Joy and anger at Red Bull Racing after the Singapore GP: Great victory by Sergio Pérez, but then tremors. Max Verstappen, on the other hand, failed. Helmut Marko classifies the events.
The Singapore night GP ended with Sergio Pérez’s fourth Formula 1 win, while Max Verstappen finished seventh after a botched World Championship race.
Red Bull Motorsport Advisor Dr. Helmut Marko says about Max: “It wasn’t a birthday weekend. The set-up didn’t work out on Friday, on Saturday there was a dilemma in qualifying. (Verstappen had to be brought into the pits because the fuel was running low, chance of pole gone, MB) At the start, the car was in the wrong mode, and then Max also made a mistake on the brakes. Somehow it didn’t all fit together. Max wanted to achieve too much and after this start it was clear that it was no longer possible. »
After the spectacular race the Mexican Pérez had to tremble for his victory because of two offenses behind the safety car. The GP veteran was instructed to pull out a cushion of more than five seconds on second-placed Leclerc in order to be protected from a possible penalty. The RBR driver promptly received a five-second penalty later, but he was able to keep his victory. For a while it was circulating that “Checo” might have been given five seconds twice, then the victory of the Singapore GP would have been Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari.
Le Mans winner Marko continues: “Ten seconds, that would have been ridiculous. The penalty doesn’t take away from Pérez’s great performance and doesn’t change anything in the World Championship either. Sergio drove an outstanding race, the key was the great start. He withstood the pressure from Leclerc. Even in the end he did it confidently.”
“In such a turbulent race, I wonder how relevant this rule is with those ten car lengths behind the lead car. Our team manager Jonathan Wheatley – a very experienced man – said early on that it would take a maximum of five seconds.”
Race, Singapore
01. Sergio Perez (MEX), Red Bull Racing, 2:02:15.238
02. Charles Leclerc (MC), Ferrari, +7,595 sec
03. Carlos Sainz (E), Ferrari, +15,305
04. Lando Norris (GB), McLaren, +26.133
05. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS), McLaren, +58,282
06. Lance Stroll (CDN), Aston Martin, +61,330
07. Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing, +63,825
08. Sebastian Vettel (D), Aston Martin, +65,032
09. Lewis Hamilton (GB), Mercedes, +66,515
10. Pierre Gasly (F), AlphaTauri, +74,576
11. Valtteri Bottas (FIN), Alfa Romeo, +93,844
12. Kevin Magnussen (DK), Haas, +97.610
13. Mick Schumacher (D), Haas, +1 lap
14. George Russell (GB), Mercedes, +2 laps
Out
Yuki Tsunoda (J), AlphaTauri, accident
Esteban Ocon (F), Alpine, engine failure
Alex Albon (T), Williams, surrender after a spin
Fernando Alonso (E), Alpine, engine failure
Nicholas Latifi (CDN), Williams, Kollision mit Zhou
Guanyu Zhou (RC), Alfa Romeo, Kollision mit Latifi
Championship status (after 17 of 22 races)
driver
01. Verstappen 341 points
02. Leclerc 237
03. Pérez 235
04. Russell 203
05. Sainz 202
06. Hamilton 170
07. Norris 100
08. Ocon 66
09. Alonso 59
10. Bottas 46
11. Ricciardo 29
12. Vettel 24
13. Gasly 23
14. Magnussen 22
15. Stroll 13
16. Schumacher 12
17. TSUNODA 11
18. Zhou 6
19. Albon 4
20. DeVries 2
21. Latif 0
22. Nico Hülkenberg (D) 0
Constructors’ Cup
01. Red Bull Racing 576 Punkte
02. Ferrari 439
03. Mercedes 373
04. McLaren 129
05. Alpine 125
06. Alfa Romeo 52
07. Aston Martin 37
08. Haas 34
09. AlphaTauri 34
10. Williams 6