2023 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix highlights

Carlos Sainz converted pole position into a second career victory as the Spaniard held off the charge of Lando Norris and the Mercedes pair of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell – who crashed on the final lap – to take a well-earned win at the 2023 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix – the first non-Red Bull win of the season.

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Mario Isola, Motorsport Director, Pirelli:

The 2023 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix was a great advert for Formula 1. I think that all the spectators, those at the track and those in front of their screens, must have been holding their breath right to the very end, seeing four drivers fighting for the honour of being the first to put an end to Red Bull’s dominance this season. Really well done to all four, but also to others in this race, not just the drivers, but those on the pit wall too, because they all helped to put on a great show with on-track duels and very intense tactical battles.

On the tyre side, I think the word that best describes the day is management. For almost the entire race, we saw drivers and teams managing their pace in order to be in the best possible shape, not just to achieve the goals they had set themselves but also to be ready to exploit any opportunity that might come along later. One example of this Is Leclerc’s decision to start on the Soft to try and immediately pass Russell in order to build a gap between the Mercedes and Sainz, out in the lead. Or with Mercedes, who had an additional set of new Medium tyres available for both drivers and made the most of the VSC to change strategy and therefore go on the attack right to the very end, challenging Sainz for the win.

From a technical point of view, the three compounds performed as expected in terms of degradation. The one-stop proved to be the quickest strategy, with the two-stop only working when the race was neutralised. The Hard and the Medium saw the most use, which was also what was expected, but the Soft, which is generally considered mainly as a qualifying compound, also showed it had a part to play in the first stint.

How the race was won from the tyre point of view:

Most drivers (13 of the 19) chose to start on the Medium compound, with the remaining six divided equally between the Soft and Hard. However, the Soft proved to be a tactically sound choice for Zhou in the Alfa Romeo, as the Chinese driver, starting from the pit lane, pitted immediately to try and run the entire race on the Hard. The Safety Car came out on lap 20, triggering a rush for the pit lane, with all the drivers who had started on the Medium coming in to switch to the Hard, while those who had started on the latter stayed out on track before making their only pit stop at around two-thirds race distance. Shortly after, on lap 44, another VSC produced another opportunity to mix things up. That is what the Mercedes pair did along with the Williams, coming in for Medium tyres, while Alonso and Magnussen pitted for Softs. In the closing stages of the race, the C4 proved to be very quick for both Hamilton and Russell, who rapidly closed on the leaders (Sainz and Norris) and for Verstappen and Perez, who used the extra pace to come from the back to finish in the points.

Of the three drivers who started on the Hard, Hamilton and Bottas finished higher than their grid position, two better for the English Mercedes driver and four for Alfa Romeo’s Finn. Magnussen, however, only made up one place because the two drivers ahead of him did not make it to the chequered flag.

What’s next?

No rest on the Formula 1 calendar, as next weekend it’s time for the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka from 22 to 24 September. Tyres will be the C1 compound as the P Zero White hard, C2 as P Zero Yellow medium and C3 as P Zero Red soft to deal with the lateral and vertical loads the tyres are subjected to at this twisty track with a highly abrasive surface over its length of almost six kilometres.

2023 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix Race Results

2023 Constructor Standings

Pos	Picture	Team	Points
1.		Red Bull Racing	860
2.		Mercedes-AMG F1 Team	409
3.		Scuderia Ferrari	406
4.		McLaren Racing	302
5.		Aston Martin F1 Team	280
6.		Alpine F1 Team	120
7.		Williams Racing	28
8.		Scuderia AlphaTauri	25
8.		Alfa Romeo Racing	16
10.		Haas F1 Team	12

Here are the team-by-team highlights:

Max Verstappen’s record-setting 10 Grands Prix winning streak and Oracle Red Bull Racing’s 14-race dominance of the Formula One field came to an end in the 2023 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, where Verstappen salvaged a fighting fifth during the most difficult race in recent memory for the team.

After struggling all weekend for grip in their cars and suffering a disastrous qualifying session that saw both Red Bull Racing cars miss Q3 for the first time in a number of years, the team worked tirelessly overnight to make changes that gave Verstappen and team-mate Sergio Pérez a fighting chance for the race.

Both drivers were closer to the front pace, with Verstappen running as high as second early in the race following the deployment of the Safety Car at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, but ultimately fifth for Verstappen and eight for Pérez was the end result as Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz won from pole position from McLaren’s Lando Norris and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.

