Mexican Sergio Pérez wins F1 Singapore GP

Mexican driver Sergio Pérez, of Red Bull, won this Sunday (2) the Formula 1 Singapore GP, in which his teammate, Dutchman Max Verstappen, came in seventh and could not proclaim himself world champion in advance. .

In the night race on the street circuit of Marina Bay, Pérez overtook the Ferraris of Monegasque Charles Leclerc and Spaniard Carlos Sainz to claim his second victory of the season.

The 32-year-old Mexican also won his fourth race in F1 today, after the stages in Bahrain in 2020, Azerbaijan 2021 and Monaco this year.

“I think it was my best race ever. I controlled the whole race, although it was quite complicated”, celebrated Pérez after the race.

Not even the five-second penalty imposed after the end of the race took away the Mexican’s victory, as he crossed the finish line more than seven seconds ahead of Leclerc.

Right after the podium were the McLarens of Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo (4th and 5th, respectively), allowing the British team to surpass Alpine in the constructors’ championship.

The start was an hour and five minutes late due to rain, making the race even more difficult, which had six retirements.

Starting from the second row on the grid, behind pole position Leclerc, Pérez quickly overtook the Monegasque and was virtually unrivaled throughout the race, managing his pace and tyres, in a new demonstration of Red Bull’s strength.

“I really tried everything, I’m dead. I think it was the most difficult Grand Prix of my career”, declared the Ferrari driver.

Verstappen, who needed to win and expect a bad result from Leclerc and Perez, saw his early title chances in Singapore reduced on Saturday, when he did not finish qualifying and had to start from eighth position.

The Dutchman had a lot of difficulties during the race and finished seventh. Next weekend, at the Suzuka circuit in Japan, he will be a two-time world champion if he gets a 112-point lead over the second-placed driver in the drivers’ championship.

At the moment, he has 341 points, against 237 for Leclerc and 235 for Pérez.

In addition to the result of the race, Sunday also featured the Spaniard Fernando Alonso, who at the age of 41 reached the mark of 41 Grands Prix disputed in Formula 1, becoming the category’s record holder.

The two-time world champion couldn’t celebrate the feat with a good position, as after starting fifth, his Alpine suffered an engine problem and he had to retire on the 21st lap.

“We definitely had no luck on another weekend from a yield point of view, no point reward,” Alonso wrote on his social media accounts.

Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix Result:

1. Sergio Pérez (MEX/Red Bull) 2h02:15.238
2. Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari) +7,600
3. Carlos Sainz (ESP/Ferrari) +15,300
4. Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren) +26,100
5. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/McLare) +58,300
6. Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin) +1:01,300
7. Max Verstappen (HOL/Red Bull) +1:03,800
8. Sebastian Vettel (ALE/Aston Martin) +1:05,000
9. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) +1:06,500
10. Pierre Gasly (FRA/AlphaTauri) +1:14,600
11. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Alfa Romeo) 1:33,800
12. Kevin Magnussen (DIN/Haas) +1:37,600
13. Mick Schumacher (ALE/Haas) +1 lap
14. George Russell (GBR/Mercedes) +2 laps

Abandoned:

Guanyu Zhou (CHN/Alfa Romeo): crash on lap 8
Nicholas Latifi (CAN/Williams): mechanical problem on lap 9
Fernando Alonso (ESP/Alpine): 21st lap engine
Alexander Albon (TAI/Williams): crash 26th lap
Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine): engine 28th lap
Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/AlphaTauri): crash 35th lap

Drivers’ World standings:

1. Max Verstappen (HOL) – 341 points
2. Charles Leclerc (MON) – 237
3. Sergio Perez (MEX) – 235
4. George Russell (GBR) – 203
5. Carlos Sainz (ESP) – 202
6. Lewis Hamilton (GBR) – 170
7. Lando Norris (GBR) – 100
8. Esteban Ocon (FRA) – 66
9. Fernando Alonso (ESP) – 59
10. Valtteri Bottas (FIN) – 46
11. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) – 29
12. Sebastian Vettel (ALE) – 24
13. Pierre Gasly (FRA) – 23
14. Kevin Magnussen (DIN) – 22
15. Lance Stroll (CAN) – 13
16. Mick Schumacher (ALE) – 12
17. Yuki Tsunoda (JPN) – 11
18. Guanyu Zhou (CHN) – 6
19. Alexander Albon (TAI) – 4
20. Nyck de Vries (HOL) – 2
21. Nicholas Latifi (CAN) – 0
22. Nico Hülkenberg (ALE) – 0

Constructors’ World standings:

1. Red Bull – 576 points
2. Ferrari – 439
3. Mercedes – 373
4. McLaren – 129
5. Alpine – 125
6. Alfa Romeo – 52
7. Aston Martin – 37
8. Haas – 34
9. AlphaTauri – 34
10. Williams – 6