With Red Bull seemingly out of the fight for victory, Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren are set for a big battle to take the win on Sunday; watch the Singapore GP live on Sky Sports F1 on Sunday, lights out at 1pm, with build-up from 11.30am
Sunday 17 September 2023 11:25, UK
Carlos Sainz believes five cars will be in the fight for victory at the Singapore Grand Prix as Ferrari look to end their winless streak.
Sainz took pole position for the second event running after a stunning lap in Q3 as he pipped George Russell by 0.072s, with Charles Leclerc in third.
Ferrari's last victory came at the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix and Red Bull have won every race this year, but that is likely to change as Max Verstappen will start down in 11th and Sergio Perez in 13th.
"I'm more confident (to win here compared to Monza) because of the track layout. It's easier to hold onto the track position. That obviously gives me more confidence," said Sainz.
"In terms of pace I really have no idea how we will be. Looking at long run data from Friday, the Mercedes, Aston Martin and Red Bull look a bit quicker than us in tyre degradation and race pace, so it could be that tomorrow we have to run a bit of a defensive race.
"I don't discount that even around this track we can hold onto P1 because it's a lot more difficult to pass compared to other tracks this season. But our race pace still looks like our weakest point.
"The race tomorrow will be between the top five cars. George has an extra medium tyre but we could also do a two-stop as the soft didn't look too bad. It will be a tough race to manage and put together, but if we nail it, we have a great opportunity and that's the target tomorrow of course."
Leclerc added on Mercedes' potential strategy advantage: "Carlos is starting first and I'm third, so I think we can also put Mercedes under quite a bit of pressure, so I'm not worried."
Sainz led the opening 15 laps of the Italian Grand Prix last time out, before Verstappen overtook him and went on to take a record-breaking 10th straight win.
The Spaniard isn't ruling out a charge through the field from Verstappen, despite Red Bull's issues throughout the weekend in Singapore.
"I don't think you can ever discount Max and Red Bull. They might turn up tomorrow with the race pace they have had this season and still manage, somehow, to make it through the field," he said.
Ferrari may have topped every session so far, but Russell feels Mercedes are in an "exciting place" starting from second and hopes he can capitalise on a strategic gamble that has left the Silver Arrows with two sets of new medium tyres for the race.
Team boss Toto Wolff admitted it had been a "bold" call to use an extra set of soft tyres in Practice Three and being at a disadvantage in qualifying to have more race strategy options.
Throughout 2023 Mercedes have generally had a stronger car on Sundays than Saturdays, while the reverse is true for Ferrari who have struggled with tyre wear and are yet to turn their three pole positions across Sprints and Grands Prix this year into victory.
"This is a great opportunity this weekend to get a victory," Russell said.
"We are on a different tyre strategy to every other car on the grid. We have two mediums, so we are the only team that have the chance to do a one or two-stop, so that gives us a great chance.
"I will be going for it (at the start). That will make our life easier. I think we have the pace over Ferrari in the race.
"We have the strategic advantage over them, so I'm pretty relaxed if we are in P2, or even P3, after Turn 1. Tyre degradation looks bad and I hope we put them in a challenging position to fend us off. I'm feeling good, feeling excited."
Russell added to Sky Sports F1: "I think we'll give them a fight for sure. It's going to be tough, Singapore is always difficult but we have got the two medium tyres which I think is going to be an advantage so we will see what we can do.
"Ferrari are always quick on Saturday, struggle a bit more on Sunday so we'll be going for it.
"The better way is to have a faster race car. It's always difficult to overtake on a street circuit but tyre degradation will probably be challenging.
"We're the only team that's possible to do a viable two-stop with the two mediums so that really gives us an advantage and we can put the pressure on them."
Wolff vowed Mercedes would be on full attack on Sunday but would not label his team as favourites for victory.
"I would never after such a season because we are on the front row call ourselves the favourites," the Mercedes boss said. "I think we need to be humble about the situation.
"The result generally comes as a surprise that we are P2 and P5 with another tyre available tomorrow.
"But fighting for a win is a different story. We will give it everything and we go full attack.
"If it's not a clear one-stop then we have a second option to play. It's a great tyre for a Safety Car, for a red flag, so it gives us much more option than when you only have used softs in your arsenal."
Lando Norris will start in fourth for McLaren and had strong long run pace during Friday's second practice session, which was run in the night to represent the race conditions.
But, Norris is looking over his shoulder rather than targeting a win as he goes into the race with a more cautious mindset.
"There's a lot of unknowns with degradation, a lot of things for us to find out. The pace is there, maybe not enough to compete against Ferrari. We don't know and we will find some more stuff out," said Norris.
"The race pace from Mercedes is always very strong, so to keep Lewis behind me and a couple of the others is the bigger task for me tomorrow."
1) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
2) George Russell, Mercedes
3) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
4) Lando Norris, McLaren
5) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
6) Kevin Magnussen, Haas
7) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
8) Esteban Ocon, Alpine
9) Nico Hulkenberg, Haas
10) Liam Lawson, AlphaTauri
11) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
12) Pierre Gasly, Alpine
13) Sergio Perez, Red Bull
14) Alex Albon, Williams
15) Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri
16) Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo
17) Oscar Piastri, McLaren
18) Logan Sargeant, Williams
19) Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo
Lance Stroll will not start race after Qualifying crash
Sunday September 17
11.30am: Grand Prix Sunday: Singapore GP build-up
1pm: THE SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX
3pm: Chequered Flag: Singapore GP reaction
4pm: Ted's Notebook
Next up for the F1 circus are the stunning streets of Singapore under the lights. All sessions from the Singapore GP will be live on Sky Sports F1 this weekend. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW. Cancel anytime
