Why Max Verstappen was Singapore’s big winner in Formula 1.

In the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday at Marina Bay Street Circuit, Max Verstappen came out on top despite his 10-race Formula 1 winning streak coming to an end.

In this past Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix at Marina Bay Street Circuit, two-time reigning Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen broke a record-breaking 10-race winning streak by finishing second for the first time since Sunday, April 30.

Red Bull’s driver will start Sunday’s 62-lap race from the sixth row after a poor qualifying performance at the temporary 19-turn, 3.07-mile (4.941-kilometer) street circuit in Marina Bay, Singapore, which has historically been one of his worst venues.

After using a different tire strategy that saw him run as high as second and as low as fifteenth throughout the eventful night, he was able to finish in fifth place.

Carlos Sainz Jr. of Ferrari took first place in the competition.
Verstappen’s 15-race streak of top-two finishes, which had started in late last season, was broken along with his 10-race winning streak by.
Additionally, it eliminated his chance to repeat Michael Schumacher’s 2002 feat of finishing on the podium in each of the 22 races on the calendar this year.

Due to teammate Sergio Perez finishing three positions behind him, Verstappen did increase his points lead, bringing him one step closer to securing a third straight world championship.

Even so, a reality of the 2023 Formula 1 season that has largely been overlooked was made clear at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Verstappen was consequently arguably the biggest winner of all throughout the weekend, despite having by far his worst race of the year.

Due to Red Bull’s dominance, particularly that of Verstappen, many people have referred to the 2023 season as “boring.”. Verstappen took the checkered flag in 12 of the season’s opening 14 races, which Red Bull won all of. His only two other finishes were as the runner-up to Perez.

Regardless of his starting position or the type of track, Verstappen victories have generally seemed to be a given.

Verstappen’s dominance has been viewed as “easy” in some ways because the RB19 has been superior to every other car on the grid.
Over the course of the eight-and-a-half-month season, it has felt almost like he is playing F1 2023 in rookie mode and obtaining every achievement he can.
His league has never had anyone.

Without a doubt, Red Bull had the best car in 2023, and their car was clearly not where it usually is in Singapore.

The Dutch and Austrian national anthems have become their own “broken record” this season, but Singapore showed how competitive Formula 1 is still.

Besides Red Bull, there are currently three other front-running teams in Formula 1.
As a result of McLaren’s recent comeback, they now stand alongside Mercedes and Ferrari, while Aston Martin has largely vanished from the conversation due to its recent decline.

And in the final laps of the Singapore Grand Prix, we witnessed a battle for first place between four drivers from those three teams, making it without a doubt the most thrilling and unpredictable race of the year.

Because of the battle occurring every weekend 30 seconds behind Verstappen, I have been predicting all year that the 2023 season will be underrated.

Even Perez has been competing with drivers from rival teams much more frequently than he has been competing with his teammate, despite the fact that many have attributed the 25-year-old Dutchman’s success to the strength of the RB19.
The competition has actually been more intense for the second-best driver than the second-best team.

Formula 1 fans finally had the opportunity to witness Max Verstappen’s forgettable weekend.

Verstappen leaves Singapore as the big winner for one reason: it put his dominance in a slightly different perspective, which may disappoint some of his ardent Orange Army fanbase.

The fact that a driver has been so strong and nearly unbeatable in a series that is still as competitive as it is simply cannot be understated.

Naturally, Formula 1 is not as competitive as a series like IndyCar, but even IndyCar has only had two championship-winning teams over the past 11 years, and only one other team has ever finished with a driver in second place at any time.

Even though he won every race contested in May, June, July, and August, it’s not as “easy” as he makes it seem, and it’s not a given just because of the car he drives, which, quite frankly, had already been obvious for quite some time amid Perez’s struggles.

And yes, the opportunity to compare his dominance arises from his goal of rising to third place on the list of all-time victories by the end of the 2023 season.