Although the race ended Verstappen’s new record win-streak at 10 races, the dominant driver of the 2023 season still managed to extend his points lead in the Drivers’ Championship over Pérez to 151 points ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka on September 24.

Max Verstappen, Driver, Red Bull Racing

I think we did the best we could today. We had a good pace, and we were just unfortunate with the timing of the Safety Car. If it wasn’t for that, I really think that we would have been in a good place to fight up front. With the strategy today, it was really important not to make any mistakes. In the end, I was able to have some fun catching up on the mediums. For now, the target is to win next weekend in Japan. Everything needs to be perfect to win every race in a season, I knew this day would come and it’s absolutely fine. Everyone sees how dominant we can be, and they don’t realise how difficult it really is. We need to get a lot of things right.

Sergio Pérez, Driver, Red Bull Racing:

It was not a great day for us. It was as tough as we expected it to be. We struggled all race, and nothing really worked. The Safety Car came at the wrong time, and it was similar to the VSCs. It was just not our day. In the end, we were on a different strategy to everyone else, and that was the best we could do. I think we have plenty of things to investigate after this weekend and a lot to understand as a team. I think the issues were circuit-related, and we should be stronger next weekend. Let’s move on and look forward to Japan.

CHRISTIAN HORNER – CEO and Team Principal, Red Bull Racing

Firstly, congratulations to Ferrari. Carlos drove a great race and managed to hold on for the win. It certainly has been an exciting race today, but for us, we were very unlucky. The Safety Car could not have come at a worse time, and that killed any chance for us to get into contention. It was a shame, but there are also a lot of positives. Max’s pace at the end and then with Checo coming back through also made for a very strong performance. We knew that the run would come to an end at some point, and we reflected on the job well done by the team. 15 wins in a row is an incredible feat. 10 wins for Max is something that is equally remarkable. We carry a lot of momentum heading into Japan and look forward to getting out and going again.

Red Bull Racing Honda best pictures:

SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE – SEPTEMBER 15: Sergio Perez of Mexico driving the (11) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB19 on track during practice ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 Singapore GP at Marina Bay Street Circuit on September 15, 2023 in Singapore, Singapore. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202309150602 // Usage for editorial use only //

SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE – SEPTEMBER 15: Sergio Perez of Mexico driving the (11) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB19 on track during practice ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 Singapore GP at Marina Bay Street Circuit on September 15, 2023 in Singapore, Singapore. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202309150664 // Usage for editorial use only //

SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE – SEPTEMBER 16: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing and Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing talk to the crowd on the fan stage prior to final practice ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 Singapore GP at Marina Bay Street Circuit on September 16, 2023 in Singapore, Singapore. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202309160193 // Usage for editorial use only //

SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE – SEPTEMBER 16: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB19 stops in the Pitlane during qualifying ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 Singapore GP at Marina Bay Street Circuit on September 16, 2023 in Singapore, Singapore. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202309160394 // Usage for editorial use only //

SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE – SEPTEMBER 17: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB19 on track during the 2023 Formula 1 Singapore GP at Marina Bay Street Circuit on September 17, 2023 in Singapore, Singapore. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202309170343 // Usage for editorial use only //

SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE – SEPTEMBER 17: Sergio Perez of Mexico driving the (11) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB19 on track during the 2023 Formula 1 Singapore GP at Marina Bay Street Circuit on September 17, 2023 in Singapore, Singapore. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202309170427 // Usage for editorial use only //

Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team

A podium finish for the team after a dramatic evening at the 2023 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix. 

After starting second and fifth, respectively, George dropped a position to the fast-starting Ferrari of Leclerc, with Lewis holding his grid spot after short-cutting turn two, then handing back places to George and Norris. A controlled pace was set at the front as tyre management became a key focus to make the necessary first stint length. That rhythm was broken by a Safety Car deployed on lap 20. A double-stack pit stop saw George emerge in a net P2 with Lewis holding his net P5. Soon after the restart, he made short work of Leclerc and joined a gaggle of four cars, including George, leader Carlos Sainz, and Lando Norris. A Virtual Safety Car on lap 43 gave the opportunity for a bold strategy call; both cars boxed for the medium tyre with the aim of clawing back the time lost to fight for victory in the closing stages. It almost proved the winning strategy as both George and Lewis charged onto the back of the top two; with three laps to go, George came close to passing the McLaren but ultimately couldn’t get the move done. Pushing hard on the final lap, George clipped the wall, and his race ended in retirement, with Lewis moving up to the final podium spot in P3.

