Sainz and Alonso are excited and the night is confused with Red Bull and Verstappen

Maybe it’s a mirage. And perhaps, in sorting, Verstappen there you are again He is the champion, the current leader and has won just 10 races in a row. The most normal thing is that the Dutchman will return to the fight. But also, perhaps, his strengths are smaller on this track. Mighty Red Bull might not be that strong Singapore and the battle for all this weekend at Marina Bay be what everyone wants to see, many cars from different teams fighting hard for a win. And then, perhaps, they are there a Carlos Sainz ‘on fire’ which was fastest this Friday, and also Fernando Alonso, 4th, just 3 tenths behind the Madrid native and has great racing speed. “Maybe maybe…”, what does the song say? But what is a fact is that Verstappen (8th) suffered a lot in his Red Bull, with many corrections and leaving a feeling inferior to any other race this year.

Think about it. dream And it is a fact that what was seen on the first day of free training of Singapore GP It’s not like last grand prix. Verstappen He doesn’t often hide. He is usually among the best and crush on ‘quality‘ or in the race. And if he’s not good, he’s always close enough to enter the fray and win. But here, the Dutchman seems distant, and above all, uncomfortable with one red bull that this Friday doesn’t go off the rails it always goes on. Max had to fight his car with periodic hits of the steering wheel in the curves and he was not comfortable. And ‘Checo’, his partner, confirmed it on the radio: “I feel like I’m going to crash at every corner”. Red Bull, always a favourite, may not be so much and here it has come down from the moon to be down to earth and within reach of its pursuers.

“What if…?”…do not continue the question. Perhaps this will be a weekend where someone can grab the first victory from those from Milton Keynes, who have won the 14 races held to date in 2023 (12 Verstappen and 2 Pérez).

Sainz, ‘on fire’, wanted his second pole in a row

At Red Bull they have to correct a lot of things so that Max Verstappen battle for a crucial pole in Singapore. On Sundays it’s hard to catch up and the ‘quality‘ takes on an almost Monaco-style significance in this track. 8 of 13 GP winners contested at Marina Bay they started from pole position. And that should be the great purpose of Carlos Sainz this Saturday. He made it clear on Friday that he had another good day for him, something that is starting to become more common in recent races.

Carlos Sainz is sweet. ‘Burns’. He showed it at Zandvoort by finishing 5th in a car that he once said was not good enough for 10th. He continued his pole position monza and its podium with its massive fight back then Verstappen, Pérez and a Leclerc the winner of the game. And in Singapore, although Charles started this time more than on the last dates, Carlos again surpassed him.

Ferrari suffered greatly with their high-load package at Zandvoort, where they failed to fit a new wing that didn’t work. Sainz believes it can be better here because of the learning from Zandvoort, even without launching rockets. But as the two Ferraris took to the track, they began to smile in Maranello. The performance was better than expected from FP1, and continued on an upward line in the afternoon, which was in representative conditions, under the Singapore moon.

In the middle of the night, Sainz and Leclerc were still comfortable and the times continued to be easy. And found it in the last classification. They completed a double in both sessions, including Sainz was 1st in Free Practice 2 with only 18 thousandths of an advantage over Leclerc, with a 0.235 margin over George Russell (3rd) and with Fernando Alonso 4th at 0.358 with his Aston Martin. Hamilton is 5th at 0.465 and Norris is 6th at 0.591.

Behind, the big negative surprise. Pérez was 7th at 0″692 and Max Verstappen, 8th at 0″732. Red Bull will improve, but will it be enough to be as high as in the previous Grand Prix? The fact that there are doubts is already news. And with Alonso 1st and Sainz, 4th, in the fight.

Alonso, 4th to 3 tenths with great race pace

After not shining in FP1 because he focused on collecting data without looking at the times in an unrepresentative session, Aston Martin showed good cards in Free Practice 2 with Fernando always among the best. In the end, he finished 0.358 seconds behind Sainz’s best time, but at a good subsequent race pace when all the big boys were wearing medium tyres.

In the final part of the session, Alonso, Sainz, Leclerc, Hamilton, Russell and Verstappen rode on the medium tire to perform a race pace simulation at the same time and track conditions. Although the fuel loads and engine maps are unknown, so far the racing speed shown by Aston Martin is exciting. This, along with his good lap time, could put Fernando in any fight if Verstappen’s poor performance is confirmed. But above all, the key is in classification. Both Alonso and Sainz need to make it through a qualifying turn to aim for a good result this weekend in a very tight front zone.