Perez burns everyone Then victory with thrill In Singapore Ferrari consoles himself with the podium

The Mexican wins despite a five-second penalty Race in the rain: flurry of retirements. Verstappen is seventh

MARINA BAY (SINGAPORE)

First the postponement of an hour due to rain, then the uncertainty of the result for the investigation of Sergio Perez, winner of the Singapore Grand Prix – seventeenth round of the Formula 1 world championship – in the lead from the first to the last corner, but investigated for not respecting the distance from the safety car. In the end, the five seconds given to him by the commissioners, almost three hours after the checkered flag, did not change the podium.

In Marina Bay, Perez hits his fourth career victory. The Mexican burns poleman Charles Leclerc at the start and remains in command until the end. Place of honor for the Monegasque of Ferrari, third the “red” of Carlos Sainz. Mess Max Verstappen, who started from the rear and ended seventh. The Red Bull Dutchman is firmly in command and can be crowned world champion for the second time in Japan next Sunday.

«I think it was my best performance, I checked the whole race, even if it was quite complicated» comments “Checo” Perez at the end of the race before being called up by the race marshals. Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo finished in fourth and fifth place, allowing McLaren to move up to fourth in the constructors’ classification, ahead of Alpine, which suffered the retirements due to engine problems of Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon.

The Singapore Grand Prix does not start under a lucky star, starting with the start delayed by one hour and five minutes due to heavy rain. The weather then allowed a respite and the race was able to take place, even if the conditions on the wet track remained very difficult. Indeed, too much for some, with six retirements in total: the two from Alpines, the two Williams (Nicholas Latifi and Alex Albon), Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) and Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri).

For the thirteenth time in 13 editions in Singapore, the race was marked by safety car exits. Many interruptions and, in the end, the race is decided by the time rather than by the laps (3 less than the 61 expected). «I made a bad start that forced me to chase, it was a very difficult race»: so Leclerc. «It was very hard – confirms Sainz – I never managed to find the pace in the wet and challenge the first two. When you lack confidence you have to be satisfied and I am satisfied with third place. It’s a pity not to have won but it’s an excellent result for the team ». –