“Norris is 0.8 behind in your DRS” – Riccardo Adami

“Yes, it’s on purpose.” – Sainz

That is absolutely outstanding tactical driving:

He effectively turned Lando Norris into his second teammate by keeping him in his DRS range, close but not close enough to attack for the lead, so the McLaren could then form a DRS Trulli Train in front of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, thus eating into the Mercedes’ massive tyre advantage, especially while Hamilton (Who was much faster in that final stint) was stuck behind Russell.

And Norris, seemingly realising he had no choice but to defend 2nd place, played his part and drove so perfectly that Russell couldn’t quite complete the move for 2nd to attack a vulnerable Sainz, and ultimately pushed so hard that he smacked the wall at the Singapore Sling on the final lap.

SMOOOOOOOOOTH OPERATOR.