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Singapore Grand Prix; Max Verstappen wins in Singapore as Kimi Antonelli extends his championship lead.

Writer: Cassandra Nicholls
Cassandra Nicholls
18 hours ago
3 min read

It was an interesting weekend in Singapore, bringing many concerns and drama between drivers and teams, especially during the Sprint Race, however the race itself produced its own dramas.

 

Max Verstappen had a clean race starting from P1 and having no issues whatsoever, to finish in that same position. His teammate Isack Hadjar had unfortunately faced issues in the Qualifying session and was forced to start from the back half of the grid in P22. Despite all that Hadjar was able to work his way through the field and secure a top 10 result finishing in P10.

 

The Ferraris had a mixed weekend with Charles Leclerc having a positive result finishing P2 after having an impressive qualifying session too. However, Lewis Hamilton struggled after starting P3 and on medium tyres, he dropped back from Leclerc and was forced to do an early stop for soft tyres, given they were the better choice. A missed opportunity for a double stack during a Virtual Safety Car ultimately cost Hamilton a podium opportunity, finishing only P6.


Race Start - Singapore
An extremely quiet race start for the Singapore Grand Prix.

Kimi Antonelli moved into the podium positions, finishing P3 after an awkward moment between himself, Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton. George Russell was forced to start from the back of the grid as well after taking a penalty for additional power units. Russell ultimately finished within the top 10 making it to P9 from P19.

 

The McLaren pairing had a tough weekend. After that awkward moment during the sprint race that cost the team double points they were forced to work together in the race. Lando Norris finished ahead of his teammate in P4, whilst Oscar Piastri finished P5. Piastri was also forced to take another pitstop after a reported slow puncture was starting to cause concern from the team’s point of view.

 

Liam Lawson was the sole Racing Bulls driver in the top 10. Lawson finished P7 after an impressive race yet again from the Kiwi. His teammate Arvid Lindblad however struggled quite a lot during the race. With very little overtaking opportunities it made it difficult to gain many positions, with Lindblad finishing P15.

 

Nico Hulkenberg was also the sole remaining Audi in the top 10, finishing P8. His teammate Gabriel Bortoleto only managed 7 laps before being forced to pull over at the end of the pitlane due to a power issue. Audi continues their long uphill battle to make improvements and work to move up the constructor’s ladder.


Special Livery - Audi
Audi had a special livery for their weekend in Singapore.

Pierre Gasly was very close to the top 10, just behind Hadjar in P11. It was a quieter weekend for Gasly, but for Franco Colapinto it was the opposite. Colapinto faced two DNFs during the Singapore Grand Prix weekend, one for an energy store issue during the sprint, the other during the race was due to a transmission problem, with his car switching into neutral. He was forced to retire on lap 31.

 

Haas continue their mid grid finishes with another decent result. Ollie Bearman finished ahead of his teammate in P12, whilst Esteban Ocon finished just behind in P13. These unfortunate results continue a long string of similar ones throughout the 2026 season and appear to be the sendoff for Ocon with recent news revealing that F3 champion and current F2 championship leader Rafael Camara, will be taking one of two seats at Haas for 2027.

 

Williams struggled during the race to make any gains on their opponents, missing out on points again. Carlos Sainz would go on to finish the race in P14, whilst Alex Albon really had a difficult time finishing P18 and ultimately forced to DNF on lap 59.


Alex Albon at the Singapore Grand Prix
A difficult weekend out in Singapore for Alex Albon with another DNF result.

Aston Martin had one remaining driver with Fernando Alonso leading the charge. Despite that, the team itself could not do much to shake the midpack fights, finishing towards the back in P16. Lance Stroll continued his DNFs in the 2026 season adding another one, now with a record 10 DNFs across the 2026 season so far, adding another one in Singapore. Currently Stroll has only successfully finished 5 races.


Cadillac finished another race at the back of the grid, with Sergio Perez finishing P17 and Valtteri Bottas finishing P19. The team however appears to be starting to work better and looking happier with the work being completed, so for a first season team it isn’t looking too bad.


When we go racing again, we head back to Austin, Texas for the US Grand Prix. That weekend alone could be the moment in which Kimi Antonelli is crowned as the driver champion, but could other drivers like George Russell make it more difficult and fight back for their moment?

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