Sergio Perez wins chaotic Singapore F1 Grand Prix

SINGAPORE — Max Verstappen’s Formulation One title celebrations had been placed on maintain after the Crimson Bull driver positioned seventh at a chaotic Singapore Grand Prix, gained by his teammate Sergio Perez on Sunday.

Perez’s second win of the season noticed him end 7.6 seconds forward of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with Leclerc’s teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. in third place.

Perez was being investigated for a possible security automobile infringement. It might imply a time penalty of 5 seconds, during which case the Mexican driver’s lead over Leclerc lined him.

Verstappen’s equal-lowest place this 12 months matches his seventh on the British GP in July. He additionally had two retirements within the first three races.

Verstappen had gained the previous 5 races however wanted to win right here and end 22 factors forward of Leclerc to be topped champion for a second straight season. That might occur subsequent weekend on the Japanese GP.

Verstappen made a mistake after the second security automobile restart, following AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda’s crash on Lap 36. When Verstappen tried to overhaul Lando Norris’ McLaren, he locked his tires and wanted to pit once more.

Leclerc began from pole place with Verstappen going from eighth after a staff blunder in qualifying.

The race begin was delayed from 8 p.m. (1200 GMT) to 9:05 p.m. (1305 GMT) native time to clear water off the Marina Bay Circuit monitor following heavy rainfall. Drivers needed to end the 61-lap race inside a two-hour window.

Difficult situations noticed the digital security automobile deployed thrice and DRS was allowed with about half-hour remaining.

Perez made a great begin and jumped previous Leclerc whereas Verstappen dropped a number of locations. The primary security automobile was on Lap 8 when Zhou Guanyu’s Alfa Romeo was minimize off by Nicholas Latifi’s Williams.

Perez acquired away cleanly on the restart, whereas Verstappen climbed into seventh behind Fernando Alonso — whose 350th F1 race ended disappointingly when his engine failed on Lap 21, bringing out the primary VSC.

With the monitor nonetheless damp, drivers determined towards altering to faster tires — aside from Mercedes’ George Russell, who struggled for grip.

Hamilton made a uncommon mistake on Lap 33 and thudded into the crash barrier. Quickly after, the main drivers modified tires in a flurry of stops. They did so simply earlier than the security automobile was deployed once more following Tsunoda’s error.

Verstappen overtook Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin proper on the finish for seventh place.

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