Lewis Hamilton

We rolled the dice this weekend and went with an offset tyre strategy. I felt like the race was a two-stop today, and the team did an amazing job to get us back up there. Having to give back the two positions from the first corner was a shame, but I kept my head down and kept pushing. Overall this weekend, I haven’t felt fully comfortable with the car. Today it was in a better place, though. If I had had that same feeling yesterday, I think I could have been fighting for the front row. That may have changed my race today, but I’m still pleased to get on the podium.

It was extremely unfortunate what happened to George. We were pushing so hard to catch the guys ahead, and our tyres were so hot. He’s been phenomenal all weekend, and I know he will bounce back. We’re now looking forward to Japan, so let’s see what we can do there.

George Russell

I am lost for words. I think we were half a car’s length away from winning the race today. If I had been able to pass Lando (Norris), I am sure I would have been able to overtake Carlos (Sainz). Unfortunately, I missed that opportunity. I made a mistake by one or two centimetres on that last lap, and I clipped the wall. It’s a mistake that has overshadowed my whole weekend. Up to that point, it had been a fantastic race weekend. The car felt great, and the team had done an incredible job. Our strategy was superb, and we were bold and aggressive. It was exciting out there, and it’s heartbreaking to be standing here with zero points. Nevertheless, there are positives to take away. I will likely have a bad night tonight and even tomorrow morning. But I will put this behind me and come back stronger next weekend in Japan.

Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO

Lewis had a brilliant race, and he did a super job to get on the podium. It was, of course, a shame for George at the end. It was one very small error after a strong weekend, but that’s racing – he got it 99.99% right today. It was clear that it was going to be difficult to win the race if we followed everyone else’s strategy. We were aggressive and took the opportunity to put on the Medium tyre under the Virtual Safety Car. The data was robust, and we went for it. In the end, to get on the podium was great and we were very close to making it so much more than that. Overall, it feels that we are continuing to make progress with the W14. We’ve had a really quick car all weekend, so let’s see how we go in Suzuka. Bring it on.

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

We had fun racing today. There were some brave decisions taken by the strategy team, and the car was working well. It was a good reminder for the entire team of how enjoyable it is to be fighting at the front of a race. George couldn’t have got to the garage sooner to apologise for the mistake; it’s a shame not to take those points, but we’re a team, and we’ll always work through the highs and lows together. What we can say is that our fight with Ferrari for second in the championship is going to get exciting now. We’ve got a bit of margin on points, but ultimately, it’s going to come down to who’s got the best car over the next seven races. This weekend will give the whole team even more motivation and energy to get back to fighting at the front week in and week out. We will take a number of positives from here as we go into Japan.

Mercedes-AMG F1 Team best pictures:

22023 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, Friday – LAT Images

2023 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, Saturday – Jiri Krenek

2023 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, Saturday – Wolfgang Wilhelm

2023 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, Sunday – Sebastian Kawka

2023 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, Sunday – LAT Images

2023 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, Sunday – Steve Etherington

Singapore ended up being a testing weekend for the Aston Martin F1 Team; it will serve as a catalyst to rebound and rebuild as they take on the final seven races of the season.

Lance did not participate in the Grand Prix after his Qualifying crash, with his attention set on preparing to race in Japan.

Fernando’s unyielding efforts to score points were dashed by a five-second penalty for crossing the white line on pit entry, after which he fell to 17th and finished 15th at the chequered flag

Fernando Alonso

It was an extremely tough evening: everything that could go wrong did go wrong for us. It’s better that it happened all in one hit – and let’s not forget it’s actually our first non-scoring race of the entire season. We came here with pretty high hopes, but Singapore is quite a unique event – race pace is really dictated by the temperature of the tyres – and maybe we went a little bit too hard. There are a lot of things we need to investigate from this weekend – there’s plenty to take away and improve. We need to get better.

Let’s forget about this weekend and focus on the next one in Suzuka.

Lance Stroll

Lance Stroll did not participate in the Grand Prix after his Qualifying crash.

Mike Krack, Team Principal:

It has been a really tough couple of days for the team in Singapore. We only raced one car today, and we look forward to seeing Lance back with us in Japan. Fernando’s race came undone during the Virtual Safety Car when the rear jack did not engage properly during the pitstop. We need to analyse exactly what happened. Even without this issue, scoring points would have been difficult today. We will move on and learn from these difficult days. There is a lot of work ahead of us: we must understand where we can find more performance. There is still a long way to go this season – seven more races with plenty of opportunities and points available. A final word of recognition to the crews here in Singapore, especially the mechanics, who worked long hours in challenging conditions all week. Thank you to everyone.

Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team best pictures:

portrait, Marina Bay Circuit, GP2315a, F1, GP, Singapore
Jessica Hawkins, Aston Martin F1 Team

action, Marina Bay Circuit, GP2315a, F1, GP, Singapore
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR23

Portrait, Marina Bay Circuit, GP2315a, F1, GP, Singapore
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Team

Detail, Marina Bay Circuit, GP2315a, F1, GP, Singapore
The Safety Car on the grid

Helmets, Portrait, Marina Bay Circuit, GP2315a, F1, GP, Singapore
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Team, on the grid

Portrait, Helmets, Marina Bay Circuit, GP2315a, F1, GP, Singapore
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Team

Scuderia Ferrari

Carlos Sainz and Scuderia Ferrari won the 2023 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix on the Marina Bay Street circuit.

The Spaniard dominated the weekend from the very beginning, but today’s race was a very tense marathon, a 62-lap chess game that Carlos managed to perfection, once again proving that apart from being very quick, he also has a great tactical brain. This was Sainz’s second Formula 1 win, following on from the one at Silverstone last year, while for the Scuderia, it’s number 243. Completing a great day for the team was a fourth place for Charles Leclerc, who only lost the second place he had grabbed with a demon start off the line because of traffic in the pit lane when he made his one and only stop. This is the first win for the team with Fred Vasseur at the helm, and it consolidates the Scuderia’s third place in the Constructors’ standings, now just 24 points behind second-placed Mercedes.

Carlos Sainz #55

It has been an incredible weekend right from the start. The team deserves this win for the enormous work they have done both here and in Maranello, and I’m proud to dedicate it to all of them and the Tifosi. We executed the weekend perfectly on my side, and I think we managed the final thrilling part to perfection, giving Lando (Norris) DRS and controlling the pace all race long. Of course, pitting earlier meant we had to make our tyres last for a longer stint, and the final laps were on the limit, but I’m extremely happy we made it work.

Tonight we celebrate, but from tomorrow we’ll start preparing Suzuka. Let’s keep it up.

Charles Leclerc #16

I’m really happy for the team. So much work has been done in order to understand the car better in the past few weeks, and today it paid off. Congratulations to Carlos, who did a really good job all weekend.

Our plan was for me to start on Softs and position myself ahead of George (Russell), which was the right choice and worked out well. Unfortunately, we lost some positions due to traffic during the pit stop under the Safety Car. Still, our race execution was good today, so I’m happy. It’s great to see that we’ve made a step forward in terms of performance overall, and hopefully, we can confirm it next week in Japan.

Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal

I am proud of what the team has achieved this weekend, with everyone doing a really great job. We know we’ve been making progress, and here in Singapore, we managed to get everything out of the SF-23, thanks in part to the great work done in Maranello. We proved to be competitive in qualifying, and today that was also the case in the race. Carlos produced a magisterial performance in the race, always in control of the situation, especially in the final laps when he intelligently ensured Norris had DRS to defend against Russell.

But for traffic in the pit lane, Charles would probably have also finished on the podium. We are pleased to be the first team to have ended Red Bull’s winning streak and are happy to have picked up these points, which keep us in the fight for second place in the Constructors’ championship. Now we move on to Suzuka, a very different sort of track, where we will do our utmost to continue this positive trend.

Scuderia Ferrari best pictures:

1 – GP SINGAPORE F1/2023 – GIOVEDI’ 14/09/2023 – credit: @Scuderia Ferrari Press Office

1 – GP SINGAPORE F1/2023 – GIOVEDI’ 14/09/2023 – credit: @Scuderia Ferrari Press Office

GP SINGAPORE F1/2023 – DOMENICA 17/09/2023 – credit: @Scuderia Ferrari Press Office

GP SINGAPORE F1/2023 – DOMENICA 17/09/2023 – credit: @Scuderia Ferrari Press Office

4 – GP SINGAPORE F1/2023 – DOMENICA 17/09/2023 – credit: @Scuderia Ferrari Press Office

4 – GP SINGAPORE F1/2023 – DOMENICA 17/09/2023 – credit: @Scuderia Ferrari Press Office

Hear from McLaren Formula 1 driver Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, and Team Principal Andrea Stella after the 2023 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix.

Lando Norris

Incredible. Carlos, Charles, Lewis, George, and I really pushed each other hard all evening. The end of the race was very stressful, but it paid off. We knew it was going to be tough as soon as Mercedes boxed, especially with only a couple of cars for them to overtake – but we held them off, did what we needed to do, and we’re on the podium with P2, so I’m super happy this evening.

The team is amazing, and I can’t thank them enough for their hard work in giving me this car. It was good to see Oscar fighting his way through to P7, cementing the points for the team also. The car looked great in the Stealth Mode livery, and it’s just a great result for the team tonight. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do in Japan.

Oscar Piastri

P7. Not a bad night’s work! Obviously, our pace was decent, and I feel that I took advantage of the stuff going on around me after a good first lap. All-in-all, pretty happy with that. I don’t think there was too much left on the table there. It’s great to see Lando on the podium and for the team to be rewarded for all their hard work. I’m looking forward to the upgrades next week, and hopefully, we can have some more fun.

Andrea Stella

Tonight, we are celebrating a very good result for the team here in Singapore. Our aim for Oscar was to get him into the points. He did an excellent job, rising from P17 to P7. Our decision to leave Lando out at the VSC paid off with P2. It worked out well, but it was marginal and could have easily gone the other way. The end of the race was very tense! We had great pit stops today, good strategy and everyone on the race team has worked very hard all weekend in tough conditions – but I want to take the opportunity to thank everyone at the factory for getting this upgrade onto Lando’s car and making this possible. We’re heading to Suzuka now, where we look forward to another good race!

McLaren Racing best pictures:

Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL60

Lando Norris, McLaren, 2nd position, and Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing, celebrate in Parc Ferme

Lando Norris, McLaren, 2nd position, arrives on the podium

Lando Norris, McLaren, 2nd position, lifts his trophy

Lando Norris, McLaren, 2nd position, Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Zak Brown, CEO, McLaren Racing, Andrea Stella, Team Principal, McLaren, and the McLaren team celebrate after the race

BWT Alpine F1 Team returned to the points in the 2023 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix as Pierre Gasly jumped from twelfth on the grid to sixth at the chequered flag in an entertaining Sunday night race at Marina Bay. Esteban Ocon retired from the race while holding sixth place on lap 43 with a suspected gearbox issue.

Unfortunately, Esteban stopped at Turn 2 on lap 43 with a suspected gearbox issue, which the team will investigate.

Pierre held onto sixth place but remained wary of the fast-charging Verstappen on fresher Medium rubber. He relinquished that spot to the Dutchman five laps from the end but was able to regain sixth place after George Russell’s off on the last lap, holding position to the line to claim a well-earned eight points.

Esteban Ocon:

I am gutted to end the race this way. We were performing well and showed some good pace today. The team were making all the right calls, and we were able to have some fun on track with some overtakes throughout the race. Unfortunately, we had a gearbox issue, which ended my race. We need to investigate closely to understand what happened and to ensure it does not happen again. We deserved more today, but we can be proud of our performance all weekend. It’s certainly not the way I wanted to end my birthday, but we have a chance to bounce back next week at my favourite track of the season, and we’ll continue to work together as a team to make sure we come away with a strong result in Suzuka.

Pierre Gasly:

I am very happy to finish sixth today in such a physically tough race like that. I felt confident going into the race, and I just targeted having a clean one, tried to be aggressive and decisive, and we did just that. There were some tough battles, but we got the best from it and maximised our results. A return to the points is important for the team, and the car felt good with a solid pace. It’s a pity for Esteban as it could have been sixth and seventh for the team, so it’s important we look into what happened and come back stronger across the board. On my side, I hope to enter Qualifying in a much better position to put ourselves in a much better place come Sunday. I’m looking forward to Japan next week on a track I love to drive.

Bruno Famin, Interim Team Principal:

The team leaves the Singapore Grand Prix weekend with eighth points scored, which constitutes an improvement after the last race. Starting from the middle of the grid, it was important for the team to remain calm and make the right calls. I am very happy with the performance of both drivers. Credit to Esteban and Pierre for how they managed the race in an intense tactical battle and tricky tyre management strategy and also to the team for executing the double-stack pit-stop very well. Pierre and Esteban did a good job gaining places during the race, especially Pierre from twelfth to sixth, with a well-managed one-stop strategy, including some clean and decisive overtakes from both drivers. Unfortunately, a suspected issue with Esteban’s gearbox prevented both cars from finishing at the points. As a team, it has been one more weekend full of learning, of which we can take forward for the remainder of the season. On that front, we are positive as we will fly straight to Japan next week, aiming to continue to build up on the momentum from this weekend.

