russell and Hamilton. Hamilton hasn't won a Grand Prix since Jeddah in 2021. He is in the middle of his longest winless streak his entire Formula 1 career. And George Russell is looking for win number two. That is how it is set up. What a drive from Liam Lawson. What an introduction to Formula 1. Deputising in the place of Daniel Ricciardo, who broke his hand in Zandvoort a couple of races ago. And he has really applied himself brilliantly. This is one of the hardest circuits of the entire season according to the drivers that race behind the wheel. And Lawson looks like he's been here for a couple of seasons. Yeah, I think he's done a brilliant job in the cameo that he's had. And I think he was so open-minded about this might be the only opportunity he gets to show what he can do. And in my mind, he's earned the right for a full-time drive in Formula 1. It must put a spotlight on Tsunoda, assuming that Daniel Ricciardo is safe for next year. Another brilliant drive from Piastri. He was unfortunate in qualifying when we saw Lance Stroll crash the car. He didn't get to do his qualifying time, but he's recovered very well from starting down in, what was that, 17th place? Currently running seventh. Lawson is really pretty quickly dispelling this sort of myth about rookie drivers struggling, isn't he? Three races and he's delivering this? There are reasons that rookies struggle. They don't get a lot of track time. It is a tough era for rookies, but if you're good enough, you can still show the talent. And Lawson is doing that. Piastri's done that this year as well. It's tricky, the Singapore Grand Prix. That's what makes it even more impressive. The track is just got walls lining it. It's so easy to have a lapse in concentration and make a small mistake, which is exactly what Sargent did that triggered that first safety car period as the other rookie in the field. And that just really emphasizes how well Lawson has done. Qualified in the top 10. He's running in eighth, 12 laps to go. You are nose-cam view with George Russell, the driver who is desperately trying to close down the gap to the top three. And then it's a question of how quickly can he dispatch with Charles Leclerc. Leclerc, who ran as high as second position in this race earlier on. If Leclerc can hold him at bay, it's great news for Ferrari. Race control looking at the pit incident involving Perez and Albon for a virtual safety car infringement. Okay, at this pace, Russell will catch Sainz. The caveat, he's got to pass Leclerc and Norris first. So if he runs at this pace and can make clean passes on Leclerc and Norris, then it's race on, right into the closing stages. He's a second and a half, two seconds quicker on the last lap than Sainz. He's 11 and a half seconds back, so he will get there if he can make the moves. Talking of making moves, I thought Liam Lawson would dive out of the way there, but he didn't for Max Verstappen. And these two different stages of their careers. Whoa! Max Verstappen going tight to the inside line and finally taking the place to the inside of Liam Lawson, who doesn't fight it under braking. And Verstappen recovers to eighth position on his worst day of the season so far, but he's having a bit of fun at last on this medium tyre. Next up the road is Oskar Piastri and he'll be confident of catching the McLaren driver out front. This is the battle that went on for a couple of corners and turned into eighth place eventually. Yeah, he had to set it up for a few corners, took that tighter line to try and straighten the car, picked up the slipstream, was not giving a lot of room there, but I think that all adds to the impressive debut of Liam Lawson, that he's the only man that up until this Grand Prix had actually passed Max Verstappen on track, if we remember Zandvoort. Just want to come back to Julian, what you said there about Russell, if you in pure pace can catch signs. Hamilton was actually six times quicker than Russell on the last lap. He's only three seconds behind. He's going to be pushing his teammate along at this rate. Yeah, they're both attacking and Hamilton actually so far on these mediums has just been solidly a little bit quicker. There's now less than three seconds between them. There's Leclerc in third, here's Russell and there's Hamilton. The battle for third is about to hot up. If Russell wants to win the Grand Prix or fight for the win, he's got to clear Leclerc quickly. Charles Leclerc could do a huge favour for his teammate by doing the Fernando Alonso Budapest roll when Esteban Ocon took that win. Elbows out and just try and keep these two Mercedes behind for as long as possible. He went with us a couple of years ago. Enormous charge through the field from a Mercedes driver and then came across the teammate of the driver who the other team's car was in the lead of the race and the defence there gave the win to Esteban Ocon. Esteban Ocon who started this whole grandstand finish off when he pulled out of the points earlier on with a mechanical failure. Charles Leclerc, where's the mindset for Charles Leclerc? Does he play the team game for Carlos Sainz to try and enable his teammate to win the race or will he not offer the firmest defence? Can he offer any defence if George Russell can get him off the racing line and turn it into a traction race? He's got to try. He's going to start being on on the next lap, I