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5 Winners and 5 Losers from the Singapore GP: Who shone under the lights at Marina Bay?

F1 Correspondent & Presenter

Lawrence Barretto
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A deluge just before the Singapore Grand Prix created the conditions for an entertaining race under the lights at Marina Bay. While some excelled in the slippery conditions, others floundered, and we’ve picked out our five winners and five losers from the race...

Winner: Sergio Perez

Sergio Perez has come in for a fair bit of criticism of late, the Mexican struggling to match Red Bull team mate Max Verstappen – but he silenced those doubters with aplomb in Singapore, delivering an assured and savvy drive to take his second win of the year.

He becomes the first person since four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel in 2011 to win street races in Monaco and Singapore in the same year, and the 58th driver to lead a race from start-to-finish.

READ MORE: Perez holds off Leclerc to win rollercoaster 2022 Singapore Grand Prix as Verstappen settles for 7th

This was Red Bull’s first win in Singapore since Vettel in 2012 and only Perez’s second podium in seven races. He is now just two points behind Charles Leclerc in the fight for second in the drivers’ standings.

SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE - OCTOBER 02: Race winner Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing

Perez won for the second time this season to maintain his hopes of finishing P2 in the championship

Loser: Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen’s stellar run of five wins in succession came to a halt in Singapore, as the championship leader endured his most frustrating weekend of the year.

The Red Bull driver missed out on the chance to take pole when he was forced to abort his lap in qualifying to ensure he didn’t run out of fuel. He then had a poor getaway because of anti-stall, dropping him four places to 12th and while he recovered well, a lock-up when trying to pass Lando Norris undid all that hard work to date.

READ MORE: Verstappen explains botched start as he endures ‘very frustrating’ run to P7 at Marina Bay

Still, seventh place offered a haul of points which means he needs to outscore Leclerc by eight and Perez by six in Japan to successfully defend his title.

SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE - OCTOBER 02: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing

Verstappen endured a messy race in Singapore

Winners: Ferrari

Yes, Ferrari extended their winless run to six races – however this was their most impressive performance in terms of a team result since before the summer break.

Charles Leclerc was quick enough to win – and probably would have done had he not lost the lead at the start – and with Carlos Sainz following him home in third, Ferrari got their first double podium since round five in Miami.

READ MORE: Leclerc says his start 'wasn't good enough' as pole-sitter forced to settle for P2 at Singapore GP

It cuts the gap to Red Bull to 137 points in the constructors’ and gives them some breathing space from Mercedes, who fall 66 behind.

SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE - OCTOBER 02: Third placed Carlos Sainz of Spain and Ferrari and Second placed

A double podium for Ferrari - but they had no answer to Perez's pace on Sunday

Losers: Alpine

Alpine looked very fast around the tight and twisty streets of Marina Bay, but poor reliability meant they retired both cars for the first time this season.

Fernando Alonso ran inside the top-six before his technical issue, the Spaniard saying he reckons he’s now lost 60 points through failures or mistakes this season.

It was the second time in a row Alpine have failed to score – and as a result, the Enstone-based team have dropped behind McLaren into fifth in the standings.

READ MORE: What the teams said - Race day in Singapore

Winner: Lando Norris

Lando Norris is the only driver outside the top-three teams to score a podium this year (at Imola) and at one stage in Singapore, he was hustling Sainz in a bid to make it two.

SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE - OCTOBER 02: Fernando Alonso of Spain driving the (14) Alpine F1 A522 Renault

A double DNF for Alpine cost them in the championship

He couldn’t hang onto the Spaniard though, but fourth was his second-best result of the season and only McLaren’s second top-four finish of the year.

The Briton has now made a century of points, 44 clear of Esteban Ocon and 70 adrift of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, after top 10 finishes in seven of the last eight races.

Loser: Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton headed into the Singapore Grand Prix dreaming of converting his season’s best starting position of third into a podium – and maybe even a first win of the year.

READ MORE: Hamilton keen to move on from ‘pretty rubbish’ Singapore GP after pair of errors leave him P9

He lost a place at the start to Sainz and then a lock-up at Turn 7 sent him sliding into the barriers and requiring a new front wing.

The seven-time world champion had to settle for a disappointing ninth, meaning he now has just five races left to maintain his record of winning at least one race every season he’s competed in F1.

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2022 Singapore Grand Prix: Hamilton slides into the wall

Winners: Aston Martin

Aston Martin secured their best result of the season, with Lance Stroll adding sixth to his five 10th place finishes this year. His team mate Sebastian Vettel made up five places at the start to limit the damage of his qualifying pain and went on to finish eighth – his fourth top-eight finish of the season.

A haul of 12 points lifts them above Haas and AlphaTauri into seventh in the constructors’ championship.

HIGHLIGHTS: Watch the action from the Singapore Grand Prix as Perez fends off Leclerc for victory

Loser: Pierre Gasly

Pierre Gasly scored in consecutive races for the first time since rounds two and three with 10th at Marina Bay – but he wasn’t happy.

The Frenchman was running behind Lando Norris in sixth when the Italian team took what he called “a massive risk boxing early”.

With AlphaTauri locked in a three-team fight for P7 in the constructors’ championship, the loss of a top-six finish hurt.

SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE - OCTOBER 02: Pierre Gasly of France driving the (10) Scuderia AlphaTauri AT03

Pit stop strategy cost Gasly a hatful of points

Winner: Daniel Ricciardo

For the first time since France and only the sixth time this season, Daniel Ricciardo brought his McLaren home in the points, finishing fifth in what was his best drive of the season.

An impressive start and opening few laps put him in contention and saw him break into the top 10, while a late stop for slicks gave him track position.

READ MORE: ‘We needed this’ says Ricciardo after finishing fifth behind McLaren team mate Norris in Singapore

Fifth was his first top-five finish since last year’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, and that puts him 11th in the championship behind Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas.

SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE - OCTOBER 01: Daniel Ricciardo of Australia and McLaren reacts in the garage

Ricciardo recorded his best performance of the year, rising from P16 on the grid to fifth at the flag

Loser: George Russell

George Russell had it all to do after Mercedes changed a host of PU components which relegated him to a pit lane start.

He made some progress early on, climbing to 15th, but a gamble to switch to slicks early didn’t pay off.

And while he fought back into contention for points, a collision with Mick Schumacher ended all hopes of finishing in the top 10 on a difficult evening.

FACTS AND STATS: Perez first man in over a decade to do Monaco-Singapore double

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