© Getty ImagesMax battles to P2 in Singapore as Yuki takes 12thMax overcame the heat to take a battling P2 in Singapore and his ninth podium of the season as Yuki narrowly missed out on points finishing P12 at the flag.
ResistingpressurefromMcLaren’sLandoNorristhroughoutthegruelling62-lapraceandLandogettingtowithinhalfasecondintheclosinglaps,thefour-timechampionhungontotakeadeservedsecondplace.ThatputshimsixpointsclosertotitleleaderOscarPiastri,whofinishedfourth,withsixracesandthreeSprintsremaining.
For Yuki, it was a race of getting close but without rewards. After starting on Soft tyres, the Japanese driver put in almost 50 laps on a set of Hard tyres and though that took him to 11th and the cusp of the points in the closing laps, fading tyres allowed Williams’ Carlos Sainz to get past at the end and Yuki finished 12th.
Yuki put in almost 50 laps on a set of Hard tyres© Getty Images
Max was the only driver in the top seven with Soft tyres for the start and was hoping that the stickier tyres would give him an advantage off the line against polesitter George Russell.
However, when the lights went out at the start, the Mercedes driver got away well and held the lead through Turn 1. Max was forced to slot into P2, but behind the Dutchman, the McLaren drivers were battling. Lando dived down the inside of George into Turn 3 and after momentarily tagging the back of Max’s RB21, Lando banged wheels with his team-mate and Oscar dropped to fourth.
By lap 10, George had carved out a 4.7s advantage over Max who was 1.8s ahead of Lando but complaining about the quality of his downshifts. Yuki pitted to shed his starting Soft tyres on lap 14 and after taking on a set of C3 Hard tyres he rejoined in P20. At the front, Max continued on his Soft tyres until lap 20 and after a slightly slow three-second halt he emerged in Hard tyres in seventh place, behind Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
GP was soon on the radio, telling Max he was “free to push”. He began reeling off fastest laps and on lap 24 he was just two seconds behind Lewis who needed to make a pit stop. Ferrari opted to pit Lewis on lap 25 and when Mercedes pitted both drivers a lap later, Max climbed to fourth, three seconds behind George who was now on Hard tyres. Lando made his stop on lap 27 and after fitting Hard tyres he emerged behind Max once again, this time five seconds behind the Dutchman but with tyres that were seven laps newer.
Oscar was last of the leaders to pit, on lap 27, but the Australian’s halt for Hard tyres was delayed by a stuck rear left and after remaining stationary for five seconds he was sent out on track in P4, 9.4s behind Lando.
At half distance, George was back in the lead, 3.7s clear of Max who was now 4.4s ahead of Lando, with Oscar in P4.
As the final stint evolved, Max began to reel in George and on lap 34 the four-time World Champion had taken a full second out of the Mercedes driver’s lead. However, on lap 37, problems surfaced for the Dutchman and he locked-up and dropped five seconds behind George.
Max was told to adjust his brake balance and for a short while that looked to have done some good. On lap 46, though, he was on the radio again, telling the Team, “I’m struggling a lot now”, and Lando closed to within DRS range.
They were battling through traffic and that allowed Lando to close right up, but once the backmarkers were dismissed, Max was able to add a couple of tenths to the gap. The advantage was small but crucial and despite intense pressure from Lando, Max delivered a flawless final flurry of laps to cross the line just behind George.
Lando finished third and Oscar was a few seconds behind, fifth place went to Kimi Antonelli in the second Mercedes. He was followed to the flag by Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. Fernando Alonso crossed the line in eighth place ahead of Haas’ Oliver Bearman and the final point on offer went to Sainz. Post race Lewis was given a 5 second penalty and dropped to P8.
