Pérez resists Leclerc and wins in the chaos in Singapore!

Sergio Pérez, king of the city. The pilot Red Bull has established itself on the streets of the city-state of Singapore. In changing conditions, first wet then dry, the Mexican won his 2nd Grand Prix of the season. Sergio Pérez beat both Ferrari de Charles Leclerc et Carlos Sainz but be careful, the winner is under investigation by the stewards for an offense under a safety car. Max Verstappen had a race with twists and turns and crossed the line in 9th place, after a big mistake while overtaking. The championship could therefore be played at Suzuka next week.

Perez ganoooooooo

What a drive from Checo! 🏆#SingaporeGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/0YiF9SXwlJ

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 2, 2022

Pérez surprises Leclerc, bad start for Verstappen

After more than an hour of waiting, the departure, given at 15:05 p.m. instead of 14 p.m., was quite reasonable. More comfortable with traction, it was Sergio Pérez, who started second, who got the better of Leclerc at the first corner. The drivers who started on the clean side got off to a worse start than the others: Sainz immediately went 3rd in front Hamilton, as Norris before Alonso. Catastrophic start on the other hand for Verstappen, who lost 4 positions on the first lap. The Dutchman was caught in the chaos of the peloton, forced to cut the first turn. Behind, Alexander albon spun at the end of the straight, at turn 7, but was able to leave without damage.

Quickly, large gaps formed between the leading duo and the rest of the peloton. Max Verstappen, on a mission to get back to the front of the grid, managed to quickly get rid of Magnussen, tsunoda et Stroll to return to 9th place, before being blocked behind Hag. The first incident occurred in the 8th round between Guanyu-Zhou et Nicholas latifi : the Canadian completely crushed the Chinese into the wall at the entrance to turn 5. Double retirement and safety car deployed.

When Latifi doesn't leave enough room for Zhou, forced to give up ❌#SingaporeGP 🇸🇬 pic.twitter.com/RPdavRvKwQ

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) October 2, 2022

Double abandonment for Alpine

At the restart, Sergio Pérez managed to maintain control of the race ahead of Charles Leclerc. Max Verstappen surprised Sebastian Vettel at Turn 5 by diving inside before the straight, before overtaking on the same lap Pierre Gasly at the pin. The Dutchman, placed 7th, erased his bad start after 11 laps. Much faster, the reigning world champion once again found himself stuck behind Fernando Alonso, while a dry trajectory began to form.

Ultimately, it was thanks to an engine failure for the Spaniard that Verstappen was able to take 6th place. For his 350th Grand Prix, Alonso did not see the checkered flag, with his engine cut on lap 22, prompting a virtual safety car. The opportunity for Mercedes to try a bet with George Russell on slick tires! But the track was still too wet: the Briton even almost hit the wall at the exit of the third turn. Used as a “guinea pig” to give instructions to his teammate Lewis Hamilton, the ex-driver Williams lost more than 11 seconds on his exit lap…

On a changing, drying track, the peloton entered a waiting and transition phase while waiting for the right window to switch to slicks. Alexander Albon experienced another mishap when he hit the wall at turn 8, leaving his front wing on the track during the maneuver, thus causing a brief VSC. We didn't have to wait long before finding her again, since two laps later, Esteban Ocon is also a victim of the reliability of his Alpine, engine exploded! Double retirement for the French team which leaves empty-handed for a 2nd consecutive Grand Prix.

Disaster scenario for Alpine with a double abandonment ❌❌#SingaporeGP 🇸🇬 pic.twitter.com/Qd8Ycgemk6

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) October 2, 2022

Hectic transition to slicks

On the restart, Lewis Hamilton tried to put pressure on Carlos Sainz, before going straight into turn 7 on lap 33 himself! The seven-time world champion completely missed his braking. He was able to restart but with a broken front wing. At the same time, his teammate George Russell began setting sector records. The indication that slick tires work better than intermediates, and it was Pierre Gasly then Charles Leclerc who stopped first. The Ferrari driver, however, missed his stop on his box, thus losing a few seconds. Pérez stopped a lap later and was able to come out far ahead of the Monegasque.

While everyone made the decision to stop, Yuki Tsunoda crashed into the Tec-Pro at turn 10 with his new medium tires. The Japanese lacked judgment on his exit lap and caused a second Safety Car! McLaren emerges as the big winner in the safety car since Norris and Ricciardo benefited from a “free” stop, coming out 4th and 6th respectively. Hamilton and Gasly, however, were trapped: the Briton found himself 9th behind the two Aston Martin, and the French 10th. 

Sergio Pérez was able to keep first place on the restart ahead of Charles Leclerc. Max Verstappen lost several positions in the first seconds of the restart: the Red Bull driver went straight at turn 5 while trying to overtake Lando Norris, on the wet part! The Dutchman started 8th again but had to stop with destroyed tires. The championship leader started last… before overtaking a slow-moving George Russell, rear wheel punctured after contact with Schumacher.

Verstappen tries his luck but shoots straight! 😳🌬️#SingaporeGP 🇸🇬 pic.twitter.com/ZPqc0ar37p

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) October 2, 2022

Pérez victorious but under investigation, coronation postponed at Suzuka for Verstappen

Up front, Charles Leclerc instantly put pressure on Sergio Pérez. The Mexican complained on the radio about a stubborn engine. With less than 30 minutes remaining on the clock, the stewards decided to authorize DRS despite some still wet areas on the track. Blocked behind the Red Bull, Leclerc played it safe for a long time, not daring to go off-line when attempting to overtake.

In the peloton, Verstappen gave everything to get back into the top 10. With his soft tires, the Batavian managed to overtake Magnussen, Bottas, Gasly, Hamilton then Vettel to return to 7th place. 

With 12 minutes to go, the stewards announced that Sergio Pérez was under investigation by the stewards for an infraction during the 2nd safety car. The Mexican had not respected the distances between the Safety Car and his car, leaving too big a gap between the two cars. The sentence will be given after the finish of the Grand Prix, but the gap at the finish between the two drivers amounts to more than 7 seconds, which could save the ex-Racing Point driver.

Already a winner in Monaco, Sergio Pérez won on a 2nd urban circuit this season, his 4th victory in Formula 1. Max Verstappen, 7th, was not crowned in Singapore. Now 104 points ahead of Leclerc and 106 over Pérez, the championship leader will have another chance to win the title at Suzuka (October 7-9).

The rankings for the Singapore Grand Prix: 

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