Carlos Sainz says he and Ferrari take pride in defeating a Red Bull team that has often appeared unbeatable this season, while conceding that it could well rebound to win the rest of the year — a prospect Max Verstappen then suggested only “a real fan” can appreciate.
Last weekend’s race in Singapore saw Red Bull beaten for the first time when Sainz won from Lando Norris, with Verstappen limited to fifth place. Sainz says Ferrari is proud to have been the team able to get the better of this year’s dominant car, even if he fears it might be a one-off in 2023.
“It obviously gives me a lot of pride for me and the whole team in being able to do so, because they were at such a high level that it seemed almost impossible at some stage in the season to beat them,” Sainz said. “To suddenly turn up in Singapore and do it in the way we did it is a great feeling, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they still win the rest of the races.”
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1388]
Last Sunday’s race had the highest U.S. television audience for the Singapore Grand Prix in history, with an average of 1.18 million viewers tuning in for the live telecast on ESPN as the unusual competitive order and fight to the flag captured attention. Yet Verstappen said the increased entertainment factor that resulted is not something he concerns himself with.
“Honestly, I have zero interest in that,” Verstappen said. “We got beaten and in a very clear way. I don’t think about what’s good for Formula 1. I don’t think it was necessarily bad what was happening to Formula 1, because we were just better than everyone else. If people can’t appreciate that, then you are not a real fan.
“That’s how it goes and that’s why I was super relaxed about it, because we didn’t perform and other people did a better job than us and of course they deserve to win. They shouldn’t win because people say it’s boring that we are winning.”
Verstappen says the fact his own 10-race winning streak came to an end didn’t add to his frustration in Singapore, with the focus now on trying to clinch the constructors’ championship for Red Bull in Suzuka.
“No emotion. I mean, yeah, we stopped winning for one race — s*** happens. We won 10 in a row before that! Of course I would have liked to win there as well but I also know there is always going to be a day or a weekend where you are not winning and things go wrong. Unfortunately, it was that weekend, but we just move on and try again.
“(To win the constructors’ crown) is a great achievement and something that we set out to do at the start of the year and something that everyone can be very proud of. For sure, if we could win it here it would mean a little bit extra for everyone, also for Honda being involved with us. It would be very nice.”