Perez keeps Singapore GP win despite time penalty

Sergio Perez has kept his victory in the Singapore Grand Prix despite an unusual set of penalties for safety car infringements.

Leading the entire race after overtaking Charles Leclerc at the start, Perez had to head the field during two safety car periods, but dropped more than 10 car lengths back on multiple occasions. Despite Perez claiming it was too difficult to always stay within range, the FIA deemed he could have done so in wet conditions early in the race and so reprimanded him for the first time he infringed.

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That incident came on wet tires, but the second safety car period was when the track had dried enough for slicks, and Perez first dropped too far back between Turn 9 and Turn 10, leading to the race director warning him of his error at the time. Despite that warning, Perez repeated the mistake four corners later, leading to the stewards handing him a five-second time penalty.

After all of the incidents are added up, Perez’s five-second time penalty is not enough to cost him a position, after he pulled over seven seconds clear of Leclerc in the closing stages of the race.

Once the penalty was added, Perez’s winning margin stands at 2.5s, while he also picks up his first two penalty points of the past 12 months for the second infringement.