Verstappen Wins in Singapore for the First Time as Antonelli Edges Closer to the Title

Max Verstappen won the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday. Charles Leclerc was second for Ferrari, Andrea Kimi Antonelli third for Mercedes. For Italian fans the bigger story sits in the standings, where the 20-year-old from Bologna leads the world championship with eight wins.

Verstappen had taken pole by 0.054 seconds from Leclerc. He cut across the Ferrari into Turn 1 and was never headed. Sixty-two laps, 1:42:00.785, a margin of 7.335 seconds at the flag. Antonelli crossed the line 24.573 seconds back.

Singapore had never given Verstappen a win before. This one is his second of the season, both in a row: Bahrain on Oct. 4, now Marina Bay. On Saturday he also won the rain-hit Sprint from pole, despite a getaway he called “horrendous again.” “We had pace when we needed to have it on the soft tire and on the medium,” he said in parc fermé, where cars are impounded after the race. “But it worked out, so very happy to win here.”

Leclerc went the opposite way to Red Bull. Two stops, one of them under a Virtual Safety Car. During a VSC every driver has to hold a reduced speed set by race control, so a pit stop costs less time… it still was not enough. “I gave it all and I don’t regret anything,” he said. His car had been strong early and then faded. More aggression off the line might have helped, he added.

The street circuit runs 3.06 miles and 19 corners between concrete walls, and overtaking is hard. Verstappen made a single stop, softs to mediums on lap 33. There were two VSC periods, on laps 7 and 37. The second came when Lance Stroll parked his Aston Martin at Turn 15 with a clutch failure, and Leclerc and Antonelli used it for their extra stop.

Mercedes

Antonelli lined up fourth. Mechanics worked on his brakes on the way to the grid, and during the race he told his engineer he could feel “something leaking between my feet.” By lap 21 he had two track-limits warnings, for running wide beyond the white lines at Turn 2. No penalty followed. By his own account the podium came from picking off McLaren’s Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton while the two fought each other. He called it a very tough race. Austin? Better not to worry about that, he said.

Russell’s Sunday began at the back of the grid. Mercedes had fitted a fifth engine, turbocharger and exhaust plus a fourth MGU-K, the hybrid unit that recovers energy under braking, and each extra part cost ten places, 40 in all. His only stop came as the second VSC was ending, too late to gain much. He passed Alpine’s Pierre Gasly into Turn 7 on lap 48 and finished ninth. The Sprint had been worse. He led off the line and crashed exiting the final corner on lap 1, while Antonelli finished fourth and banked five points.

Ferrari

Hamilton, third on the grid and on mediums, was the first driver to pit, switching to softs on lap 19. Ferrari left him out, a decision discussed inside the team. Leclerc came past him on lap 46. Then, in the closing laps, Norris and the other McLaren of Oscar Piastri, at Turn 16. Over the radio Hamilton apologized to the team. He finished sixth, a day after taking second in the Sprint.

Next races

Six GPs remain. After a weekend off, the Circuit of the Americas hosts the United States Grand Prix on Sunday, Oct. 25.

Singapore Grand Prix, top five

Drivers’ championship, top 3

Constructors’ championship, top 3

Results and standings as available at press time, subject to post-race review.

Copyright for Ferrari’s images: © Ferrari S.p.A.  Scuderia Ferrari HP

Copyright for Mercedes’s images: Simone Galloway / Lat Images – https://media.mercedesamgf1.com