Alpine F1 Team best pictures:

2023 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, Marina Bay Circuit, Alpine F1 Team

2023 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, Marina Bay Circuit, Alpine F1 Team

2023 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, Marina Bay Circuit, Alpine F1 Team

2023 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, Marina Bay Circuit, Alpine F1 Team

2023 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, Marina Bay Circuit, Alpine F1 Team

2023 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, Marina Bay Circuit, Alpine F1 Team

Logan Sargeant

Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance

Williams F1 Team best pictures:

(L to R): Alexander Albon (THA) Williams Racing with Logan Sargeant (USA) Williams Racing.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 16, Singapore Grand Prix, Friday 15th September 2023. Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore.

Logan Sargeant (USA) Williams Racing.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 16, Singapore Grand Prix, Saturday 16th September 2023. Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore.

Alexander Albon (THA) Williams Racing.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 16, Singapore Grand Prix, Saturday 16th September 2023. Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore.

Alexander Albon (THA) Williams Racing FW45.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 16, Singapore Grand Prix, Saturday 16th September 2023. Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore.

Logan Sargeant (USA) Williams Racing on the drivers’ parade.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 16, Singapore Grand Prix, Sunday 17th September 2023. Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore.

Logan Sargeant (USA) Williams Racing with Alexander Albon (THA) Williams Racing on the grid.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 16, Singapore Grand Prix, Sunday 17th September 2023. Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore.

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team returned to the points at Formula 1’s Singapore Grand Prix, Round 16 of the 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, held Sunday at the Marina Bay Street Circuit

Kevin Magnussen

I thought it was completely game over once I got passed by Pierre [Gasly] and the McLaren. I had a brake problem, and I went wide at Turn 2, went off the track and came back, so I thought it was game over then. When the Safety Car came, I pitted and had a really good pace on the soft tire and came up, and then got lucky when Russell hit the wall and gave me the point. It’s very satisfying for me. Personally, it’s the third grand prix this year for me in P10 – I’m earning those points each time. I’ve really had a season where I’ve had to battle and work hard on things. We pulled this one out of the hat, but we don’t expect the same opportunity on the upcoming tracks until we get the upgrade.

Nico Hulkenberg

It was a long race once again here, lots invested, a lot of work but no payout, unfortunately, at the end. At the first Safety Car, I was the trailing car in the double-stop, and we lost a lot of positions and ground there, which was not ideal. It was just unfortunate; not much we could’ve done about that. We managed the one-stop, but in the end, I was just a falling fruit. I think we might’ve missed an opportunity pitting during the VSC, I feel there could’ve been points there as I was way ahead of Kevin, and he managed P10. I’m a bit disappointed, but we drove a good race. There is nothing personally we can be unhappy about today.

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal:

After qualifying P6 and P9 yesterday, we brought a point home which, at the moment for us, is worth a lot, and I think it’s the best we can do with what we’ve got. I think everybody worked hard, and the point is well deserved. Obviously, we got a little bit lucky in the end when Russell hit the wall, but the guys were hanging in there to bring the cars back in the best position they could, and it worked out. Off to Japan!

Haas F1 Team best pictures:

MARINA BAY STREET CIRCUIT, SINGAPORE – SEPTEMBER 16: Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1 Team during the Singapore GP at Marina Bay Street Circuit on Saturday September 16, 2023 in Singapore, Singapore. (Photo by Andy Hone / LAT Images)

MARINA BAY STREET CIRCUIT, SINGAPORE – SEPTEMBER 16: Nico Hulkenberg, Haas VF-23, kicks up sparks during the Singapore GP at Marina Bay Street Circuit on Saturday September 16, 2023 in Singapore, Singapore. (Photo by Glenn Dunbar / LAT Images)

MARINA BAY STREET CIRCUIT, SINGAPORE – SEPTEMBER 17: Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1 Team, is interviewed on the grid during the Singapore GP at Marina Bay Street Circuit on Sunday September 17, 2023 in Singapore, Singapore. (Photo by Andy Hone / LAT Images)

MARINA BAY STREET CIRCUIT, SINGAPORE – SEPTEMBER 17: Guenther Steiner, Team Principal, Haas F1 Team during the Singapore GP at Marina Bay Street Circuit on Sunday September 17, 2023 in Singapore, Singapore. (Photo by Andy Hone / LAT Images)

