Singapore GP: Sergio Perez takes victory in eventful wet/dry race

Sergio Perez led every lap to claim an impressive victory at the rain-hit Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday.

The Mexican took the lead at the start and didn’t look back to cross the finish line 7.5s clear of Charles Leclerc, though does face an investigation for a Safety Car infringement.

Race Review

A heavy rainstorm caused a one-hour delay to the start but conditions had dried enough for all drivers to choose intermediate tyres.

When the lights went out, a good start allowed Perez to take the lead from second into Turn 1.

But a poor launch meant teammate Max Verstappen lost places down to 12th at one stage on the opening lap.

Sainz and Hamilton made light contact in Turn 2 with the Ferrari moving up to third and the Mercedes in fourth, while Alex Albon was the only spinner at Turn 7 towards the back.

After his poor opening lap, Verstappen quickly made up three places to ninth but was losing substantial ground to the leaders as Perez and Leclerc pulled clear.

Singapore’s 100% Safety Car record was maintained when Nicholas Latifi and Zhou Guanyu collided at Turn 5 leaving the Alfa Romeo stricken in the run-off area.

At the restart, Verstappen was the big mover passing Sebastian Vettel at Turn 5 and the fast-starting Pierre Gasly into Turn 13 to run seventh.

That was the only action for a while as drivers tried to extend their stint on the intermediates as the track was once again slow to dry.

A Virtual Safety Car was called as Fernando Alonso came to a halt with engine problems in his record-setting 350th race.

Mercedes took the opportunity to pit George Russell for slick medium tyres, but the track was still too wet as he struggled for grip.

Alpine’s day went from bad to worst as Esteban Ocon also retired due to a power unit failure causing another VSC.

When the race resumed, Hamilton went off at Turn 7 and resumed just ahead of Verstappen, but with damage to his front wing.

At the same moment, Russell set the fastest lap on slicks triggering a flurry of pit-stops but with no changes in the top three.

Conditions were still tricky though as proven by Yuki Tsunoda who crashed at Turn 10 causing a second Safety Car.

The big beneficiaries were McLaren as Lando Norris moved up to fourth and Daniel Ricciardo sixth, either side of Verstappen.

At the restart, Verstappen went for a big move on Norris into Turn 7 but went straight on and was forced to pit with flat-spotted tyres, dropping the Dutchman out of the points.

Out front, Leclerc started to put the pressure on Perez for the lead as DRS was enabled for the first time.

But unable to attempt a move, the race evolved into the Monegasque trying to stay within five seconds of the Mexican, who was put under investigation for a potential Safety Car infringement.

Further down, Verstappen went on another charge after his forced second stop, recovering back into the top 10.

He would inherit eighth after Hamilton ran wide at Turn 8 and then passed Sebastian Vettel for seventh on the final lap.

Ahead, Perez was able to stretch ahead of Leclerc in the closing laps, taking the chequered flag 7.5s clear of the Ferrari to take the win provisionally.

Sainz came home third in the second Ferrari, with Norris fourth and Ricciardo fifth on the great day for McLaren in their battle for fourth in the Constructors’ Championship.

Lance Stroll was sixth, ahead of three world champions in Verstappen, Vettel and Hamilton. Pierre Gasly completed the top 10 for AlphaTauri.

Valtteri Bottas was 11th followed by the two Haas’ of Kevin Magnussen and Mick Schumacher. Russell would be the final finisher in 14th on a miserable night for the Briton.

Full results from the race can be seen below: