On a race night hyped up in expectation of a Charles Leclerc win or a Max Verstappen comeback, Sergio Perez showcased his mettle.

Perez, having one of his best seasons in F1, did good work to win at one of the toughest tracks in F1. Securing a P2 in qualifying was a good job. Winning the race was even better.

However, F1 seldom is straightforward or bland. To make things interesting, the F1 gods gave us another twist. Perez’s victory was under investigation for over an hour after the race ended.  He was not declared the winner officially till then.

His victory was under the clouds because of two incidents that happened during the safety car was in play. It was contended that he did not maintain a minimum 10-car distance with the Safety car while leading the race. The stewards called him and Red Bull director, Jonathan Wheatley, for their version of events. Post the conversation, Perez sounded hopeful of a positive decision.

However, another pair visited the offices of the stewards. Leclerc and Ferrari director, Inaki Rueda, visited the officials to get a clearer understanding of the situation.

While the uncertainty loomed over his victory, there were suggestions made to the media that Leclerc might end up winning the race. A penalty for the actions would be a 10 seconds time penalty.

Since the gap between Leclerc and Perez was 7.595s, it seemed Leclerc would move to P1. However, as it turns out Perez made it to the finishing line. He cut it very close. The stewards ended up handing him a reprimand and a 5-second penalty.

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The gap remained, though very minutely, and Perez was declared the official winner at Marina Bay Street Circuit.

The Sergio Perez decision has clearly divided F1 fans

FIA decided to hand him a 5-second penalty only. That maintains a 2-second gap over Leclerc.

Fans were unhappy with how the issue was dealt with by the FIA

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At the end of the day, one of his best performances in F1 came on a tough track and under even tougher weather conditions. It is unfortunate and far from ideal that the driving will not be the first thing fans remember about tonight. The FIA might have given him the win, but they have also arguably taken it away from him.