Singapore GP: Vettel beats Leclerc to end victory drought
Sebastian Vettel scored his first Formula 1 victory in over a year as Charles Leclerc criticised a Ferrari decision he did not think was "fair" in the Singapore Grand Prix.
Leclerc led the opening phase of the race from pole position but fell behind Vettel after Ferrari pit the second-placed car first, which Vettel converted into a first win of the season to end a drought stretching back to the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix.
After being told to save his engine 15 laps from the finish, Leclerc's response to Ferrari included: "I just don't think it is fair, but I won't do anything stupid."
Max Verstappen completed the podium for Red Bull, after early second-place runner Lewis Hamilton slipped to fourth after the longest opening stint of any of the frontrunners.
Hamilton led the pursuit of Leclerc in the opening stages, but Leclerc was managing his pace and backed up the front group.
That prevented any of the drivers from the big three teams from attempting an undercut until lap 19, as the midfield package remained too close to the frontrunners.
However, once those in the midfield started to pit, a gap emerged – and Verstappen looked set to be the first to utilise that as he complained of fading rear tyres.
At the same time, Ferrari brought in third-placed Vettel, which also gave him the chance to use fresh tyres to get ahead of Hamilton.
Leclerc stopped one later, but Vettel's pace advantage was sufficient to leapfrog his teammate – vexing Leclerc but moving Ferrari from first and third into a provisional, net one-two.
Mercedes opted to extend Hamilton's stint out front by six laps compared to Leclerc and his pace faded considerably on ageing softs.
Hamilton's pace was so poor that Mercedes even ordered Valtteri Bottas, who had already stopped from fifth place, to back off the lap before Hamilton's pitstop.
This was to prevent Hamilton losing track position to both Bottas and the second Red Bull of Alex Albon, thus protecting fourth and fifth for Mercedes.
Once behind, Leclerc started to pressure Vettel but lost ground to his teammate as they worked their way through the midfield cars running long.
Vettel's progress to the front included an aggressive move on Pierre Gasly's Toro Rosso, and when he got there he had to manage three safety-car periods.
The first of those came when Romain Grosjean and George Russell collided and the Williams was turned into the wall exiting Turn 8 on lap 36.
Vettel faced no threat at the restart on lap 41 but the safety car emerged again three laps later, after the Racing Point of Sergio Perez stopped on the straight between Turns 10 and 11 with an unknown problem.
That took three laps to clear, during which Leclerc requested "everything" for the restart but was told by Ferrari to manage the engine and "bring the car home".
"Yeah, I won't do anything stupid - it's not my goal," Leclerc responded. "I want us to finish one-two, I just think it's not fair. This won't change, I won't be stupid."
One final safety car period stood between Vettel and victory, thanks to Daniil Kvyat lunging Kimi Raikkonen at the first corner on lap 50, breaking the Alfa Romeo's front left wheel and putting Raikkonen out on the spot.
A one-lap safety car appearance followed, after which the race continued without interruption as Vettel won by 1.6s.
Verstappen fended off Hamilton to complete the top three at a race Red Bull and Honda had hoped to challenge for victory, but a return to the podium was reward for the team's decision to stop in parallel with Vettel while running fourth early on.
Bottas finished fifth, missing out on fastest lap late on after dropping away from Hamilton to get clear air, with Albon in sixth place.
Lando Norris was an excellent seventh for McLaren. He assumed the lead of the midfield fight after teammate Carlos Sainz and Renault's Nico Hulkenberg collided on the opening lap.
Hulkenberg dived inside Sainz at the fast Turn 4 right-hander, clobbering the right-rear of the McLaren and forcing Sainz to limp back to the pits.
Norris moved ahead of Hulkenberg when the German was forced into the pits at the end of the lap with damage, and serenely controlled the best-of-the-rest contest thereafter.
Pierre Gasly battled to eighth with a strong drive aided by a long first stint and a gutsy outside pass on Kevin Magnussen after a safety car restart.
