Verstappen seals commanding Singapore Grand Prix victory from Leclerc and Antonelli

Max Verstappen put in an assured drive to take victory in the Singapore Grand Prix, the Red Bull driver holding the lead throughout the hot and humid encounter to seal his first-ever Grand Prix win at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

After defending against Charles Leclerc into the first corner, Verstappen ensured that he emerged in P1 and, while the Ferrari initially remained on his tail, the four-time World Champion soon built up a significant gap at the front.

The mid-race pit stops phase did little to change Verstappen’s commanding run, the Dutchman enjoying a smooth stop as he switched from the soft to the medium tyres.

From there onwards he was untroubled at the front and, despite suffering some radio issues that resulted in the team having to use the pit board for communication, Verstappen ultimately clinched his 73rd career win on his 250th Grand Prix start.

Leclerc held onto P2, crossing the line 7.3 seconds behind, while Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli completed the podium in third – a result that would extend the youngster’s championship lead further.

The McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were fourth and fifth, ahead of the other Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton. Liam Lawson claimed P7 to add to Racing Bulls’ tally, with Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg just behind in eighth.

Mercedes’ George Russell and Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar put in good recovery drives from the back of the field and the pit lane respectively, the pair rounding out the top 10 to claim P9 and P10 respectively.

Pierre Gasly just missed out for Alpine in 11th, ahead of the Haas duo of Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon, Williams’ Carlos Sainz and Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad.

Fernando Alonso brought his Aston Martin home in P16, followed by Cadillac’s Sergio Perez. Alex Albon was classified as P18 for Williams despite retiring in the closing stages, while the other Cadillac of Valtteri Bottas rounded out the order in P19.

Three drivers retired from the event, with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll suffering a suspected clutch issue, Alpine’s Franco Colapinto experiencing a driveline problem and Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto experiencing what appeared to be a gearbox problem.

AS IT HAPPENED

The first two days on track at the Marina Bay Street Circuit had already proven to be action-packed, with Verstappen emerging as the winner of a dramatic, rain-affected Sprint before securing pole position – his first at this venue – a few hours later in Qualifying.

But now it was time for the main event, as the attentions of the paddock turned to the 62-lap Singapore Grand Prix. Hot and humid conditions were again in force as the drivers started their preparations for the event, while some would perhaps breathe a sigh of relief that no further rain had arrived as of yet.

It was confirmed in the build-up to the race that a few alterations had been made to the starting order, with Russell dropping back to P19 due to an engine penalty. Hadjar, meanwhile, was set to line up from the pit lane following the use of additional power unit elements, the Frenchman having been eliminated in Q1 of Qualifying after troubles with his car.

Hadjar would not be alone in starting from the pit lane, as the Aston Martin pair of Alonso and Stroll were also facing the same fate – the former’s car having taken on a new power unit component, while the latter’s had been modified under Parc Ferme conditions.

There looked to be a problem on Antonelli’s Mercedes en route to the grid, with the mechanics seen working on the brakes when the car had lined up in its P4 slot. This appeared resolved as lights-out neared – but would it impact the championship leader in the race?

When all 22 cars were in place under the floodlights and the tyres blankets had been removed, it was revealed that the grid were evenly split in terms of those starting on the soft and medium compounds for the expected one-stop encounter. Polesitter Verstappen was amongst those on the soft, while third-placed Hamilton had opted for the medium tyre.

Once the formation lap had been completed, the five lights went out to get the Singapore Grand Prix underway – and after a good start from Leclerc in P2, Verstappen cut across to ensure that he held the lead ahead of the Monegasque into the first corner.

While Norris and Piastri ran close to one another, the pair managed to avoid a repeat of their Sprint collision before Norris then turned his attentions to chasing after Antonelli in fourth. Elsewhere Lawson had gained a position to move into P7, while Hulkenberg and Sainz had also made their way into the top 10 in eighth and 10th respectively.

Further back, the Haas duo of Ocon and Bearman engaged in an intra-team scrap over P11, resulting in Bearman ultimately coming out ahead. Russell, meanwhile, had worked his way up to 15th place by Lap 5 following his start from the back of the grid.

