F1: Perez avoids the chaos to take victory at Marina Bay – Gulf Digital News

F1: Perez avoids the chaos to take victory at Marina Bay – Gulf Digital News

Analysis of the Singapore Grand Prix, brought to you by Bahrain International Circuit

There was a welcome return for Singapore this weekend and those familiar with this street circuit will know that unpredictable weather, combined with the tight nature of the street circuit, often causes havoc over the race weekend. On that front, the Marina Bay circuit certainly did not disappoint.

Qualifying on Saturday was tricky as, although the rain had relented, the track remained damp and none of the teams were able to quite work out whether intermediate or soft tyres were the better option. It also turned out that Red Bull couldn’t quite work out how much fuel to put into Verstappen’s car as he was made to abort his final lap, which would have delivered him an easy pole.

Indeed, the whole session was unusual, with drivers going for much longer qualifying stints in the damp, gradually trying to find pace. Leclerc secured the top spot, a whisker ahead of Perez in second. Hamilton had looked strong all weekend and was third, with Sainz, Alonso and Norris completing the top six. With Verstappen in eighth, it felt like a fairly open race, not least because overtaking is fairly tricky on