The Singapore Grand Prix 2023 was the 15th round of the 2023 F1 season, and took place at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Marina Bay, Singapore, during the weekend of the 15th to the 17th of September.
Carlos Sainz won the race from the pole, followed by Lando Norris, and Lewis Hamilton completing the podium.
Final results
Race evolution
Pit Stops
There were a total of 25 pit stops during the race.
The most popular pit stop windows were:
- Laps 19-20: 15 stops
- Laps 43-44: 6 stops
The fastest pit stop was Sergio Pérez's, stopping the clock at 28.977 seconds during his pit stop on lap 39, while the slowest one was was Logan Sargeant's, who stopped the clock at 1 minutes, 3.543 seconds, 34.566 seconds slower than Pérez, during his pit stop on lap 19.
These times include the time the driver spent going through the pit lane, as well as the actual time he stopped for the mechanics to work on his car.
Strategy
We saw a variety of options in terms of pit stop strategies during this race, however most drivers chose a 1 stop. Only Guanyu Zhou, Logan Sargeant, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Kevin Magnussen, George Russell and Alexander Albon decided to try something different with a 2 stops strategy.
The race winner, Carlos Sainz, was on a 1 stop strategy.
1 stop
-
4Nico Hülkenberg
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-Carlos Sainz
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10Esteban Ocon
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6Pierre Gasly
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1Charles Leclerc
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2Lando Norris
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10Oscar Piastri
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1Liam Lawson
-
5Sergio Pérez
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1Valtteri Bottas
-
6Max Verstappen
2 stops
-
12Guanyu Zhou
-
4Logan Sargeant
-
2Lewis Hamilton
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8Fernando Alonso
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4Kevin Magnussen
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14George Russell
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3Alexander Albon
Excluding those drivers who could not finish the race, those on a 1 stop strategy gained 2.78 positions on average, while those on a 2 stops strategy lost an average of 2.5 positions.
This difference in possitions gained, together with a deeper nalaysis of each strategy, reinforces the conclusion that a 1 stop strategy was the best option.
It is important to note that this might not always be the case for other races held at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, as the conditions might change from year to year, in terms of wheel degradation, accidents, safety cars, etc.
Incidents
There were some incidents during the race, with 5 drivers who didn't manage to cross the finish line.
These included, George Russell, who had to retire due to an accident on lap 61, Valtteri Bottas, who suffered a technical malfunction on lap 51, Esteban Ocon, who experienced issues with the gearbox on lap 42, Yuki Tsunoda, who retired dure to damage caused by a collision with other cars on lap 0, and Lance Stroll, who withdrew on lap 0.
Accident
-
George RussellLap 61
Technical
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Valtteri BottasLap 51
Gearbox
-
Esteban OconLap 42
Collision
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Yuki TsunodaLap 0
Withdrew
-
Lance StrollLap 0
Qualifying
Carlos Sainz managed to get the pole position by 0.072 seconds and a final lipe time of 1:30.984. Right next to him, completing the first line of the grid, was George Russell.
Track evolution
As the qualifying session went on, with the track rubbering in, and the drivers testing the limits of the grip of their cars, the times per lap dropped, and 12 out of the 14 drivers that took place in Q2 were able to improve their times.
The Q3 is the time were all the remaining drivers put all their cards on the table, even those with a superior car who might have been managing their times in Q1 and Q2 push their cars to the limit in Q3. It therefore comes as no surprise that 9 out of the 10 drivers that took place in Q3 were able to improve their times.