Leclerc was keeping Verstappen honest at the front, the Ferrari running only 0.6s behind – allowing him to have Overtake Mode. The gap opened up again as Lap 7 got underway, however, with the battle looking likely to ebb and flow.

The Virtual Safety Car was deployed when Bortoleto pulled off track towards the pit lane exit, the Audi seemingly experiencing a gearbox issue. Once the car had been pushed back into the pit lane and towards the team’s garage, the VSC period came to an end.

There was further drama when Bortoleto’s stricken car caught fire, with the marshals extinguishing the flames while the pit lane entry was briefly closed. Meanwhile Sainz had been noted for leaving the track and gaining an advantage – the Spaniard having sparked the ire of Lindblad with a move on the first lap – but it was later deemed that no further investigation was necessary.

More than 10 laps down, Verstappen remained 0.8s clear of Leclerc while Hamilton had dropped back slightly on the medium tyres. The seven-time World Champion was being closely followed by Antonelli, with the McLarens of Norris and Piastri also not far behind.

“I think Plan C and opposite to Red Bull,” Leclerc radioed in. There was also strategy talk going on for Norris, the Briton’s race engineer asking if he still felt that his idea from an earlier meeting “would be best” – to which Norris responded that he did.

Over at Red Bull, Verstappen was told: “If we can continue to eke this out, it will only help our cause.” The Dutch driver’s lead now stood at 2.6s by Lap 15, while team mate Hadjar had recovered to P16. Russell’s journey up the order also appeared to be going well, with the Mercedes driver in 12th and rapidly catching the Haas pair.

The strategy discussions were ongoing across the field, with Hamilton informed that he would need to “pick up the pace” for “Plan C”. After responding that he did not have any more, the Briton was told that “Plan B” might be the better option. Would that see Hamilton embark on a two-stop strategy?

On Lap 19 the Ferrari crew emerged from the pit lane – and it was indeed for Hamilton, who returned to the track in P7 on fresh soft tyres behind the Racing Bulls machine of Lawson. Elsewhere Norris felt that Antonelli ahead had exceeded track limits, an offence that the Italian has committed more than once during the season so far.

It did not take long for Hamilton to gain a place, having picked off Lawson for P6 on Lap 21. The Ferrari racer remained the only driver to have made a pit stop – but Leclerc warned over the radio that his own tyres could not last much longer.

Antonelli was informed that he had indeed exceeded track limits twice at Turn 2. Further back, the other Mercedes of Russell had another car in his sights as he closed in further on Ocon in 11th – and the Briton ultimately swept down the inside of the Haas into Turn 16 to seal the position.

The pit lane became busy again on Lap 24 when Antonelli pitted for the medium tyres – bringing him back out in sixth behind Hamilton – before Leclerc also dived into the pit lane one tour later, re-emerging just a fraction in front of his team mate in fourth. With Hamilton seemingly quicker on the soft rubber, would the team think about swapping the two cars?

“We lost two seconds that last lap,” Hamilton reported as he remained stuck behind the other Ferrari, amid question marks over whether the World Champion would embark on a two-stop strategy or hold out on his current tyres for a one-stop. Leclerc, meanwhile, pumped in a new fastest lap.

With Leclerc, Hamilton and Antonelli the only drivers to pit from the top 10, Verstappen held a 17.9s lead by Lap 28 over Norris while Piastri followed in third. Further back, Lawson was in a somewhat lonely seventh, ahead of Hulkenberg, Gasly and Bearman.

That order changed when Gasly pitted on Lap 30 – but there was trouble for his team mate on the next tour, with Colapinto having pulled off track with a suspected driveline issue. Hulkenberg was the next to pit and returned in P10, handing another position to Russell as the Briton continued his ascent in ninth.

“I feel something leaking between my feet,” Antonelli reported over the radio, while Verstappen headed into the pits on Lap 33 for a set of medium tyres and retained his lead in the process. Norris also made his stop shortly afterwards and re-emerged in sixth behind Antonelli.

Next to pit was Piastri, with the Australian experiencing a slightly slow stop as he returned to the track in P6, six seconds behind his team mate. With others also visiting the pits, Russell – in P7 – was now the only driver in the top 10 yet to make a stop.

“Charles is trying to pick up the pace – he is on Plan C, we are on Plan B,” Hamilton was informed on Lap 37, with the British driver now running 2.4s behind the other red car, while just behind Antonelli had been shown a black and white flag for track limits.

The Italian asked Race Engineer Pete ‘Bono’ Bonnington to check the car after feeling some “weird behaviour”, before being reassured that there appeared to be “no concern” from the team’s side.

The yellow flags were thrown when Stroll’s Aston Martin came to a halt at Turn 15 due to a clutch issue, with a Virtual Safety Car subsequently being deployed. Leclerc and Antonelli both headed into the pits for a second stop – but Russell dived in for his first just as the VSC was ending, meaning that the Mercedes driver could not quite benefit to the same extent.

This brought him out into P10, while Leclerc was in third – now some 10 seconds behind Hamilton – and Antonelli separated the McLarens in P5. But the championship leader did not seem happy, going on to report struggles with his brakes.

Piastri made a second pit stop on Lap 42, the Australian having suffered a slow puncture as he returned to the track in sixth. Antonelli, meanwhile, was told that “heat soak” had caused the fluid around his feet, while the team also reminded the Italian to remain cautious of track limits.

Debate appeared to be continuing at Ferrari over Hamilton’s strategy, with the team seemingly believing that he was a few laps short of making it to the end on his tyres. On Lap 46 the Briton was overtaken by Leclerc, the Monegasque showing better pace on his fresher rubber – but he remained 15 seconds adrift of Verstappen in the lead.

Russell was looking racy, meanwhile, as he tried to find a way past Gasly for P9, the Silver Arrows driver eventually making the move into Turn 7 on Lap 48 – but there was less positive news for the other Mercedes of Antonelli, the championship leader seemingly at risk of a penalty after exceeding track limits again.

As Lap 52 ticked down – with 10 laps remaining – Verstappen continued to lead by just under 10 seconds from Leclerc, with Hamilton some 11.8s adrift of his team mate in third. Norris, meanwhile, had closed to within half a second of Hamilton, followed by Antonelli, Piastri, Lawson, Hulkenberg, Russell and Gasly.

Verstappen looked to be having issues with his radio, with Race Engineer Gianpiero ‘GP’ Lambiase struggling to hear the Dutchman when asking for his thoughts on whether he would want to pit again in the event of another Safety Car.

The fight for the final spot on the podium was heating up, with Hamilton going wide as he tried to defend against Norris – before Antonelli took advantage to sweep ahead of the McLaren and close in on Hamilton. A few moments later the Italian had snatched P3 into Turn 16, while Hamilton found himself under investigation for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. It was subsequently decided that no further action was required.

As Hamilton continued to struggle on his tyres, Norris soon overtook to snatch fourth place from the Briton. Elsewhere Russell appeared stuck behind Hulkenberg in the battle for eighth, while Norris was struggling to stay with Antonelli and asked if any help would be possible behind – just as Piastri was continuing to chase down Hamilton.

Norris – after being warned of a ”developing potential sensor issue” – asked if he could help Piastri, the Australian now all over the back of Hamilton in the scrap for fifth. After a few tries, Piastri ultimately made his move into Turn 16 to take the position.

Up ahead, Verstappen took the chequered flag to seal a commanding Grand Prix victory – the first time he has done so at the Marina Bay Street Circuit – while Leclerc and Antonelli completed the podium and Norris and Piastri brought home fourth and fifth for McLaren.

Hamilton had to settle for sixth, and the Briton issued an apology to his team over the radio – seemingly suggesting that the decision not to pit for a second time had been his. Behind him the top 10 was completed by Lawson, Hulkenberg, Russell and Hadjar.

Gasly, Bearman, Ocon, Sainz, Lindblad, Alonso and Perez were next in the classification, with Albon retiring but placing in P18 while Bottas was the final name in the order, following the earlier retirements of Stroll, Colapinto and Bortoleto.

Key quote

"It’s taken a while, but I think this race was very good," said Verstappen. "We had pace when we needed to have it on the soft tyre and on the medium, even though I think the medium tyre for everyone was a bit more of a struggle. It worked out, so of course I’m very happy to win here."

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