Sainz ends Red Bull's winning run in Singapore spectacle

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz claimed victory in a thrilling Singapore Grand Prix while McLaren's Lando Norris and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton completed the podium.

The win for the Prancing Horse puts an end to Red Bull's domination that had seen them win the 14 previous races this season and put them on the verge of retaining the Constructors' Championship.

Both Bulls started outside the top 10 after a difficult qualifying session, with championship leader Max Verstappen in 11th and Sergio Perez in 13th.

Aston Martin's Lance Stroll was involved in a crash on the circuit on Saturday and was not fit to race, meaning the grid was cut to 19 rather than the usual 20 drivers.

And only 15 would finish with Yuki Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon, Valtteri Bottas and George Russell all running into issues that would cut their evenings' short.

Russell looked to have a chance of claiming victory in the closing stages of the grand prix after the Mercedes cars pitted for medium tyres during a virtual safety car, giving them a significant advantage over the top three.

Both Brits managed to make their way past Charles Leclerc, who was struggling for grip, but fell short of passing Norris and Sainz who were able to see off their competition.

It was agony for Russell in the end after he put his car into the wall on the final lap, handing his team-mate the final podium position.

Sainz used a clever strategy that allowed Norris to sit within DRS range of his former McLaren partner and prevent the Silver Arrows from sailing past on fresher tyres and as a result brought home his second win as a Ferrari driver.

He was good value for the victory and led for most of the race, managing his pace well having been a sitting duck to two Red Bulls in Monza last time out.

After sustaining early pressure from Leclerc, the 29-year-old looked comfortable ahead of Russell and Norris across the 62 laps despite the late charge from Mercedes.

A safety car on lap 20 looked to have shook things up across the pack and while Ferrari's double stack worked out well for the race winner, it relegated Leclerc down the order and subsequently ended his hopes of a podium finish.

Mercedes and McLaren followed suit but were more fortunate with their stops and were able to push on and secure a good amount of points alongside Sainz.

Elsewhere, AlphaTauri driver Liam Lawson — who was filling in for the absent Daniel Ricciardo — had a stellar race and came home in ninth, picking up his first points in Formula 1.

Verstappen managed to claw his way back up to a respectable fifth but it was a familiar story for Perez who could only muster eighth in the standings.

It was also an evening to forget for Fernando Alonso. 

The Spaniard was running in the points for most of the race but a slow pit stop and a few lapses of concentration on the track meant he came home last of the remaining runners and yields a place to Hamilton in the drivers standings.

Pierre Gasly delivered a respectable sixth for Alpine and it would have been a good haul of points for the team had Ocon not experienced issues with his car.