SINGAPORE: Mexican Sergio Perez has set himself the goal of winning ahead of Charles Leclerc at Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix as favorite for Formula 1 title Max Verstappen had to put their championship celebrations on hold after finishing seventh.
The Red Bull driver took the checkered flag 7.5 seconds ahead of his Monegasque rival after a slow, rain-delayed race interrupted by two safety car periods and five virtual safety car periods and called at his two-hour time limit after 59 of 61 laps. Carlos Sainz in the other Ferrari finished third.
Perez is, however, under investigation for a safety car violation.
“I controlled the race,” said the 32-year-old, who started alongside poleman Leclerc on the front row and ripped his lead on a wet track.
“The last three rounds have been so intense.
“I gave everything for the win today,” added Perez who pushed hard in the closing stages to open enough of a gap for Leclerc to cover a possible penalty.
BEST PERFORMANCE
The drive, which Perez hailed as his best performance to date, earned him his fourth career victory and his second this season, with the Mexican also claiming victory in Monaco in May.
But it also forced teammate Verstappen to delay his title celebrations.
The Dutchman, who had started a furious eighth after being forced to abort his fastest qualifying lap due to a lack of fuel, was due to leave Singapore with a 138-point margin over his nearest challenger.
Instead, he now holds a 104-point lead over Leclerc and a 106-point advantage over Perez in the overall standings, with next week’s race in Japan giving him another shot at a second title.
His seventh-place finish, only his second place outside the top three this season, ended a five-game winning streak for the 25-year-old.
It came after an unusually scrappy race that saw him lose positions off the line and make an extra pit stop after locking out and running wide while challenging McLaren’s Lando Norris for fourth on the second restart. of the safety car.
“It’s just been a very frustrating weekend,” Verstappen said.
“We have five races left and we have a big lead but I want to have a good weekend every time.”
BAD START
Leclerc, who also started on pole but finished second the last time F1 visited Singapore in 2019, was keen on a move to Japan.
“The bad start put us on the defensive and after that it was a really tough race,” he said.
Norris finished fourth ahead of teammate Daniel Ricciardo.
The duo gave McLaren their best result of the season, which propelled them past Alpine to fourth in the constructors’ standings.
Lance Stroll took sixth ahead of Verstappen, with Sebastian Vettel making two Aston Martin cars in the points with eighth.
Lewis Hamilton, one of the favorites for victory, was only ninth.
The Briton, who started third, made contact with Sainz at the start and was forced out.
He placed fourth but then got stuck on faded intermediate tires and slammed into the barriers.
“The issues we have with this car are amplified in the rain,” he said.
Only 14 drivers finished Sunday’s race, the start of which was delayed by just over an hour due to heavy rain.
Among the retirements was Fernando Alonso, the Spaniard failing to see the checkered flag in a record 350th F1 start.
The Red Bull driver took the checkered flag 7.5 seconds ahead of his Monegasque rival after a slow, rain-delayed race interrupted by two safety car periods and five virtual safety car periods and called at his two-hour time limit after 59 of 61 laps. Carlos Sainz in the other Ferrari finished third.
Perez is, however, under investigation for a safety car violation.
“I controlled the race,” said the 32-year-old, who started alongside poleman Leclerc on the front row and ripped his lead on a wet track.
“The last three rounds have been so intense.
“I gave everything for the win today,” added Perez who pushed hard in the closing stages to open enough of a gap for Leclerc to cover a possible penalty.
BEST PERFORMANCE
The drive, which Perez hailed as his best performance to date, earned him his fourth career victory and his second this season, with the Mexican also claiming victory in Monaco in May.
But it also forced teammate Verstappen to delay his title celebrations.
The Dutchman, who had started a furious eighth after being forced to abort his fastest qualifying lap due to a lack of fuel, was due to leave Singapore with a 138-point margin over his nearest challenger.
Instead, he now holds a 104-point lead over Leclerc and a 106-point advantage over Perez in the overall standings, with next week’s race in Japan giving him another shot at a second title.
His seventh-place finish, only his second place outside the top three this season, ended a five-game winning streak for the 25-year-old.
It came after an unusually scrappy race that saw him lose positions off the line and make an extra pit stop after locking out and running wide while challenging McLaren’s Lando Norris for fourth on the second restart. of the safety car.
“It’s just been a very frustrating weekend,” Verstappen said.
“We have five races left and we have a big lead but I want to have a good weekend every time.”
BAD START
Leclerc, who also started on pole but finished second the last time F1 visited Singapore in 2019, was keen on a move to Japan.
“The bad start put us on the defensive and after that it was a really tough race,” he said.
Norris finished fourth ahead of teammate Daniel Ricciardo.
The duo gave McLaren their best result of the season, which propelled them past Alpine to fourth in the constructors’ standings.
Lance Stroll took sixth ahead of Verstappen, with Sebastian Vettel making two Aston Martin cars in the points with eighth.
Lewis Hamilton, one of the favorites for victory, was only ninth.
The Briton, who started third, made contact with Sainz at the start and was forced out.
He placed fourth but then got stuck on faded intermediate tires and slammed into the barriers.
“The issues we have with this car are amplified in the rain,” he said.
Only 14 drivers finished Sunday’s race, the start of which was delayed by just over an hour due to heavy rain.
Among the retirements was Fernando Alonso, the Spaniard failing to see the checkered flag in a record 350th F1 start.
