Sergio Perez has driven a near-perfect Singapore Grand Prix and remained clear of all drama behind to take victory in this morning’s race. The Mexican finished seven seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz making it two Ferrari’s on the podium.
The race was incident-filled, world-champions not exempt from the drama which unfolded, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton among those caught out by the track conditions.
A torrential downpour and thunderstorm before the event set the theme of the day, a delay of just over one hour required to allow the track to dry for safe running.
As was the case in yesterday’s qualifying, surface water remained on sections of the track, particularly at Turns 7 and 18.
The race also failed to reach distance in the allotted time as a result of the delay and incidents which unfolded, ending several laps early.
Despite the conditions it was a clean start from the field, all on intermediate tyres, Perez pipping pole-sitter Leclerc off the line to take the lead into Turn 1. Verstappen, starting eighth, was slow to get away and dropped to 12th.
Sebastien Vettel was the biggest improver on Lap 1, five places gained seeing him sit seventh.
The race set into a rhythm as drivers tip-toed through wet sections of the circuit until Lap 7, contact between Zhou Guanyu and Nicholas Latifi bringing out the safety car.
Zhou had been attempting a pass on Turn 5 and was squeezed to the outside by Latifi, hitting the wall and spinning the Canadian, both sustaining damage and retiring from the race.
George Russell, who had started from pit lane with a new ICE, made contact with Valtteri Bottas just before the intervention was called for, seeing him run make use of a runoff area before resuming, Bottas also with no reported damage.
Following the Lap 11 restart, Verstappen, who had worked his way up to ninth, picked up two further spots and move to seventh.
There was clean running for the next 10 laps, Perez building his lead over Leclerc as the duo pulled away from the field, 14 seconds the gap between Leclerc and Sainz in third.
Another disruption was called for on Lap 21, this time Fernando Alonso triggering the Virtual Safety Car after becoming stranded on a runoff, an engine failure to blame.
Russell was the only one to box, braving the change to slick tyres with a set of mediums.
“He’s a brave man,” was Verstappen’s radio response when informed of the change.
The gamble didn’t pay off initially, the British driver losing significant time on the field as he battled the car over surface water on various parts of the track.
There was a second, brief Virtual Safety Car on Lap 26 after Alex Albon made contact with the wall, his detached front wing wedged under the barrier at Turn 8. Albon was able to reverse out and limp to the pits before retiring.
Just two laps later there was yet another Virtual Safety Car interruption , Esteban Ocon the second Alpine to retire with engine difficulties, his car needing to be retrieved from the runoff.
As if there hadn’t been enough drama yet, Hamilton found the barriers on Lap 33 at Turn 7 after braking too late into the corner. He also managed to reverse out and continue, rejoining in between Norris and Verstappen who were locked in battle.
This was also around the time where Russell, who had remained on mediums, set the fastest lap of the race, the field taking the hint, an influx of stops to follow.
AlphaTauri were the first to make the switch to mediums with Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda, Leclerc the first of the leading pack to follow on Lap 34, Perez doing the same from the lead a lap later.
Tsunoda then became the next retiree, a big crash at Turn 10 on cold mediums seeing him slide into the barriers at speed just one lap after his tyre change, triggering another safety car
This was of major benefit to McLaren, the only team yet to stop, Norris retaining fourth whilst Daniel Ricciardo came out in sixth, a massive gain from outside the top 10.
The race became a timed affair at this point, the allocated laps unable to be completed in the time allocation due to the delayed start and multiple interventions.
The restart with 30 minutes remaining saw Verstappen immediately go about trying to overtake Norris for fourth, a massive lockup and slide into the Turn 10 runoff the result.
To compound his miseries, flat-spots on his tyres from the lockup required a further stop, putting Verstappen to the rear of the field.
Russell’s miserable Singapore Grand Prix then continued after contact with Mick Schumacher with 27 minutes remaining, both cars sustaining punctures at Turn 1 and having to limp back to the lane for a fresh set of tyres.
Up front, Perez, who had avoided drama and led from the start, came under pressure from Leclerc in the final 25 minutes, DRS finally activated and creating an enthralling battle for the lead.
Perez managed to hold off the charging Ferrari as news emerged of a post-race investigation for a safety car infringement, Perez alleged to not have stayed with the 10 car distance behind.
The aim from here was to build a five second lead over Leclerc, the leader managing to do so with just two minutes remaining to ensure victory was safe should a five second penalty be applied.
Perez held on to take the chequered flag by seven seconds over Leclerc, Sainz a further eight seconds back in third.
The McLaren duo of Norris and Ricciardo held on for fourth and fifth respectively, Lance Stroll running a drama-free race to finish sixth.
Verstappen, who had worked his way back through the field, managed an overtake on Vettel on the final lap for seventh, Hamilton and Gasly rounding out the top 10.
