Sergio Perez has won a chaotic Singapore Grand Prix that saw Lewis Hamilton hit a barrier and multiple safety cars called out. However, his win is currently uncertain as stewards are due to investigate a potential safety car infringement against the Red Bull driver after the race.
The Mexican had one of his best ever days on track as he quickly took the lead of the rain-delayed grand prix, beating polesitter Charles Leclerc to the opening bend in damp conditions. Perez, starting second, was composed throughout as he went on to take victory, despite a charge from runner-up Leclerc to retake top spot. However, the result is pending the post-race investigation.
Hamilton, starting third, dropped one place behind Carlos Sainz at the start, before his race came unstuck after striking a barrier at turn seven on lap 44. He ended up dropping down the order from fourth place before recovering to finish ninth following a last-ditch Max Verstappen overtake.
Red Bull’s Verstappen was also not immune from a mistake on the track as a huge lock-up sent him down the escape road on lap 40. That came after he had recovered from a poor start, which saw him lose four places on lap one. The Dutch driver eventually finished seventh thanks to the aforementioned overtake on the British star and a late overtake on Sebastian Vettel.
Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate George Russell also suffered from tyre issues himself through the race and ended up finishing 14th, last-placed out of the drivers that finished the race.
All in all, six drivers were forced to retire from the race, which saw numerous safety car and virtual safety cars called out.
The first safety car was deployed on lap eight of 61 after Zhou Guanyu stopped following a collision with Nicholas Latifi. Latifi moved across to defend his position but left Zhou with no room.
The Chinese driver scraped the wall and broke his front right suspension in the process, sending him out of the race. “The guy just fully squished me into the wall,” said Zhou. “What is he doing?” Soon-to-be-departing Williams driver Latifi also had to retire despite making it back to the pits, another race to forget for the Canadian.
Fernando Alonso - making his 350th F1 start today - also had to exit the race early on with engine issues while Alex Albon’s crash on lap 26 also forced him out, making it a double DNF for Williams. Esteban Ocon and Yuki Tsunoda followed suit by retiring on laps 28 and lap 36 respectively.
It was, however, a race to remember for Daniel Ricciardo, currently without a race seat next year, who ended up finishing fifth. He had initially started 16th on the grid while his McLaren team-mate Lando Norris came home in fourth place.
Top 10 result: Perez, Leclerc, Sainz, Norris, Ricciardo, Stroll, Verstappen, Vettel, Hamilton, Gasly
