One Carlos Sainz trait dubbed ‘best in F1’ after Singapore masterclass

Former Formula 1 driver Anthony Davidson hailed Carlos Sainz after his Singapore victory, claiming his defensive game is the best of any driver on the grid.

Sainz was forced to withstand heavy pressure from the charging Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton late in the Singapore Grand Prix in a thrilling battle for victory, Sainz using McLaren’s Lando Norris in P2 as something of an insurance policy as the former team-mates held firm to cross the line first and second.

That followed on from Monza where Sainz valiantly kept Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc at bay to ensure that he was the Ferrari driver to complete the podium.

Carlos Sainz crowned best Formula 1 defender

And speaking on theSky Sports F1 podcast, Davidson said that to his mind, there is no better driver on the defensive in Formula 1 than Sainz.

“Carlos has definitely proven in the last two grand prix that his defensive skills are, I think they’re the best out there, I really do,” said Davidson.

“He’s so wise in where he places the car, he can understand what’s going on behind him so well. He kept his team-mate at bay at Monza, he fought incredibly hard with Max [Verstappen], it’s no mean feat to try and keep him behind you.

“And he’s willing to take a good amount of risk as well, but it’s a calculated risk with Carlos. He’s a very classy driver.”

PlanetF1.com建议

F1 2023: Head-to-head qualifying and race stats between team-mates

F1 points all-time rankings: Where do Hamilton, Verstappen and Alonso feature?

Can Carlos Sainz continue form away from street circuits?

特定的公式1 drivers develop a trend of delivering their best performances on the adrenaline-spiking street circuits where there is very little margin for error.

One of them is Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who claimed his two wins so far in F1 2023 at the Saudi Arabia and Baku street tracks. Davidson believes Sainz is another driver who fits that bill.

So, with Leclerc now facing serious pressure in his efforts to maintain that aura of being Ferrari’s number one driver, Davidson has challenged Sainz to deliver a Singapore-esque display next time out at a more traditional circuit in the form of Suzuka.

“He can still work on a little bit of that speed at higher speed, faster, flowing circuits,” said Davidson.

“Street tracks are very different. You often see different drivers come to the fore for whatever reason at street tracks. We’ve seen Lewis Hamilton get beaten at Monaco in the past from the likes of Valtteri Bottas, Nico Rosberg. And we’ve seen Max get beaten in the past by Daniel Ricciardo in Monaco, and Singapore hasn’t really been an incredibly strong track for Max.

“And different drivers seem to excel at these street tracks and I think Carlos is one of those drivers that for whatever reason, can get a bit more out of it than some.

“So yes, Monza was a great weekend for him, Singapore’s obviously been fantastic for him as well, but I want to see that level of performance roll on into Suzuka, because that’s a more traditional kind of circuit where you would naturally expect a Leclerc to get the better of Carlos. So I’m waiting to see that, this weekend coming.”

Ferrari are on quite the extended barren spell when it comes to Japanese Grand Prix victory, their last triumph coming back in 2004, as we wait to see whether Red Bull’s slump in Singapore was an anomaly, or a sign of a more competitive battle at the front which is here to stay.

Read next:Toto Wolff shuts down Felipe Massa: ‘I don’t think he has a case’