Perez did, as Horner said, “get a little bit lucky with the safety car” but once in the lead he controlled the race. And while it is true to say that Perez was gifted the lead by the timing of the safety car, that is not the same as saying he lucked into the win. The safety car was deployed just after Verstappen’s stop, giving Perez and Leclerc cheap stops and vaulting them back ahead of Verstappen. But it is far from a given that Verstappen was going to win this race without it. Horner was asked after the race on Sunday whether he felt Perez could sustain his challenge to Verstappen.

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