Hulkenberg recovered to ninth ahead of Antonio Giovinazzi, who led briefly as Alfa committed him to a long first stint but dropped right back at one stage after being hit by Daniel Ricciardo.
| Cla | Driver | Chassis | Gap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Sebastian Vettel |  | Ferrari | |
| 2 |  Charles Leclerc |  | Ferrari | 2.641 |
| 3 |  Max Verstappen |  | Red Bull | 3.821 |
| 4 |  Lewis Hamilton |  | Mercedes | 4.608 |
| 5 |  Valtteri Bottas |  | Mercedes | 6.119 |
| 6 |  Alex Albon |  | Red Bull | 11.663 |
| 7 | Lando Norris |  | McLaren | 14.769 |
| 8 |  Pierre Gasly |  | Toro Rosso | 15.547 |
| 9 | Nico Hulkenberg |  | Renault | 16.718 |
| 10 |  Antonio Giovinazzi |  | Alfa Romeo | 27.855 |
| 11 | Romain Grosjean |  | Haas | 35.436 |
| 12 |  Carlos Sainz Jr. |  | McLaren | 35.974 |
| 13 |  Lance Stroll |  | Racing Point | 36.419 |
| 14 |  Daniel Ricciardo |  | Renault | 37.660 |
| 15 |  Daniil Kvyat | | Toro Rosso | 38.178 |
| 16 |  Robert Kubica |  | Williams | 47.024 |
| 17 |  Kevin Magnussen |  | Haas | 1'26.522 |
| Kimi Raikkonen |  | Alfa Romeo | 12 Laps | |
 Sergio Perez |  | Racing Point | 19 Laps | |
| George Russell |  | Williams | 27 Laps | |
| View full results | ||||
Previous article
The Singapore GP as it happened
Next article
Leclerc frustrated by "not fair" Ferrari strategy in Singapore
About this article
| Series | Formula 1 |
| Event | Singapore GP |
| Author | Scott Mitchell |
Scuderia Ferrari Filming Day Backstage Footage
Back to Work | Valtteri Bottas' 2021 Seat Fit
F1 Explained | Mercedes Power Unit
How McLaren F1’s new investors have already made an impact
The deal McLaren concluded with MSP Sports Capital last year which will help the cash-strapped Formula 1 team pay for much-needed infrastructure upgrades, also points toward the future for F1 itself, says GP Racing's Stuart Codling.
Why Verstappen isn't interested in the hype game
In a pre-season where Red Bull has been unusually quiet, Max Verstappen has also been guarded about the team's fortunes in 2021. Even after trying the RB16B for the first time at Silverstone, the Dutchman was careful to manage expectations
The pros and cons of F1's 2021 rule changes
In the strategy for grand prix racing's future, 2021 represents a significant step towards the goal of closer racing and a more level playing field. That's the theory behind the latest raft of changes, but will they have the desired effect?
What Red Bull is trying to hide with its RB16B launch
Red Bull made no secret of the fact its 2021 F1 car is an evolution of its predecessor, but in keeping the same foundations while hiding some tightly-guarded updates with its RB16B, the team aims to avoid suffering the same pitfalls of previous years
How Albon plans to fight his way out of Red Bull limbo
Alex Albon has faced the media for the first time since he lost his Red Bull drive at the end of 2020 and dropped out of a Formula 1 race seat altogether. He has a history of bouncing back from setbacks, so here's what he must do to rise again
Ranked! Carlin's greatest F1 graduates
Carlin has helped guide enough drivers to Formula 1 to fill out an entire grid, plus a handful of reserves, to create a remarkable alumni list. With Yuki Tsunoda set to join that group, Motorsport.com has ranked its graduates to grace the grand prix scene...
Why Alfa's 2021 launch says more about its 2022 plans
Alfa Romeo launched its C41 with a revised front nose, but there's little to suggest it will surge up the leaderboard in 2021. As the team frankly admits, it's putting its eggs in the basket labelled 2022 and hoping to hold the eighth place it earned last year
Why Gasly’s AlphaTauri haven is a blessing and a curse
Red Bull opted not to re-sign Pierre Gasly even before it decided to drop Alex Albon and so the Frenchman's Formula 1 journey will continue at AlphaTauri. This has positive and negative connotations for one of last season's star performers.
