Formula 1’s return to the Marina Bay Street Circuit brought a weekend of firsts, missed chances and title consequences. Red Bull carried its Sepang form into Singapore, and Max Verstappen finally added the one trophy missing from his collection. Further back, strategy calls and costly mistakes shook up the order behind him. Kimi Antonelli made the most of an off weekend to move closer to the title, while those chasing him lost more ground. With six races left, here are the winners and losers from Singapore.
Inevitable, wasn’t it? Having become a regular podium contender since the summer break the Red Bull RB22 finally hit form at the last round at Sepang. Said form persisted throughout the Singapore weekend. Max Verstappen romped to sprint pole, capitalised on George Russell’s mistake to take a comfortable win, snatched pole position despite Ferrari arguably having the faster package and ran virtually untroubled in the race to claim his first ever win in Singapore. As we have seen on multiple occasions in the past, a semi-competitive car is all Verstappen needs to return to his brilliant best. The championship is well out of reach but with man and machine finally in sync, don’t be surprised to see Verstappen challenge for victory for the remainder of the season.
Having made a welcome return to the podium in Malaysia, Hamilton came to Singapore on something of a high. The Ferrari SF-26 had pace all weekend, allowed Hamilton to take a valuable second in the sprint and was arguably the odds on favourite for pole. A slight error in Q2 denied him a shot at the front row and the decision to start the race on medium tyres did not pay dividends, as Hamilton fell away from the leading duo and pitted after just 19 laps. Hamilton subsequently flew on the soft tyres but was later caught behind his teammate who was able to get pace out of his mediums. The seven-time world champion’s decision not to pit under the final virtual safety car proved costly as his worn soft tyres left him vulnerable in the closing stages. Kimi Antonelli, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri all snuck past in the dying laps, and Hamilton was left to take responsibility for the call that ultimately relegated him to sixth. Errors on the Ferrari pit wall are partly to blame, however, there’s little denying the fact that Hamilton left points on the table.
With his teammate starting from the back of the grid, Kimi Antonelli was offered another chance to extend his comfortable championship lead. George Russell made that job even easier by crashing out of the sprint and conceding another five points. Clearly unable to match Verstappen or the Ferraris, Antonelli spent much of the race staying out of trouble and consolidating fifth, having lost out to Lando Norris off the start. An opportunistic move at turn one on lap 54 allowed him to pass the reigning champion for fourth. With Hamilton struggling, Antonelli had little trouble getting past the seven-time world champion and securing a valuable podium. Having struggled for pace all weekend, this was yet another example of Antonelli maximising his off days and furthering his title bid. A trait that has proven seminal in what is now a near-inevitable championship win.
While Lando Norris may be the obvious target, given his ill-fated and costly move on Oscar Piastri in the sprint, the reality is McLaren as a whole was left wanting in Singapore. The MCL-40 never seemed capable of challenging Mercedes, Ferrari or Red Bull in either qualifying or the race. The collision in the sprint compounded McLaren’s woes and is an incident the team will be keen to avoid going forward. With Ferrari out of sight, Verstappen back on form and Red Bull just seven points behind in the constructors’ race, McLaren’s third place is under serious threat.
It's unclear what else Liam Lawson has to do in order to secure a 2027. Once again, the RB driver was a model of consistency. Eighth on the grid in the sprint, Lawson was perfectly placed to capitalise on any potential chaos. He did just that, benefitting from Russell’s crash and the late McLaren tangle to move into fifth. The race was a similar story. Starting eighth on a set of soft tyres, Lawson launched out of his grid slot to get past the Alpine of Pierre Gasly. A consistent second stint allowed him so stay ahead of the Audi of Nico Hulkenberg and Lawson stayed out of trouble to secure another commendable seventh-place finish. With six races remaining, Racing Bulls are now 32 points ahead of Alpine. Should they hold on, Lawson will have played a major part in securing the Red Bull sister team’s best-ever finish in the constructors ' standings.
With a 60-place grid penalty headed his way after an engine failure in Malaysia, George Russell's weekend was always going to be an exercise in damage limitation. A crash in the sprint compounded Russell’s issues, and any hopes of a larger points haul in the race were undone by the virtual safety car ending just as Russell made his pit stop. Ninth place and two points capped off a disappointing weekend for Russell, whose faint title aspirations could fade for good at the next race in Austin.
