Max Verstappen has ended his Singapore drought. After a commanding run to pole position on Saturday, Verstappen was similarly unflappable in the race. Despite an immaculate getaway from Charles Leclerc, Verstappen held his nerve, retained the lead, and shrugged off the Ferrari driver’s early advances. A virtual safety car let Verstappen pit on lap 32, keep his lead, and march on to victory—his first at Marina Bay and his second of the season.
Leclerc’s road to second was far less straightforward. After holding position for his opening stint, Leclerc found himself under significant pressure from his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, after exiting the pits on lap 24. Hamilton on soft tyres made multiple requests to be let past, but no team orders were given. Leclerc was able to get his medium tyres up to temperature and soon drew away from Hamilton.
After switching to softs under the final virtual safety car, Leclerc established himself in second and hung on for his fifth podium of the season. After leapfrogging Kimi Antonelli off the line, Lando Norris spent much of the race in fourth. He lost track position to the one-stop Hamilton after pitting under the virtual safety car, but made the most of his fresh rubber to close in. Hamilton ran wide at turn one on lap 54; however, Norris braked too late for the corner and lost out to Antonelli. The 20-year-old gratefully snatched third and extended his championship lead to 102 points. Victory at the next race in Austin will be enough to seal the title for Antonelli, should his teammate finish ninth or lower. Norris eventually overtook Hamilton on lap 55 and hung on for fourth—a credible conclusion to a difficult weekend for both him and McLaren.
Hamilton cut a disappointing figure post-race. After ditching his mediums and pitting from third on lap 19, Hamilton flew on his set of softs. The seven-time world champion was vocal about his frustration at being caught behind his teammate after the latter’s first stop, and later decided not to pit under the virtual safety car. Hamilton’s valiant 43-lap stint was ultimately in vain as his tyres fell away in the closing stages. Despite an impressive defensive display, he couldn't do anything to stop Antonelli Norris and the second McLaren, Oscar Piastri, from sneaking past. In the end, Hamilton had to settle for sixth.
Further back, Liam Lawson put in yet another solid performance to take seventh ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, who secured his fourth points finish of the season. After receiving a new engine and taking a grid penalty, George Russell was forced to start from the back of the grid. Starting on the mediums, Russell went long and made steady progress; however, the eight-time race winner was compromised when a virtual safety car ended just as he was making his one and only pit stop on lap 40. Despite losing time, Russell managed ninth, but with his teammate in third, Russell now has little more than an academic chance of taking the title.
After a gearbox issue in qualifying, Isack Hadjar was forced to start from the pit lane. Undeterred, the Red Bull driver made solid progress through the field, stayed out of trouble, and secured the final points-paying position in tenth, ahead of Pierre Gasly.
Ollie Bearman, who survived a feisty wheel-to-wheel exchange with his teammate on the opening lap to take 12th, ahead of Esteban Ocon, Carlos Sainz, Arvid Lindblad, Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez. Alex Albon pitted on the final lap with an unspecified issue but was classified ahead of Valtteri Bottas. Lance Stroll retired with a clutch issue on lap 36, while gearbox issues forced Franco Colapinto and Gabriel Bortoleto out of the running.
It is now a question of when, not if, Antonelli takes the championship. However, with Red Bull resurgent and Ferrari a present threat, any of four drivers could take the runners-up spot.