think, when Russell gets closer and closer. And it is the traction. It's the new medium tyre will have traction. Three DRS zones. Right now Ferrari will be delighted that the fourth one didn't get passed in the driver's meeting on Friday night. So Russell's going to have to do it in three. That might be his best chance there at Turn 14. He may be getting the hurry up from Hamilton who I think's got that rolling gap down to just over two seconds. So could we have Hamilton saying, hey, guys, I'm going faster. Get him out of the way while Russell's going. I've got it covered. I'm going to launch it down the inside of Leclerc. This is so finely poised. This is a Grand Prix that is coming to the boil lap after lap after lap. And now it's all about the efficiency of overtake. If George Russell can clear the Scarlet Ferrari ahead, he's got a chance to win this race. Here we go. The next corner is going to be critical. Turn 5 and then we get DRS. Leclerc's got enough of a margin right now. How quickly can Russell get on the gas? He's got Hamilton closing in behind and going very quickly on this medium. And here we go with George with the DRS now down to 7. A little bit too far back, surely. And that'll just hold him back. Hamilton will catch. Lewis will get within a second of Russell unless George could start putting some moves on. So now for Russell. It's about forcing Leclerc off the racing line and getting a part of the car alongside. We have a yellow flag in Sector 3 momentarily. And Bottas appears to be stationary on the exit of Turn 14. Valtteri Bottas in the Alfa Romeo. Well, Turn 14 is parked up according to our information. We're heading to that corner. Is it an accurate read from our driver tracker in the commentary box? And George Russell is close now. He's got an opportunity. This is his first real run on the Ferrari driver ahead. He will know it. Go to the outside line, says Charles Leclerc. But then it's the up-and-under attempt from George Russell. This is the traction race we were telling you about. George Russell's got a chance now to win this Grand Prix because he's 40th way by and he's taken third place. Leclerc trying to fight back, at least trying to cost him a bit more time somehow. But really, that was fairly clinical from Russell. Watch Hamilton. Hamilton catching Leclerc at the worst part of the racetrack. Can he get a good run through here? Getting that dirty air all the way through DC. He's trying to make the pass, but that was really clinical from George Russell. Yeah, and unfortunately from Hamilton, he ran into a situation where Leclerc had DRS off the back of George Russell. Will the gap be big enough where he doesn't get DRS? And this will give Hamilton a chance to pass him down into Turn 7. Leclerc's got no rear end. He's struggling so badly out of Turn 3. Even with DRS, he might struggle to keep Hamilton behind, but he hasn't got it. And Lewis Hamilton is the second Mercedes on the charge. Lewis Hamilton fights away by. And the team are fighting their way by to the front of the field now. Third and fourth for Mercedes, who rolled the dice on making a stop, on giving up track position at a street circuit. And it's only Norris and Sainz ahead of them. And are they going to battle amongst themselves? It's wide open here. This was the pass for George Russell. Yeah, just as soon as he turns the car, you can see Leclerc sliding, slithering on those old hards. He can't put the power down. And Russell sneaks through. Loads more grip. Mercedes love it because there's race on for them. They can still win this. And with the way the hard tyres are going on that Ferrari, the LEAF Ferrari will be struggling in the same way. They're on the same hard tyres with the same life. Oh, it is everything we love about Formula 1 illustrated once again. Max Verstappen has caught Oscar Piastri. There's a difference in hard tyre compound and the medium that Verstappen is running. There's also a Grand Prix car there. They'd expect that to be back to form next week at Suzuka. It's been an off week. It's going to cost them a chance of a perfect season. But they're still really just, you've got to tip your hat to an incredible run that they've had. 14 Grand Prix victories in a row. And there's going to be another pass shortly now for Max Verstappen to take 7th place. He started in 11th. They didn't get the timing of the safety car that they needed. And it's now 7th place. And then we will send all eyes back to the front of the field. Russell is 5.2 seconds away. But Hamilton now just 1.5 seconds behind his teammate. Yeah, they're hunting as a pack now, aren't they? The two Mercedes. Hamilton will try and pick up any pieces that Russell offers up. These are the front two then. Sainz still with Norris just waiting a second back. How far is the gap? 7 seconds, Norris. Is it too big a gap for us to catch? Negative. Let's go for it. Our projection at the moment. We've crunched the numbers. And we think this is going to be decided towards the last lap. What a fantastic finish to the Singapore Grand Prix. We promised you an open race at the start of this one. But it's really in the balance now. Russell will get there. He's 1.4 seconds quicker than Carlos Sainz on the last lap. He's going to get there before the last lap. I think there's the Mercedes into view in the background. Just with his teammate following him like a shadow as they come up