Sergio Perez has prevailed for the second time this season with victory in a wet Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday.
The race needed to be delayed for an hour due to incessant rain pummelling the track ahead of the scheduled start, but it contributed to an intriguing second half to the race.
While the Red Bull driver edged out Charles Leclerc, his teammate and Championship leader Max Verstappen could only finish in seventh spot after competing in the middle of the pack throughout.
Perez was able to overtake Leclerc at the opening corner and it proved pivotal as the Mexican held the advantage over the Ferrari man for the duration.
However, Perez is under investigation by the stewards due to an infringement while the safety car was out, leaving him to wait for confirmation of the result.
CHECO: "That was my best performance [in F1]. The last three laps were so intense. I gave everything for the win today" #SingaporeGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/Sq2sl6FiHx
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 2, 2022
The provisional result takes him to within two points of second-placed Leclerc in the standings, while Carlos Sainz Jr crossed the line in third spot.
As for Verstappen, he could have wrapped up the world title in certain circumstances, but that was never a realistic possibility once he had dropped from eighth to 12th place on the first lap.
Nevertheless, the defending champion retained a certain level of patience to battle his way to seventh place, adding another six points to his tally ahead of next week's Japanese Grand Prix.
Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo were fourth and fifth respectively in the McLaren, with Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton having to make do with ninth despite starting on the second row.
