GEORGE RUSSELL DOMINATES THE FORMULA 1 SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX

George Russell dominated the Singapore Grand Prix in convincing style, starting from pole and keeping the lead all the way. He finished ahead of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. McLaren also scored enough points to secure the 2025 Teams’ Championship.

The Singapore Grand Prix gave fans another exciting night race, with George Russell starting from pole after a surprise performance in Qualifying. He managed to beat both Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri to the top spot on Saturday.

Before the race began, there were some changes to the starting grid. Both Williams drivers were disqualified from Qualifying because of an issue with their rear wings. This meant Carlos Sainz started from the back, while Alex Albon began from the pit lane after his team changed his suspension settings. Pierre Gasly also started from the pit lane because Alpine replaced his car’s floor and suspension.

Earlier in the day, rain had fallen on the track, and though the drizzle had stopped by the time the race began, parts of the circuit were still damp. Most drivers started on medium tyres, but Verstappen, rookie Isack Hadjar, Fernando Alonso, Yuki Tsunoda, Lance Stroll and Franco Colapinto went for the softer compound.

When the lights went out, Russell held onto first place, staying ahead of Verstappen. Behind them, McLaren teammates Piastri and Lando Norris fought hard. Norris got past but picked up damage to his front wing after clipping Verstappen’s car and banging wheels with Piastri.

Elsewhere, Charles Leclerc moved up to fifth, while Lewis Hamilton sat in seventh ahead of Alonso, Hadjar, and Oliver Bearman. The stewards looked at a couple of possible incidents but decided no penalties were needed.

By Lap 10, Russell had built a lead of more than four seconds over Verstappen, though the Red Bull driver complained about gearbox issues. Norris was chasing in third, while Hamilton was holding off Alonso and Hadjar further back.

Pit stops started around Lap 14, with Tsunoda and Gabriel Bortoleto coming in early. Norris brushed the wall but carried on, while Mercedes prepared to pit him but told him to stay out. Instead, Red Bull brought in Verstappen for hard tyres on Lap 20. Leclerc soon followed.

Russell stopped a little later, rejoining in third, while McLaren had drama in the pits: Norris refused to let Piastri pit before him, and when Piastri finally came in, his stop was slow due to a problem with the left rear tyre. Alonso also lost time in the pits, while Hadjar’s car suffered engine issues.

At half-distance, Russell was back in the lead, with Verstappen second, Norris third, and Piastri fourth. Leclerc, rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli, and Hamilton were close behind.

Verstappen briefly closed in on Russell but lost time after locking up and almost hitting the barriers. Meanwhile, Norris was closing the gap to Verstappen, but also had a near-miss with the wall himself.

Yellow flags flew on Lap 45 after Nico Hulkenberg spun but he rejoined at the back. Russell grew frustrated at slower cars not moving out of his way, but he kept his lead. With 15 laps to go, Verstappen was second but under pressure from Norris.

Piastri, stuck in fourth, wasn’t happy with how the race was going, while Hamilton switched to soft tyres and pushed hard, even overtaking Leclerc before running into brake issues.

In the closing laps, Norris kept the pressure on Verstappen, but the Red Bull held firm. Russell crossed the line first, winning by over five seconds. Verstappen finished second, with Norris third. McLaren still had something to celebrate as Norris’ and Piastri’s strong results sealed the Teams’ Championship for the second year in a row.

Antonelli impressed with fifth, while Leclerc finished sixth. Hamilton dropped to eighth after a penalty for track limits, promoting Alonso to seventh. Bearman and Sainz rounded out the top 10. Hadjar just missed out in 11th, followed by the rest of the field, with all 20 cars finishing the race.

Next up, Formula 1 heads to Austin for the United States Grand Prix on October 17–19.