12 October,2026 09:33 AM IST | Singapore | Abhishek Takle
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen holds aloft the Singapore Grand Prix winner’s trophy on Sunday; (right) The Red Bull of Max Verstappen (left) leads the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc at the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday. Pics/AFP
[popcorn number="73" desc="No. of total race wins for Max Verstappen" class="Default"]
Four-time Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen cruised to a first-ever Singapore Grand Prix win with the Dutchman easing his Red Bull across the line after a dominant lights-to-flag display around the Marina Bay street track on Sunday.
The 29-year-old crossed the finish line 7.3 seconds clear of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc with championship leader Kimi Antonelli completing the podium for Mercedes in third place.
"It has taken a while, but I think this race was very good. We had pace when we needed to have it, on the soft tyre and the medium. Luckily [the start] was good enough," said Verstappen after taking his 73rd win, and second of the season.
Leclerc, starting alongside the Red Bull on the front row, got the better getaway and looked to have the more advantageous inside line heading into the opening corner.
But Verstappen hung on through a brilliant display of race craft and car positioning that forced Leclerc to concede.
From that point on, there was no looking back, with the Dutchman remaining unchallenged and even keeping the lead through the pitstops. The only trouble he had was a malfunctioning radio.
The result also meant Antonelli extended his championship lead to 102 points after teammate and closest title rival George Russell finished ninth. By the next race, the 20-year-old could become the youngest F1 champion and the first Italian title winner since Alberto Ascari in 1953.
Antonelli, who had started fourth and charged past McLaren's Lando Norris and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton in the closing stages, was stunned to find out he was within reach of the title.
"Can I really?" He asked when told that he could be world champion in the next two weeks.
"Let's not worry about that, let's just try to do the best weekend possible and finish the job," he added.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton though endured a nightmare race. He started third and kept the position in the opening part of the race. Despite running on the more durable medium tyre, he was the first of the front runners to stop.
That was the only stop he made, despite switching to the more fragile soft tyre, and faded from contention towards the end as first Antonelli, then Norris and eventually McLaren's Oscar Piastri eased past him, leaving the seven-times champion to limp home in sixth.
