Sergio Perez Wins the Singapore GP, He's Just Two Points Behind Charles Leclerc

Going into Round 17 of the 2022 season, the stakes were at an all-time high for Ferrari. A good result by Verstappen would have brought him the Championship Title, even with a few more races to go. So you can imagine the kind of pressure Leclerc was facing as he prepared for the starting procedure.

With rain falling on the track, the schedule was reorganized in hopes that the downpour would stop and the track would eventually dry out. It already felt like a deja-vu, as yesterday's qualifying session faced the same tricky situation.

Charles Leclerc claimed Pole Position for the ninth time this year, an impressive result by the young Monegasque now in his fifth F1 season. Given the weather forecast, his lap time of 1:49.412 was nowhere near as fast as the 2018 lap record set by Kevin Magnussen at 1:41.905.

Sergio Perez was just 0.012 seconds slower in the Red Bull Racing RB18, and many fans expected him to put on a strong show for the main event too. Lewis Hamilton has set several F1 records over the years, and it came as no surprise that he was the third fastest driver in qualifying.

It felt a bit strange seeing Max Verstappen in P8 at the end of day two in Singapore, and the same goes for George Russell, who didn't even make it past Q2. But everyone knows that anything can and will happen on Sunday.

The Dutch champion was off to a poor start today and went from P8 to P12 in a matter of seconds. Meanwhile, Sergio Perez took control of the race, with Leclerc right behind him and Sainz in third. With poor visibility and traction levels, it was only a matter of time before the safety car would come in.

On lap 7, there was contact between Zhou Guanyu's Alfa Romeo and Nicholas Latifi's Williams. Both drivers had to retire from the race after that moment, and some people are going to further emphasize that Latifi's departure from F1 was long overdue.

On lap 13, Charles Leclerc set a new fastest lap, but several drivers would achieve that performance throughout the remainder of the race. In a strange turn of events, George Russell set the bar at 1:46.458 even though he was way behind everyone else on the grid.

By lap 2022, F1 veteran Fernando Alonso was still putting on a brilliant performance before an engine failure forced him to retire. Several laps later, disaster would strike again for team Alpine, as Esteban Ocon's race would come to an end at Turn 13.

By the end of the day, only 14 drivers would manage to cross the finish line, which goes to show why Singapore GP is one of the toughest events on the calendar. Hamilton, who had been complaining about his tires earlier on, had an encounter with the barriers at Turn 7. He managed to get back on track, albeit with Lando Norris now ahead of him.

With 34 minutes to go, Perez was still in the lead, and Leclerc was still less than 1 second behind. On several occasions, it felt like Perez might be overtaken, but he kept his cool, while his chaser made a few mistakes along the way too.

Meanwhile, Max Verstappen was on a mission to get back on top of things. A bold overtaking attempt proved to be quite costly for him as he locked up his brakes, losing several positions along the way. The reigning World Champion would finish the race in P7 overall, almost 64 seconds after Sergio Perez, who was first.

But his Safety Car incident meant that the stewards would have to debate whether a penalty should be brought into play. He was advised over the radio to put at least five seconds between him and Leclerc, and he did exactly what was asked of him.

In what felt to be a superhuman effort, he left his main competitor 7.595 seconds behind by the end of the race. Even though he was given a five-second penalty, that was not enough to change the outcome of the Singapore GP.

Carlos Sainz was about eight seconds further back, with both McLaren Mercedes drivers crossing the finish line next. It was a good day for Aston Martin as well, as Lance Stroll claimed P6 with Sebastian Vettel in P8. Lewis Hamilton had to settle for ninth overall, while Piere Gasly was the last driver to score any points in Singapore.

At this stage, Max Verstappen is leading the championship with a total of 341 points. Charles Leclerc is still in P2 with 237 points, but Sergio Perez is now just two points behind him in third. Russell and Sainz also have a shot at the podium by the end of the season, so it will be interesting to see how the situation develops in Japan next week.