Max Verstappen continued his dominant form at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, clinching his first-ever Singapore Grand Prix victory on Sunday. Starting from pole position, the Red Bull driver executed a clinical performance to secure back-to-back wins, continuing his momentum from last weekend’s success in Malaysia. Having arrived in Singapore with unfinished business, Verstappen controlled the race from the initial launch, successfully defending his lead against a sharp challenge from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc during the opening turns. The last two races have been really positive for us and it’s just great to see.”. Let’s try to do the best weekend as possible and finish the job.”. Nearly lining up alongside the Dutchman heading into turn one, but the Red Bull driver veered to the left to shut the door on the Ferrari and retain his lead, leclerc reacted faster than polesitter Verstappen at the start. As the race progressed, Verstappen steadily pulled clear on soft tyres, with Red Bull urging him to manage their life as Ferrari threatened an undercut.
Reflecting on the achievement, the Dutchman noted that while the medium tyres proved difficult for the entire field, the team found the necessary pace when running on softs. Despite facing persistent radio communication failures—forcing his team to use coded signals and silent confirmation methods for the second time this weekend—Verstappen maintained a massive gap throughout the race. When he finally pitted on lap 33, his cushion was sufficient to rejoin the field in the lead, eventually finishing comfortably ahead of the competition. “It’s taken a while but I think this race was very good. Even though I think the medium tyre for everyone was more of a struggle,” Verstappen said, we had pace when we needed to have it on the soft tyre. “But it worked out, so of course very happy to win here.
The race proved pivotal for the drivers’ championship, as Kimi Antonelli finished third to extend his lead over teammate George Russell to 102 points. This result puts the Italian in a position to mathematically secure the title during the upcoming round in Austin. Upon learning of his potential championship clincher, an surprised Antonelli expressed his focus on maintaining his current momentum, aiming to deliver another strong performance to finalize the campaign.
Strategy played a chaotic role in the race, particularly following Lance Stroll’s retirement due to clutch issues. The subsequent Virtual Safety Car period triggered a wave of pit stops, which proved detrimental to Russell. Having started at the back of the grid due to engine penalties, Russell was caught by the premature end of the VSC, dropping him to 10th place by the finish, trailing Liam Lawson, Nico Hulkenberg, and Isack Hadjar.
Ferrari’s evening was defined by internal tension, as Lewis Hamilton struggled significantly with pace on his medium tyres. His frustration boiled over on the team radio when he demanded that Ferrari allow him past Leclerc, exclaiming he needed to utilize his speed. Leclerc responded by clocking the fastest lap of the race. Eventually, the strategy shifts allowed Leclerc to overtake Hamilton on lap 46 for second place, leaving the latter to deal with a collapsing pace in the closing stages. Hamilton’s struggles became apparent early as he lost pace on medium tyres in third place and Ferrari brought him in for softs before Leclerc pitted on lap 25 in a move timed to emerge ahead of his teammate.
The final laps saw Hamilton’s position crumble further as he came under immense pressure from a chasing pack. A move by Lando Norris on lap 54 forced the Ferrari wide, allowing Antonelli to capitalize, move into fourth, and eventually overtake Hamilton for the third spot on the podium. Hamilton’s difficult night was compounded on the final lap when Oscar Piastri executed a pass, relegating him to sixth place at the checkered flag.