MARINA BAY STREET CIRCUIT, SINGAPORE – SEPTEMBER 17: Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-23 during the Singapore GP at Marina Bay Street Circuit on Sunday September 17, 2023 in Singapore, Singapore. (Photo by Andy Hone / LAT Images)

SUZUKA, JAPAN – SEPTEMBER 21: Nico Hulkenberg, Haas F1 Team, speaks to reporters during the Japanese GP at Suzuka on Thursday September 21, 2023 in Suzuka, Japan. (Photo by Andy Hone / LAT Images)

Alfa Romeo Racing Stake

Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake raced fiercely under the Marina Bay lights, but the increased turn of pace in Sunday’s showdown just wasn’t enough to bring home the points. Zhou Guanyu performed a good comeback from a pit-lane start, racing into the points thanks to an aggressive strategy by the team; in the end, however, he had to settle for 12th place, just outside the top ten. Team-mate Valtteri Bottas also raced in the points-scoring positions around the halfway mark, only to see his race ended by a technical issue before the closing stages.

The team takes stock of this event before heading to Japan for next week’s race in Suzuka: with the new upgrade package reaching maturity, Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake will be hoping for a step forward in performance.

Valtteri Bottas (car number 77):

We knew we had to take some gambles today, taking into consideration our starting position and the pace we expected to have. The timing of the Safety Car didn’t really work for us – it was too early – and we couldn’t stop to switch to mediums at that stage, hoping to get them to the end of the race. We weren’t making much progress and eventually, our race came to an end with a technical issue: we had to stop the car as a precaution, and we’ll need to understand what happened. Today really wasn’t our day, but at least we learned a lot about our upgrades: we expect them to help us more in Suzuka, so we will need to optimise our package and turn all the data we have into performance. I am looking forward to Suzuka: it’s my favourite track, and I can’t wait to be on track there.

Zhou Guanyu (car number 24):

We knew we had to try an aggressive strategy to make up ground, so we decided, as a team, to stop on lap two and put on hard tyres, hoping to benefit from a Safety Car later in the race. The gamble almost worked, and the SC did come, but unfortunately, too early: its timing was perfect for those starting on mediums, and it shuffled us to the back. At the final VSC, we committed not to stop for softs again, throwing the dice and hoping for some other neutralization, but nothing happened, and, in the end, we lost places to those on fresh tyres. We knew scoring points would be difficult, especially with two Red Bulls chasing from the back, but our pace was encouraging. We were in the fight for the top ten, and I think we were in with a chance, had the circumstances been a bit different. We can be happy with some of the progress we have shown. I felt we were more competitive today. This track was always going to be hard for us, but I think we can make more steps forward in the next few races.

Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Team Representative:

It was a difficult race at the end of a challenging weekend, and we didn’t reach our target in the end. We chose to make some extensive changes to Zhou’s car to explore more setup options, and it worked, bringing more performance to the race. Zhou’s performance was solid, he was in contention for the points, but the late VSC jeopardised his race. Valtteri had a more difficult race: the decision to start on hard tyres paid dividends when the Safety came out, and he climbed to P10, but in the end, we did not have enough pace to keep the position against cars on fresh tyres. His race was brought to an end by a technical issue, and we’ll need to get to the bottom of it to understand what happened. We now have a few days to prepare for Suzuka: racing again is good, as we get a chance to fully focus on our performance again on a track that should suit our car, and our new upgrades, better. There’s no frustration in the team, just determination to get back to scoring.

Alfa Romeo F1 Team best pictures:

Zhou Guanyu (CHN) Alfa Romeo F1 Team C43.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 16, Singapore Grand Prix, Sunday 17th September 2023. Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore.

Valtteri Bottas (FIN) Alfa Romeo F1 Team on the grid.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 16, Singapore Grand Prix, Sunday 17th September 2023. Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore.

Valtteri Bottas (FIN) Alfa Romeo F1 Team C43 on the grid.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 16, Singapore Grand Prix, Sunday 17th September 2023. Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore.

Zhou Guanyu (CHN) Alfa Romeo F1 Team.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 16, Singapore Grand Prix, Sunday 17th September 2023. Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore.

Alfa Romeo F1 Team mechanics’ helmets.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 16, Singapore Grand Prix, Sunday 17th September 2023. Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore.

Zhou Guanyu (CHN) Alfa Romeo F1 Team C43 leads Nico Hulkenberg (GER) Haas VF-23.
Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 16, Singapore Grand Prix, Sunday 17th September 2023. Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore.

