Chaos in Marina Bay
Sergio Pérez has won the Singapore Grand Prix. The race had great heights and deep valleys. Unfortunately for Max Verstappen fans, the partly wet tarmac race did not run like a well-oiled machine for the Dutchman. Although there is also consolation: Verstappen was not among the six dropouts.
Shortly before the race, it was still raining around the Marina Bay street circuit, with the result that the start of the race was postponed. Because the entire race has to be completed within three hours, there was not enough time to complete the predetermined amount of laps. After two hours of impressive racing, Red Bull driver Sergio Pérez managed to finish in first place, but whether there is cause for celebration with Christian Horner and his cronies remains to be seen.
Pérez may face a time penalty. The Mexican would be too far away from the driver driving directly in front of him safety car have driven. Should Max Verstappen’s teammate receive a strong time penalty, the title may go to Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, who is currently in second place. However, the time difference between Pérez and Leclerc is more than seven seconds, with the result that the bottles can still be uncorked at Red Bull if the time penalty is 5 seconds.
For Max Verstappen, the race was not one to remember for long. Due to a mediocre qualifying for the Dutchman, Verstappen started in eighth place, which he only managed to get away from when the red lights went out. In the first round, the reigning world champion lost no fewer than four places, but eventually managed to put the back of his RB18 in front of Vettel and Gasly, among others. After several safety cars Verstappen braked, with a flat side on the tires and therefore an extra pit stop.
In the final phase of the race, Verstappen came in a train behind Hamilton and Vettel. Hamilton was the first to turn, after which the Dutchman also let Vettel join him in the very last laps.
Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo), Latifi (Williams), Alonso (Alpine), Albon (Williams), Ocon (Alpine) and Gasly (Alpha Tauri) failed to finish.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl