Max Verstappen finally added the Singapore Grand Prix to his list of victories, producing a controlled, lights-to-flag drive at Marina Bay to beat Charles Leclerc by 7.335 seconds, with championship leader Kimi Antonelli taking third. After years of near misses on Singapore’s unforgiving streets, the Red Bull driver converted pole position into his first win at the circuit, completing a clean sweep of the sprint weekend.
Rain had already shaped the weekend before Sunday’s race. A tropical downpour shortly before Saturday’s sprint left standing water around Turns 2 and 3, forcing officials to delay the start by 30 minutes while the medical car assessed the track. The sprint itself became chaotic: George Russell crashed from the lead at the final corner on the opening lap, triggering a Safety Car, while nine drivers retired in a race shortened to 20 laps. Verstappen emerged unscathed to win that sprint ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Leclerc, setting up his dominant Sunday.
On race day, Verstappen made no mistakes. Despite a radio communication issue during the 62-lap contest, he controlled the pace from pole and never looked seriously threatened, crossing the line in 1:42:00.785. Leclerc took second for Ferrari, his first podium since July, while Antonelli finished third after starting fourth and recovering well from a qualifying session in which Mercedes were not at their strongest.
The battle behind the podium provided much of the drama. Lando Norris finished fourth, 40.506 seconds behind Verstappen, with Oscar Piastri fifth, while Lewis Hamilton slipped to sixth after his tyres faded badly in the closing stages. Antonelli overtook both Norris and Hamilton during the race, while Hamilton also lost a place to Piastri on the final lap after Ferrari’s strategy and tyre management unravelled. George Russell, meanwhile, recovered from 19th on the grid to finish ninth after his Saturday crash and a difficult qualifying.
Antonelli’s third place was enough to extend his championship advantage. He now leads the drivers’ standings on 340 points, 102 clear of Mercedes team-mate Russell on 238, with Hamilton third on 229. Verstappen’s second consecutive victory lifted him to fourth on 221 points, ahead of Leclerc on 215, and leaves the Dutchman just 17 points behind Russell in the fight for second overall.
With six rounds remaining, Verstappen’s late-season surge has turned the title picture into a fascinating contest between Antonelli’s consistency and Red Bull’s renewed pace. Antonelli could clinch the championship in Austin if the results fall his way, but Verstappen arrives in the United States with momentum, two straight wins and a Red Bull package that suddenly looks capable of challenging Mercedes and Ferrari at every type of circuit
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