At Scuderia AlphaTauri, there was mixed emotion at the 2023 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix. Liam Lawson secured a brilliant top 10 finish in just his third F1 Grand Prix, but Yuki Tsunoda suffered a car failure after contact damaged his cooling system on the opening lap.

21-year-old New Zealand driver Lawson, who stepped into the AlphaTauri car to fill in for the injured Daniel Ricciardo, drove a superb race from 10th on the grid to finish in ninth place and score his first F1 points for the team after impressing during his two previous outings at the Dutch and Italian Grands Prix.

Liam Lawson

I would’ve liked a few more Grands Prix to prepare for this one, but obviously, when you get the opportunity, you have to take it with both hands. Honestly, that’s what I’m trying to do, and today was fantastic. I’m happy with the race, and I definitely gave it everything because I think we maximised the car’s performance. I need to look at the start because it’s been two weekends in a row that I lost positions, which makes our lives harder. We stayed out of trouble for the rest of the race and kept it clean. It’s hard when you’re struggling for pace, trying to maximise your tools and get everything out of it, so the race was physically demanding. At the end of the day, I’m really happy to have scored two points.

Yuki Tsunoda

Firstly, congratulations to Liam for scoring points, especially as his first time in F1 in Singapore. He did well. For me, I’m very frustrated because it seems we haven’t had a clean weekend in the last two races, especially after the team brought massive developments to Singapore. I had a good start but made contact on the first lap, and our side pod got damaged along with the radiator and cooling system, so we had to retire. It’s frustrating and a shame I wasn’t able to reach the chequered flag. I feel very sorry for the team because I didn’t get the opportunity to extract the performance, and there’s definitely the pace to score points.

JODY EGGINTON – Technical Director

As usual, Singapore was not a straightforward race, and we were down to one car after the first lap. Yuki having to retire with damage after contact through no fault of his own was disappointing, as he had shown a very strong pace in the Friday long runs. The race soon settled down, and Liam ran in a train of cars behind the Haas, waiting for the pit window to open. When the Safety Car came, we, like the majority, boxed for a set of hard compound tyres. However, although we jumped Hulkenburg, we lost out to Piastri and ended up in the same train, moving into the point-scoring positions when the cars that stayed out were finally pitted. From that point onwards, Liam did a fantastic job of managing his tyres, making moves where possible and returning consistent lap times. He was defending against several cars and performed some strong moves to keep in the points and bring the car home for very well-deserved first F1 points.

Everyone in Faenza and Bicester has been working flat out to deliver this update, and tonight’s points-scoring result is a good reward for the big efforts made by the factory, trackside and drivers. It’s been a very busy weekend, but we’re all looking forward to Japan and taking the next step in extracting performance from this update and the aero parts which will follow.

Scuderia AlphaTauri Team best pictures:

SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE – SEPTEMBER 16: Daniel Ricciardo of Australia and Scuderia AlphaTauri looks on from the pitwall during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Singapore at Marina Bay Street Circuit on September 16, 2023 in Singapore, Singapore. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202309160457 // Usage for editorial use only //

SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE – SEPTEMBER 16: Liam Lawson of New Zealand and Scuderia AlphaTauri prepares to drive in the garage during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Singapore at Marina Bay Street Circuit on September 16, 2023 in Singapore, Singapore. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202309160463 // Usage for editorial use only //

SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE – SEPTEMBER 17: Liam Lawson of New Zealand and Scuderia AlphaTauri prepares to drive on the grid during the F1 Grand Prix of Singapore at Marina Bay Street Circuit on September 17, 2023 in Singapore, Singapore. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202309170300 // Usage for editorial use only //

SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE – SEPTEMBER 17: Yuki Tsunoda of Japan and Scuderia AlphaTauri prepares to drive in the garage prior to the F1 Grand Prix of Singapore at Marina Bay Street Circuit on September 17, 2023 in Singapore, Singapore. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202309170355 // Usage for editorial use only //

SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE – SEPTEMBER 17: Liam Lawson of New Zealand and Scuderia AlphaTauri prepares to drive on the grid during the F1 Grand Prix of Singapore at Marina Bay Street Circuit on September 17, 2023 in Singapore, Singapore. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202309170368 // Usage for editorial use only //

SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE – SEPTEMBER 17: A detail view of the car of Yuki Tsunoda of Japan and Scuderia AlphaTauri on the grid during the F1 Grand Prix of Singapore at Marina Bay Street Circuit on September 17, 2023 in Singapore, Singapore. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202309170379 // Usage for editorial use only //