towards Turn 14. Carlos Sainz's hope for victory here is called Lando Norris. It's all about whether the McLaren driver can fight to keep these two behind. George Russell faming and looking to claim a second Grand Prix victory. Hamilton trying to end his longest winless streak in his entire Formula 1 career. First, second, wait for third. On the charge. And there's fourth as well. Coming around the 19th and final corner. Okay, we sat through a tough first 40 laps. But this is a finale that we like to see. Sainz out front, desperate for a win. Had a podium last time out. He's on fire at the moment, Carlos Sainz. But that late strategy call. Mercedes, I think, have really given themselves a huge shot. And striking distance there. Three laps between Norris and Russell. Again, George has got to pass Lando pretty quickly if he wants to have a run at Sainz still. Lando is now in DRS. Lando knows the threat that's coming. He's upping the pace. Okay, so can Sainz back into Norris to give Norris DRS to help him defend from Russell? Is that the next curveball that Sainz can offer up in just giving Norris a better chance of keeping Russell behind? Whether Lando's 1.1 or 0.9 behind won't change Carlos Sainz's world. But whether Norris can keep Russell behind, it really will right now. All in the balance after all of this racing. Lando Norris just trying to stay in DRS. George Russell was so efficient with Charles Leclerc, who's in fifth place and didn't have any chance. Three DRS zones and into the third of the DRS zones, Russell was through. It's a second and a half again on the last lap. Russell in the 1.36 is 36.9. Sainz at 1.38.5. The gap is being slashed down by both Mercedes. There they are, Russell and Hamilton. It's the only thing maybe is that Sainz gives Norris DRS to try and just desperately hold on because Leclerc had no chance, did he, when those Mercedes came? He just didn't have the rear grip to put up any reasonable fight. What a moment. What a moment for these two chasing. He knows it, doesn't he? He knows it. He's a smart driver, is Carlos. I think he's... The Lando's not a threat for the win. Surely he'll know that. The threat is this man here. You've got to make it last multiple laps. You've got to turn it into a battle for the McLaren in orange up against the Mercedes because if it's as efficient as we saw before, there is going to be nothing that the two ahead can do. We saw Hamilton couldn't pass Leclerc when Leclerc had DRS from Russell. There was only one straight. The next one he might have been through regardless but that's the best chance that Sainz has got is to just back into Norris now. Trying to stay away in that time trial mode is gone. Five laps to go and they're almost all four of them lying astern. Now it's just racecraft and he's got to hope that Norris has got something in his locker today. Here's Max Verstappen looking to try and take sixth position. Just biding his time because he knows that Gasly's on the hard tyre. He knows that when he turns it into a traction race, it is going to swing his way and his last 10 races have finished on the top step. He's playing a cameo today in a season where he has been the main man but now Norris is within DRS out front. We continue to mark off this battle. This is likely to be Max Verstappen's last overtake of the race if you look at the gap up the road to Charles Leclerc and let's see whether he can do his old classic of getting very, very aggressive as he heads into the hairpin. Not this time but it's a matter of time to claim that place. Gasly can't turn the car. Now he'll get DRS and there should be a relative drive-by to the outside. Switchback. Let's see if he can get by. Gasly will try and hang on to it but Verstappen's got the better grip. He's got the place and at turn 14 he is up to sixth. And that should be the Max Verstappen overtaking cameo done then. 18 seconds he's got to Leclerc who is going pretty slowly now but he won't make that in the last five laps. Here we go, race on. Six tenths between the top two. Okay, Carlos Sainz knows that he needs the help of Lando Norris. He has deliberately given Lando Norris DRS to try and increase the McLaren speed. Lewis Hamilton has got the gap down to George Russell as well. Mercedes are well placed to win the race but which Mercedes? This is grandstand stuff. This really is. Four cars there. The back two have so much more grip. Lando, point eight behind. Point eight with DRS. Russell, no DRS. Yeah, it's on purpose. Copy that. Carlos Sainz. Now this is tactical. This is what we're doing. This is why I needed the gaps. Because I needed to know that the British driver was in one second so he can be faster in a straight line of three parts of the track. Mercedes' strategy is the best today. They've given themselves the best chance in the pits and with the tires. So Sainz is now taking matters into his own hands with his own strategy. Holding back, giving Norris a chance to fight with him. Look how close Lando is coming down towards turn 16. And he's got to just keep Norris' straight line speed up by giving him DRS. But these two Mercedes are split by nothing as well. There is a massive moment coming here. Either Russell is going to get by Norris or Hamilton is going to have a chance to be the lead Mercedes. Anyone battling who isn't battling against Carlos Sainz could hand the Spanish driver the victory