Sergio Perez wins chaotic Singapore F1 Grand Prix

SINGAPORE — Max Verstappen The title celebrations in Formula 1 were then put on hold red bull Driver finished seventh in chaotic Singapore Grand Prixteammate Sergio Perez won on Sunday.

Perez’s second win of the season saw him finish 7.6 seconds clear Ferraris Charles Leclerc, with Leclerc’s teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. in third place.

Perez was investigated for a possible safety car violation. It could mean a five-second time penalty, in which case the Mexican’s lead over Leclerc covered it.

Verstappen’s equally lowest finish this year matches his seventh at the British GP in July. He also had two retirements in the first three races.

Verstappen had won the last five races but needed to win here and finish 22 points clear of Leclerc to be crowned champion for the second year in a row. That could happen next weekend at the Japanese GP.

Verstappen made a mistake after the second safety car restart after AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda crashed on lap 36. When Verstappen tried to pass Lando Norris McLarenhe locked his tires and had to pit again.

Leclerc started from pole position, Verstappen then started the race from eighth place a team fault in qualifying.

The start of the race was rescheduled from 20:00 (12:00 GMT) to 21:05 (13:05 GMT) local time to remove water from the Marina Bay Circuit track following heavy rainfall. The drivers had to complete the 61-lap race within two hours.

In difficult conditions, the virtual safety car was deployed three times and DRS was allowed around 30 minutes before the end.

Perez got off to a good start and jumped past Leclerc while Verstappen dropped several places. The first safety car was for Zhou Guanyu on lap 8 Alfa Romeo was cut off by Nicholas Latifis Williams.

Perez got off cleanly at the restart while Verstappen climbed up to seventh behind Fernando Alonso – whose 350 F1 The race ended in disappointment when his engine died on lap 21 and the first VSC emerged.

On the still damp track, the drivers decided against changing to faster tires – apart from that MercedesGeorge Russell, struggling for footing.

Hamilton made a rare mistake on lap 33 and crashed into the guardrail. Soon after, the leading drivers tires changed in a barrage of stops. They did so just before the safety car was reinstated after Tsunoda’s mistake.

Verstappen passed Sebastian Vettel Aston-Martin at the very end for seventh place.