Verstappen claims his first Singapore Grand Prix win

Max Verstappen won the Singapore Grand Prix for the first time, leading the race from start to finish. A late tussle between Hamilton and McLaren’s Lando Norris, with Hamilton on old tyres in the closing stages, opened the door for Kimi Antonelli to finish third and increase his Drivers’ Championship advantage over George Russell to 102 points. It was Verstappen’s first Singapore victory in his Formula 1 career.

Starting from pole, Verstappen had been concerned about the start, with Red Bull among the grid’s weakest starters in 2026. Leclerc nearly drew alongside him into the first corner, but Verstappen held the lead. Leclerc then stayed within a second for the opening 15 laps. Verstappen managed his tyres and gradually pulled away, leading by nine seconds when Leclerc pitted on lap 25.

A radio problem left Verstappen unable to communicate with his team, but it did not derail his race. Later, a Virtual Safety Car after Stroll stopped prompted Leclerc to switch to fresh soft tyres on lap 39. He could not make up a 17-second deficit. Verstappen took the win on his 250th grand prix start.

Strategy proved costly for Lewis Hamilton. Starting on medium tyres, he pitted on lap 19 for softs, then stayed out when Ferrari called him in during the Virtual Safety Car. His ageing tyres left him vulnerable: Leclerc passed him, with Antonelli and Lando Norris also closing in. Hamilton and Norris battled for third, allowing Antonelli to get by; he passed Hamilton a lap later. Norris eventually finished fourth, ahead of McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri. Hamilton was sixth and apologised to his team: «Sorry boys. I let you down today with that strategy. My call, and I lost us valuable points. I’ll try and make up for it in the next one.»

Russell recovered to ninth after starting 19th because of a grid penalty for a new power unit. Antonelli could become world champion at the next race in Austin, from October 23 to 25, if he scores 23 points more than Russell. «The last few races have been really positive for us. It’s just great to see and we have a lot of motivation in the team to deliver even more results,» Verstappen said. The next stop on the calendar is the United States Grand Prix in Austin, from October 23 to 25.