Imagine a race in 2023 where Red Bull isn’t winning. It’s difficult to even imagine, right? But you’ve got to stop imagining and start believing it now because it happened! After 15 races and more than 300 days, Red Bull finally relinquished its hold on the podium’s top step. And it happened at the Singapore GP last night. It wasn’t Lewis Hamilton or Fernando Alonso who broke Red Bull’s streak like most predicted. It was the smoothest of operators, Carlos Sainz Jr. And boy, did he win in style.
If there’s one person who’s almost always there in Saniz Jr.’s garage, supporting him through his exploits, it’s the Spaniard’s father, Carlos Sainz Sr. The Sainz camp in Singapore, though, had a Papa Sainz-shaped hole because he had his own dreams to fulfill. But even though he couldn’t witness his son’s victory in person, he ensured he was there in spirit.
Carlos Sainz Sr. celebrated his son’s “smoothest operation” in Italy
The Singapore GP was a Carlos Sainz masterclass from start to finish. After putting his Ferrari on pole on Saturday, the Spaniard dictated the race on Sunday. Knowing that the Red Bulls were out of position, giving him the best chance to win his second race, he proved his genius. With George Russell’s threat throughout the race, he ensured he didn’t create a gap to the field, thereby giving Russell a chance to attack. Instead, he slowed down the pace and bided his time. The last few laps with Lando Norris behind him showed just how much thought Sainz put into winning. When he crossed the line to win, he said, “This was my smoothest operation in Ferrari.”
While his son was proving his mettle in Singapore, Papa Sainz was in Sardinia, Italy. Founder of the Extreme E team, Acciona | Sainz XE Team, he had his own race weekend to see through. Having won Round 7 of the championship on Saturday, Sainz Sr. put Sunday’s Round 8 Redemption Race on the back burner and settled in to watch the Singapore GP. In an Instagram video posted on the official Extreme E page, Sainz Sr. is seen following the live timings. As soon as his son crossed the finish line, he erupted in cheers with the rest of his team.
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Riding the highs of Sainz Jr.’s victory, he said to his team, “Now go out there and win the f**king Redemption Race.” Unfortunately, Sainz couldn’t cap off the weekend with a triple victory, but he still has lots to celebrate. Extreme E captioned the post, “R.07 Extreme E win ✅. Carlos Sainz Jr. #SingaporeGP win ✅. R.08 Extreme E Redemption Race P4 😖. So nearly a perfect weekend for @carlossainzoficial. We go again in Chile 👊” Yes, Sainz Jr. didn’t have his father in Singapore to celebrate his victory. But he had one of his best friends to give him company.
Carlando reunited on the podium in Singapore
The final stint of the Singapore GP featured a Sainz-Norris double-act against the charging W14s of Russell and Hamilton. With around five laps to go, the Mercedes duo caught up to the back of Norris. While they were on new medium tires, Sainz and Norris were on old hard tires, constantly losing grip. Sainz knew that if Russell and Hamilton got past Norris, there would be nothing he could do to avoid losing the victory. So, he ensured that he gave Norris DRS to keep the Mercs behind. Evidently, it worked!
Not only did Sainz help Norris equal his best result in F1, but he also helped himself. In the post-race interview, Norris said, “Carlos was very generous, trying to help me get DRS. It helped my race and helped his. We knew it would be tough when Mercedes boxed.” Because of Sainz’s genius, the two best friends shared the podium after a hard-fought battle. Neither of them could’ve asked for more.
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Did you enjoy the Carlos Sainz Jr. masterclass during the Singapore GP?
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