Sergio Pérez achieved victory after moving from second to first position at the start of the Singapore Grand Prix, allowing him to leave Marina Bay alive in the battle for second place in the Formula 1 drivers’ championship in 2022 against Charles Leclerc.
Checo attacked in the first few meters and took advantage of the fact that the Monegasque driver’s Ferrari skidded. From that moment on, the Mexican led the race at all times until he crossed the checkered flag when the maximum duration of a race stipulated by the regulations was met.
However, Pérez’s victory was questioned after an investigation for not respecting the distance with the safety car on several occasions, a situation of which the Mexican did not explain that he was not very aware.
“I have no idea. They told me to increase the gap [with Leclerc] and that’s what I did,” said the driver from Guadalajara just before getting on the podium ceremony.
During the final part of the race, Red Bull ordered him to pick up the pace to get at least five seconds ahead of Leclerc and thus cover himself from a possible time penalty. In the end, the Mexican achieved a 7.6-second advantage over his Ferrari driver.
Speaking more specifically about the race, Pérez admitted that it was difficult, especially on the intermediate tyres, as any minor mistake could cause a retirement.
“Keeping the car on track in these tricky conditions was difficult. I think it was my best performance for sure, I controlled the race, although warming up [the tyres] was quite tricky. The last three laps were very intense, in the car I didn’t I noticed, but when I left I felt tired”.
As for the possibility that Verstappen could win his second Formula 1 title at next week’s Japanese Grand Prix, Checo said: “For Max [Verstappen] and for the team it’s good to do it in Japan, especially because it’s Honda’s house.
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