trophy. If Sainz wins this race, this will be one of the most brilliant victories that I can remember. With this amount of pace, bunching the field up like this, reminds me a little bit of Hamilton in Abu Dhabi in 2016. Backing in the top four to try and get someone to pass his teammate for the championship that day. Sainz looking in the mirrors. Norris will love a pass. He's not going to sit there for no reason. He wants to win the race as well. The top four are nearly glued together as we go through turn number eight. Will it be the Ferrari? Will it be the McLaren? And which Mercedes can step forward? All of the catching has been done by George Russell. It's now passing to try and win the Grand Prix. All the time, Sainz reporting that his tyres are done. So Lando might yet try to seek a way past the Ferrari and take this for himself. There's going to be a chance after this bridge. Up to the right, left-hander here, and then we've got a DRS zone and Norris is struggling to turn the car as well. Russell's going to have a chance here. Now this is where George Russell was able to set up the move before. He's really close this time. But now there's an opportunity to stand on the power. The two British drivers go wheel-to-wheel. George Russell trying to fight his way by. Will that be the inside line? No, Norris gets his elbows out and that could have won the race for Carlos Sainz. Well, there's a long way to go. There's a short way to go, but it will be so long for Sainz still. Norris now scrambling around. There's another DRS zone after this one, and those two Mercedes are waiting to pounce. This is on the limit for the podium places for the win. Three to go of this three-mile lap, and it's Sainz out front. Norris no longer has DRS to try and defend. And that is going to be a really costly more than one second gap that Sainz has. Look at Hamilton right with Russell. This could be Hamilton's chance to win. Hamilton is trying to end 37 races without a trip to the top step of the podium. We're running out of laps, and Lando Norris now has got the DRS. He's got the DRS there. Sainz dropping back to try and help them pretend. And the top four are in the same order, but it's one lock up and it could all change. Hamilton looking the most likely, but he's fourth. Alex, Russell's defending from Hamilton now, and that's costing him. And Hamilton to the inside! Oh my word! If the Mercedes battle for too many more corners, it is Carlos Sainz's day. Lap 60 of 62. We're running out of miles of this Grand Prix. Sainz, suddenly the pendulum looked like he was swinging Mercedes way. It's gone back to Ferrari. He was a second and a half quicker than or ahead of Norris over the line. He lost a huge amount of time. He really waited for Lando to try and tow him up the straight towards Turn 7. And now Norris has the DRS, and this time Russell's a bit further back. The laps are ticking down. There's two and a half more to go. No overtaking on this one, I wouldn't have thought, with just a couple of corners to go. Russell is now running out of time. We'll see. Russell has to get it done on the next lap because we are really running out of time now. There are six miles to go in the Singapore Grand Prix. We've got the Mercedes that are faster. They're faster in a straight line. They've got better tyres underneath them, but they've got two drivers ahead of them. Carlos Sainz chasing victory number two in Formula 1. Lando Norris looking to match his personal best. George Russell, who called for this strategy. He gave up second place, chasing the win. And Hamilton has the fastest lap and looks the fastest of these four, but we're running out of time. Russell is close. Norris will have the DRS, but Russell is close. Can he shift the McLaren offline? I don't think he can. He's too far back in towards Turn 7. Well, Lando Norris has stayed there. Carlos Sainz will know that unless George Russell is past the McLaren on the last lap, he is heading to a second Grand Prix victory. But it's one mistake. He's talked about the front tyres going away from him. They will be losing grip from the rears as well. It's not done yet. Hamilton is lurking really, really closely behind George Russell as well. Through Turn 10. Now we come into the bridge section. George needs to pick up pace if he can. Copy that. He will be trying. He'll be trying absolutely everything right now. Up towards Turn 14. This is another chance. Right, this is everything for George Russell. And Lewis Hamilton is gaining. Russell has taken so much from his medium compound of tyres. This is it. This is it for the Grand Prix win if Mercedes are going to claim it. Red Bull's invincible run is over. But which team will be lifting the trophy? Will it be Ferrari? Will it be McLaren? Will it be Mercedes? It looks like the two Mercedes are going to have a battle on the final podium place on the last lap. Lando is in second position. Verstappen is going to catch Charles Leclerc on this last lap, I think. We're on to the final three miles in Singapore. Lando Norris does not have DRS now. He doesn't for the moment. Turn 1 is not an easy place to overtake though. It's not a long run because you come out of the final corner a little bit quicker. But he will have no DRS at this rate down towards Turn 7. And look how close Russell is. Russell knows he needs to try and make the place right now. Hamilton was giving his teammate the hurry up. But Sainz's tactical awareness may well have won him this Grand Prix on the 62nd. And last lap, he's got a great advantage now. The charging Mercedes might be denied. But look at the top four on this last lap, nearly glued together. Yeah, they're still fighting on. But there's only one more DRS zone left. And Russell, if he wants to win, needs to make two positions. So has Sainz now done enough? Can he get away from Norris? That's the next question. Lando's still pushing for the win. Russell's off! George Russell into the wall and out of the race. The British driver who was charging for victory is out on the last lap. And he's in the Tech Pro. The yellow flag is out. And the battle for the win is over. Carlos Sainz is checking the mirrors. Russell went all in. But it's Lewis Hamilton who will stand on the podium on the last lap. Charles Leclerc goes up to fourth. Max Verstappen will try and steal that fourth place if there's enough time. No! The cries of anguish on the radio from George Russell, who was dreaming of a second career victory. But he's heading to this man instead. Formula One at its absolute finest. Carlos Sainz, tactical brilliance. Carlos Sainz, the winner of the Singapore Grand Prix. Lando Norris in second place. And a charging drive from Lewis Hamilton puts him on the podium once again in Formula One. Max Verstappen is half a second away from claiming fourth place. Red Bull's record-breaking run is over. Ended by Ferrari. And it's side by side across the line. Leclerc hung on by two tenths of a second. He's in fourth. Then it's Verstappen. It's Carlos Sainz's day after being made to sweat for it. Corner after corner. Lap after lap. But that was everything that it takes to win a Grand Prix. That was sheer brilliance. All day from Sainz. He's managed it all day. Some of it looked like it was a little bit more straightforward. And P1, baby. P1. Follow us. Follow Fred. Follow Ricky. What a mega job you did there. What a smart race. You know what? This is my first smooth operation in Ferrari. Smooth arena. It's karaoke time for the winner. We're scrapping all the way to the end. Fernando Alonso still trying to fight his way by. The last of the point scorers were Gasly, Piastri, Pérez, Liam Lawson. In the points for his third Formula 1 Grand Prix. What a superb drive from him. Magnussen the last of the point scorers. And across the line, it was Alonso chasing Sargent down. It could have been any one of four drivers. In the end, it was Carlos Sainz Jr. Let's go! Oh, I hit the wall. Okay, just bring it back carefully. Bring it back carefully. I don't know. Brilliant drive from Lando as well. And you called it at the time. The moment. Russell had him. Had him under huge pressure. They were side by side. Norris on the shot. Hard tyres. Russell on the better mediums. And Lando got the McLaren back ahead. And that was the key moment. If Russell makes it through there, he wins the race. Well, no surprise who the driver of the day was. They were waiting. They were trying to extend the tyre life again and again and again and again. And a moment of mirroring history. Oh, poor George Russell. Brilliant entertainment. Bold call. Ran for a long time. Marshall puts out the brakes at a caught fire there. I don't know what happened to him at the end. I think he tried to open up the corner. Turned 10 too much. Got a little bit greedy on entry. Mega job, boys. Mega job. Had such good pace at the end there. Yeah, they looked super strong. Yeah, great work by everyone. Well, they will investigate what happened there for Mercedes. And well, Red Bull's winning run is over. Ended by Ferrari. The previous best that we ever saw was from McLaren in 1988. That was ended by Ferrari at Monza. And one race after Monza, Red Bull's hopes of an invincible season are done. They have had an incredible run. 10 Grand Prix victories in a row for Max Verstappen. Ends ended by his old teammate. The fireworks are illuminating the bay. But how much did we see on track there? Tactical racing out front from Carlos Sainz. Great stuff from Lando Norris on degrading tyres. And a wonderful roll of the dice for Mercedes to try and win the race. Yeah, in the end, that came to life in the most dramatic way. What a finish to the Singapore Grand Prix. Such a deserved win for Carlos Sainz. So deserved. I think Norris tapped the wall where Russell then hit it harder on the last lap. That's what Lando was talking about on the end lap where he tapped the wall. Russell just tried to go that little bit more to open up the corner with one more chance. And that was where he went straight on and gave the final podium to Hamilton. Tougher Russell on a weekend race. He's also been so good for so much of it. But on the final lap, it came undone. And that was just scintillating stuff from all of those four at the end. Everything going on under the helmet as well. The brains ticking. Working out the strategy. Working out how to make the move. These two acting like the old teammates they were out front. Embrace. And they have worked together to deny Mercedes a strategy genius win. On board final lap. And you see Norris there with the right rear. And Russell with the right front in. And that's what Lando was talking about. He did take out quite a bite of that wall with the right rear. Opens up that corner. And the wall just juts out slightly. And that was George.