Perez wins Singapore Grand Prix after long rain delay

SINGAPORE (AP) — Max Verstappen's Formula One title celebrations were put on hold after the Red Bull driver placed seventh at a chaotic Singapore Grand Prix, won by his teammate Sergio Perez on Sunday.

Perez's second win of the season saw him finish 7.6 seconds ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, with Leclerc's teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. in third place.

Perez was being investigated for a potential safety car infringement. It could mean a time penalty of five seconds, in which case the Mexican driver's lead over Leclerc covered him.

Verstappen's equal-lowest position this year matches his seventh at the British GP in July. He also had two retirements in the first three races.

Verstappen had won the past five races but needed to win here and finish 22 points ahead of Leclerc to be crowned champion for a second straight season. That could happen next weekend at the Japanese GP.

Verstappen made a mistake after the second safety car restart, following AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda's crash on Lap 36. When Verstappen tried to overtake Lando Norris' McLaren, he locked his tires and needed to pit again.

Leclerc started from pole position with Verstappen going from eighth after a team blunder in qualifying.

The race start was delayed from 8 p.m. (1200 GMT) to 9:05 p.m. (1305 GMT) local time to clear water off the Marina Bay Circuit track following heavy rainfall. Drivers had to finish the 61-lap race within a two-hour window.

Tricky conditions saw the virtual safety car deployed three times and DRS was allowed with about 30 minutes remaining.

Perez made a good start and jumped past Leclerc while Verstappen dropped several places. The first safety car was on Lap 8 when Zhou Guanyu's Alfa Romeo was cut off by Nicholas Latifi’s