Singapore Grand Prix Results

Synopsis

Under the Marina Bay lights, Max Verstappen mastered Marina Bay’s streets to claim his maiden Singapore GP win. Holding off early Ferrari pressure, the Dutchman navigated two VSCs and late radio glitches to dominate from pole. Behind him, Kimi Antonelli overcame brake issues to take P3, while Lewis Hamilton’s refusal to pit backfired, dropping him to P6 and costing Ferrari a double podium.

Night Battle Begins: Grid Penalties and Marina Bay Prep

Step into the night for a 62-lap race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore, with all 22 cars lined up under the floodlights. Carved out of daily public roads, it strips away raw aerodynamic advantages, forcing drivers to fight the steering wheel throughout the race.

Few changes were made to the starting order, with Russell dropping to P19 after receiving a grid penalty for a new power unit. Meanwhile, Hadjar, Alonso and Stroll would start from the pits, and as the formation lap went underway, Verstappen at P1 pulled away with the rest following the Dutchman.

With the Ferraris running in P2 and P3, the question hangs as to whether they can work as a team. Speaking of teams, Mercedes is running two different cars in the race, with Antonelli in P4 driving the newer upgraded W17 introduced in Malaysia, and Russell reverted to the older specification of the W17 that he drove in Baku.

Clean Start and Early Race Order

As the formation lap came to an end and the lights went out, Verstappen got a clean start and managed to cut off Leclerc, who was trying to make a pass. Verstappen, the two Ferraris, Antonelli and the two McLarens in the top six have held position through a clean opening sector.

Further back on lap 4, Russell passed Bortoleto and set his sights on Albon ahead. Hadjar sat in 20th position behind Alonso. Up front, Leclerc stayed ready to pounce on Verstappen if at any time he got a poor exit or locked up.

By Lap 7, with Leclerc still glued to his tail, the Ferrari driver needed to manage his tyres after pushing them to the limit, allowing Verstappen to extend his lead to 1.3 seconds.

VSC Fire Chaos: Strategy Shifts and Ferrari's Widening Deficit

A VSC was deployed soon after as Bortoleto pulled off near the end of the pit lane due to a gearbox issue, which seemed a lot more serious than that, as his car caught fire just as the marshals dragged it back to the Audi garage.

After the brief VSC period, on lap 12, Leclerc asked for a different strategy over the team radio, to seek any opportunity to make it past Verstappen; however, by lap 14, Verstappen managed to extend his lead by 2.2 seconds.

On lap 16, Hamilton on medium tyres ran 4.5 seconds behind his teammate, who had soft tyres on, which proved to be the faster compound. Lacking pace, Hamilton pitted on lap 19 and rejoined in P7 behind Lawson. Meanwhile, Leclerc began struggling with his tyres and was falling 6.5 seconds adrift of Verstappen.

Ferrari's Silence and Mid-Race Pit Stop Shuffles

Antonelli, running in P3 on lap 22, was reminded about track limits as he was noted for two already; a third warning and it will trigger the black-and-white flag, resulting in a 5-second penalty. On lap 24, Antonelli and Leclerc pit, handing P2 and P3 to McLaren.

Following a smooth stop, Antonelli comes out behind Hamilton in P6, and Leclerc comes out in front of his teammate in P4. On lap 27, Hamilton informs over the team radio, “We lost two seconds that last lap”, a translation for let me pass Leclerc. But Ferrari made no call to Leclerc to resolve the issue Hamilton was facing.

A yellow flag was waved on lap 31, as Colapinto pulled off track with a suspected driveline issue. On lap 33, the pit lane filled up again as Verstappen pitted, coming back out still in P1; Norris also dived into the pit lane, coming back out in P6.

Mid-Race Drama: Hamilton’s Strategy Gamble, and Antonelli's Brake Scare

Verstappen controlled the opening half cleanly, holding a 5-second gap over Leclerc by Lap 35. On lap 37, Ferrari considered pitting Hamilton as his tyres were 21 laps old, but Hamilton, wanting to take a chance, decided to go till the end without pitting.

The yellow flags flew again as Stroll came to a halt at Turn 15 due to a clutch issue on lap 39, triggering another VSC. Seeing this advantage, Leclerc and Antonelli made their way into the pit lane, but Russell dived in for his first pit stop just as the VSC was ending, missing out on the full advantage. This brought him out into P10, while Leclerc was in third, just behind Hamilton and Antonelli in P5.

On lap 42, Antonelli was starting to get agitated as he was facing some issues with his car, having experienced some “weird behaviour” a few laps prior and now struggling with his brakes, complaining about the long brake pedal over the radio. By lap 44, Antonelli was assured that the braking issue was caused by heat soak, as the car sat still during the pit stop and was again reminded about track limits.

Antonelli Snatches P3, Hamilton Fades, and Verstappen Claims Victory

On Lap 46, Leclerc passed Hamilton for second position. On lap 52, with just 10 laps remaining, Verstappen continued to lead by 10 seconds over Leclerc but soon seemed to be having issues with his radio, with his race engineer struggling to hear him.

The fight for P3 was heating up as Hamilton was trying to defend against Norris, before Antonelli took advantage, made his move, closed in on Hamilton and snatched P3.

As Hamilton continued to struggle with his tyre, Norris soon overtook him, taking P4 from him. A few laps later, Piastri too made his move on Hamilton, getting behind his teammate. Hamilton’s choice not to follow the team's strategy regarding the pit stop cost Ferrari a double podium this race.

Up ahead, on the final lap, Verstappen takes the chequered flag to seal his maiden victory in Singapore, while Leclerc and Antonelli completed the podium and Norris and Piastri brought home fourth and fifth for McLaren.

Race Results and Key Drivers

P1: Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

P2: Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

P3: Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

Driver of the Day: Max Verstappen

Top Speed: Lando Norris (316km/h)

Fastest lap: Charles Leclerc (1:35.202)

DNFs: Bortoleto, Stroll, Colapinto, Albon