Max Verstappen took his first Singapore Grand Prix victory with a controlled drive at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, beating Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by 7.335 seconds as championship leader Kimi Antonelli claimed third following a late battle for the final podium place.

 

The Red Bull driver led throughout the 62-lap race to secure his 73rd career victory, managing a one-stop strategy through two Virtual Safety Car periods. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finished fourth and fifth for McLaren, ahead of Lewis Hamilton, whose attempt to complete the race without a second stop left him vulnerable in the closing stages.

 

At the start, Leclerc made a strong getaway from second, but Verstappen moved across to protect the inside and retained the lead into Turn 1. Hamilton held third ahead of Antonelli, while Norris and Piastri avoided further contact after their collision in the Sprint.

 

Further back, Liam Lawson moved into seventh and Nico Hülkenberg and Carlos Sainz gained places to run eighth and 10th respectively. Oliver Bearman emerged ahead of Haas team-mate Esteban Ocon after an early scrap, while George Russell began his recovery from the back of the grid, reaching 15th by lap five.

 

Leclerc initially stayed within range of Verstappen, running six tenths behind and able to use Overtake Mode. The leader gradually eased away, however, as the opening stint developed.

 

The first interruption came when Gabriel Bortoleto stopped near the pit lane exit with an apparent gearbox problem. A Virtual Safety Car allowed his Audi to be recovered, before a subsequent fire required marshals to extinguish the flames and prompted a brief closure of the pit lane entry.

 

Once racing resumed, Verstappen continued to set the pace. By lap 15 his advantage had grown to 2.6 seconds, while Hamilton, starting on medium tyres, was coming under pressure from Antonelli and the McLarens.

 

Ferrari brought Hamilton in on lap 19 for soft tyres, sending him back out seventh behind Lawson. He passed the Racing Bulls driver on lap 21, but the early stop left Ferrari considering whether another visit would be required before the finish.

 

Antonelli stopped for mediums on lap 24, with Leclerc following one lap later. The Monegasque rejoined narrowly ahead of Hamilton, who reported losing time behind his team-mate despite running the softer compound.

 

Verstappen extended his opening stint, holding a 17.9-second advantage over Norris by lap 28 as Piastri ran third. Behind them, Russell continued to progress, passing Ocon at Turn 16 and gaining further positions as others stopped.

 

Alpine lost Franco Colapinto to a suspected gearbox problem, while Hülkenberg’s pit stop helped Russell climb to ninth. Antonelli, meanwhile, reported fluid leaking around his feet, adding another concern to a race in which he had already received warnings for exceeding track limits.

 

Verstappen finally stopped on lap 33, switching to medium tyres and retaining the lead. Norris followed and emerged behind Antonelli, before a slower stop for Piastri left the Australian six seconds behind his team-mate in sixth.

 

With the leading stops completed, attention shifted to tyre endurance and the contrasting strategies at Ferrari. Hamilton remained behind Leclerc, while Antonelli received a black and white flag for track limits and asked Mercedes to investigate unusual behaviour from his car.

 

A second Virtual Safety Car followed when Lance Stroll stopped at Turn 15 with a clutch issue. Leclerc and Antonelli used the interruption to make their second stops, while Russell came in for his first as the neutralisation ended, reducing the benefit available to the Mercedes driver.

 

Hamilton consequently moved into second, with Leclerc returning third around 10 seconds behind him. Antonelli rejoined between the McLarens in fifth, although he subsequently reported braking difficulties. Mercedes attributed the fluid around his feet to heat soak.

 

Piastri then made an additional stop on lap 42 after suffering a slow puncture, returning in sixth. At Ferrari, Hamilton’s remaining tyre life became increasingly significant as Leclerc closed on fresher rubber.

 

On lap 46, Leclerc passed his team-mate for second, but Verstappen remained 15 seconds ahead. Russell gained ninth from Pierre Gasly at Turn 7 two laps later, before his progress was checked by Hülkenberg.

 

The contest for third intensified as Hamilton’s pace faded. Norris closed to within half a second, but when Hamilton ran wide defending, Antonelli seized the opportunity to pass the McLaren. The Italian then overtook Hamilton at Turn 16 to take third.

 

Norris soon followed past the Ferrari to claim fourth. Piastri also caught Hamilton and, after several attempts, completed his move at Turn 16 for fifth, leaving the seven-time champion sixth.

 

Hamilton was investigated for leaving the track and gaining an advantage during the battle, but no further action was required. After the finish, he apologised to Ferrari over the radio for the strategy outcome. Norris received a warning about a potential sensor issue, while Verstappen encountered radio difficulties as Red Bull considered its options for another interruption.

 

Leclerc reduced the deficit over the final laps, but Verstappen remained comfortably clear to win in 1:42:00.785. Antonelli finished 24.573 seconds behind the winner, with Norris and Piastri a further 15.933 and 25.071 seconds back respectively.

 

Lawson secured seventh ahead of Hülkenberg and Russell, while Isack Hadjar completed the points in 10th. Gasly finished 11th, followed by Bearman, Ocon, Sainz, Arvid Lindblad and Fernando Alonso. Sergio Pérez was 17th, with Alexander Albon classified 18th despite retiring and Valtteri Bottas 19th. Stroll, Colapinto and Bortoleto were the other retirements.

 

2026 FIA Singapore Grand Prix – Race 
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 62 1:42'00.785 
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 62 1:42'08.120 7.335
3 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 62 1:42'25.358 24.573
4 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 62 1:42'41.291 40.506
5 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 62 1:42'50.429 49.644
6 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 62 1:42'53.973 53.188
7 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 62 1:43'22.451 1'21.666
8 Nico Hülkenberg Audi 62 1:43'24.171 1'23.386
9 George Russell Mercedes 62 1:43'25.462 1'24.677
10 Isack Hadjar Red Bull/Red Bull Ford 62 1:43'31.647 1'30.862
11 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Mercedes 61 1:42'02.956 1 lap /2.171
12 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 61 1:42'05.791 1 lap /5.006
13 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 61 1:42'26.432 1 lap /25.647
14 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 61 1:42'58.924 1 lap /58.139
15 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls/Red Bull Ford 61 1:43'01.735 1 lap /1'00.950
16 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Honda 61 1:43'15.239 1 lap /1'14.454
17 Sergio Pérez Cadillac/Ferrari 60 1:42'21.305 2 laps /20.520
18 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 59 1:39'58.746 3 laps
19 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac/Ferrari 59 1:42'18.132 3 laps /17.347
     Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Honda 36 1:01'32.559 Retirement
     Franco Colapinto Alpine/Mercedes 29 48'56.129 Retirement
     Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 7 12'03.749 Retirement