The Red Bull driver took the lead into the first corner from pole sitter Charles Leclerc and never lost it to put in a dominating performance for his second win of the season.
In a race interrupted by several safety cars and virtual safety cars, during the second full safety car period, Perez was investigated by FIA stewards for a possible rule breach.
Perez is believed not to have kept within 10 car lengths of the safety car during one of the restarts.
At the Singapore GP, the FIA announced the incident would be investigated after the race, as Perez held on to take the win 7.595 seconds behind Leclerc. Perez’s hearing with the FIA stewards will take place at 11:55 p.m. local time (4:55 p.m. BST).
Reacting to the stewards’ investigation after the race in the parc fermé interviews, Perez said: “I have no idea what happened, they just told me I was the subject of an investigation, so I had to increase the gap – so that’s what we did.”
Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing, 1st position, celebrates his arrival at the Parc Fermé
Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Reflecting on his performance, Perez considers it the best race of his F1 career, while he and Leclerc have ensured the title fight against Max Verstappen continues until the Japanese GP next weekend.
“It was definitely I think my best performance, I controlled the race, although the warm-up was quite difficult [with the tyres],” he explained.
“The last laps were so intense, I didn’t really feel it in the car but when I got out I felt it. I pushed – gave it my all for the win today.
“I think it would be better for Max to get it [the title] in Japan, and for the team, it would be very special for Honda so all in all a fantastic day.
Perez remains third in the F1 drivers’ standings, closing within two points of Leclerc, while the Mexican is 106 points behind leader Verstappen.
