Carlos Sainz added his second pole in a row and went for victory in Singapore

In Italy they asked Carlos Sainz who is a ‘killer’. They saw him as a tireless worker, as a good team man, but without the aura of Charles Leclerc, a driver forged in the Ferrari academy, whom they always saw as the champion of the future. Carlos ignored that. He just focused on improving. The man from Madrid was heavily criticized in an environment with maximum pressure as a Ferrari player in difficult times. And on days like today you have to remember this. That’s where Carlos Sainz came from. From there, he not only survived, but as the best of survivors he was able to take giant steps to prove all his critics wrong. In Monza, with his pole, his ambition against Verstappen and his final podium containing Leclerc, he got the ‘tifosi’ and all of Italy to look at him with different eyes. Also for his previous race at Zandvoort while Charles was missing. But there is more. He also took a post in Singapore.

Sainz didn’t adjust and made it very clear on the Asian track. This is not a day flower. Nor inspiration. It was the confirmation of a change, a declaration of ambition from a driver who, after many battles with the current, wanted to fight for everything in Singapore and achieve Ferrari’s first victory of the year. With that idea he also went all out on the always difficult Marina Bay track and took advantage of the surprising performance of a good Ferrari in Singapore to achieve his second pole in a row, the fifth of his racing career.

Carlos Sainz knows he has a big opportunity in front of him. In other circuits, red bull is more superior, but in this path the mighty Verstappen and his RB19 is suffering. Pole is within reach, but not only that, victory is also more possible this weekend due to the difficulty of overtaking in the race. Carlos He had to go for the pole and wait for the failure of his rivals. Max was expected to be there, just behind, but he ended up starting in 11th, with the other Red Bull, that of Pérez, in 13th position. The two cars that won everything this year (12 wins for Verstappen and 2 for Pérez), very far on a route that is difficult to reach. This is the chance of the year for any chasing driver, the chance everyone wants. And Carlos, starting first, bought more tickets than his rivals to look for the first non-Red Bull victory of the year in the 15th race of the year.

Of course, in a Ferrari that lowers the tires too much, on a track that punishes the tires. Success doesn’t seem easy. The battle can be exciting. This time, the fight is no longer a podium. It’s for the win. Russel, 2nd, knew this. Also Leclerc, 3rd. And Norris, 4th. Even Hamilton had big dreams starting 5th. At Marina Bay, the poleman won 8 of the 13 races held. Sainz going to it. The battle will be tough, but everyone knows that this Carlos is different. In Italy, someone said afterwards monza who had a “career as a top driver”. Sainz wants to show this Sunday that he really is, one of the greats.

Alonso, 7th

Fernando Alonso finished 7th, 0″631 off the best time, which was overtaken by the surprising Haas of Kevin Magnussen, who was 6th. The Asturian, with a car in which his teammate Lance Stroll will start 20th after an accident in Q1, not only achieved the goal of entering Q3 in a very close classification, but also fought to the end with of the best.

The man from Oviedo set a great first time of Q2 where he surprisingly put himself in the best time. There was a question of whether he could keep the bar, but in the end he would not be in the final fight for the pole. I announced this the other day: “Ferraris are beyond our reach”. and they are not. Aston Martin should have benefited more on this circuit, but after one lap it was not so. Alonso will start 7th in search of a complicated comeback. His race pace on Saturday was promising, one of the best. But in Singapore it is difficult to overtake and it is difficult to use that weapon.

You can do this by looking for a surprise approach or taking advantage of anything that can happen on a track where the ‘Safety Car’ usually starts multiple times in each of its races. Alonso likes to fish. He was not satisfied with 7th place.