Despite haze and poor air quality, Singapore F1 fans gathered at Marina Bay Street Circuit to cheer for their favourite drivers and teams during Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday which turned out as another celebration day for Ferrari at the end of 61 laps.
Motor racing and drama is always related to each other. Even in Singapore GP 2019, some unexpected events happened, which disappointed many, except Ferrari fans.
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel broke the dominance of Mercedes at Marina Bay and took the victory beating the pole position holder Charles Leclerc, who finished second, ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
When the initial race leader Charles Leclerc took the pit stop and changed his tyres to hard compound tyres, the drivers' championship leader Lewis Hamilton stayed out on the track to increase the distance from Ferrari and even after taking a pit stop the Mercedes star maintained the top position until taking his second pit. There is no doubt that the race strategy of Mercedes in Singapore did not work at all as both the drivers finished fourth and fifth at the end of the Singapore GP.
However, it should be mentioned that it was former world champion Sebastian Vettel, who came ahead of his teammate when the 21-year-old Charles Leclerc rejoined the track after taking his first pit stop. Started as the third grid driver, the German star outshines the pole position holder Charles Leclerc at Singapore GP and continued to be as the race leader to clinch his fifth victory in Singapore.
In the post-race interview Sebastian Vettel said, "The start of the season was difficult for us, but the last couple of weeks, we've really come alive!"
During the initial lap, Renault's Nico Hülkenberg and McLaren's Carlos Sainz got involved in the chaos which led both the drivers to take early pit stops, while Williams' George Russell, who faced initial nose damage, had to retire after contact with Romain Grosjean during 35th lap. After this incident safety car was deployed.
Both the Racing Point drivers faced issues at Marina Bay. While Lance Stroll took a pit stop to change his punctured tyre, his teammate Sergio Pérez was asked to retire due to technical issues. After the retirement of the Mexican driver, the safety car was deployed for the second time at Marina Bay Street Circuit.
Kimi Räikkönen, the Alfa Rome star made a contact with Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat during 50th lap. This incident forced the former Ferrari driver to leave the race there and then safety car was again deployed for the third time during Sunday's F1 battle.
Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister, Heng Swee Keat presented the winner's trophy to Sebastian Vettel.
The next Formula 1 race will be Russian Grand Prix, which will take place on September 29 at Sochi Autodrom.
