George Russell delivered a commanding drive on the streets of Marina Bay to win the 2025 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix, fending off pressure from Max Verstappen and Lando Norris in a race that saw drama across the field and crowned McLaren as Constructors’ champions for the second year running.
Saturday night qualifying set the tone for the weekend. Russell stunned the paddock with a record-breaking 1:29.158 lap, securing Mercedes’ first Singapore pole since 2018.
Verstappen lined up alongside him, ruing traffic on his decisive attempt, while championship leader Oscar Piastri impressed with third. Rookie Kimi Antonelli slotted into fourth, ahead of Norris and Lewis Hamilton.
Ferrari again struggled to keep up with the front-runners, while standout efforts came from Isack Hadjar in eighth and Oliver Bearman in ninth.
The most significant controversy arrived after the session when both Williams cars were disqualified for illegal DRS slot gaps, promoting Liam Lawson to 12th on the grid after a bruising weekend of repairs for the Kiwi.
The grid split strategically at lights out, with Verstappen, Hadjar, Alonso, Tsunoda, Stroll, and Colapinto gambling on soft tyres, while the rest of the field started on mediums.
Parts of the track remained damp from earlier rain, with treacherous standing water and slick white lines adding to the challenge.
Russell launched cleanly from pole to hold the lead, while the McLarens went to war behind.
Norris muscled past both Piastri and Verstappen in the opening corners, brushing his teammate wide at Turn 2 and clashing with both cars in the process, damaging his front wing. Race Control reviewed but deemed no further action necessary.
Behind them, Hadjar and Bearman made contact, dropping the Haas rookie to tenth, while Lawson made a clean getaway to hold his 12th position.
By Lap 4, Russell already led Verstappen by 2.4 seconds, with Norris close behind in third and Piastri in fourth. Antonelli slipped to sixth, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc held steady in fifth.
As the race settled, Russell stretched his advantage, opening up more than five seconds over Verstappen by Lap 10. Norris, though nursing damage, remained in touch, while Piastri drifted back in fourth.
The pit window opened on Lap 14 as Tsunoda and Bortoleto switched to hards, the latter also taking a new front wing after lap-one contact. Verstappen stopped on Lap 20 but lost precious time with a sluggish service.
Hadjar, Leclerc, and Russell followed suit in the next few laps, Mercedes even pulling off a well-timed double-stack for Russell and Antonelli on Lap 26.
McLaren’s strategy unravelled in this phase. Norris briefly inherited the lead but pitted a lap later, while disaster struck for Piastri. A stubborn left-rear wheel left him stranded in the box for 5.2 seconds, dropping him to fourth behind Norris and gifting Russell back the race lead.
Further misfortune struck Alonso, who was forced to endure a nine-second stop due to a wheel gun failure. Hadjar, meanwhile, reported engine issues and plummeted from the top ten to the midfield.
By Lap 36, Russell held Verstappen at arm’s length with a 4.7-second cushion, while Norris chased the Red Bull within DRS range. Piastri hung onto fourth, eight seconds further back, with Leclerc fifth and Antonelli recovering to sixth.
The midfield fight saw Alonso pass Hadjar for 13th, while Stroll’s long first stint on softs ended on Lap 39, dropping him to the rear. Hulkenberg’s spin at Turn 7 briefly brought out yellows, though the German continued despite heavily flat-spotted tyres.
Racing Bulls left Lawson out deep into the race despite losing around two seconds per lap to Hamilton ahead, a strategy that baffled fans. The Kiwi finally stopped on Lap 50, rejoining in 19th.
As the race entered its closing stages, Russell looked untroubled at the front. With seven laps remaining, Verstappen held second but was under severe pressure from Norris, who sat within a second. Piastri followed in fourth, while Antonelli surged past Leclerc into fifth.
Ferrari’s day unravelled further when Hamilton passed Leclerc for sixth, only for brake issues to force the team to reverse the order before the flag. Alonso took eighth, Bearman ninth, and Sainz denied Hadjar a maiden points finish with a late pass for tenth.
Lawson, meanwhile, salvaged some positives. The Kiwi fought his way past Bortoleto, Ocon, and Colapinto in the final stint to finish 15th, making the most of a strategy that had left him little chance of scoring.
At the flag, Russell crossed the line 5.4 seconds clear of Verstappen to claim his second win of the season and Mercedes’ first in Singapore since Lewis Hamilton’s 2018 triumph. Norris rounded out the podium despite carrying front wing damage throughout.
Piastri’s fourth-place finish secured enough points for McLaren to clinch the 2025 Constructors’ Championship with six races to spare, their second consecutive title.
Antonelli capped off a strong weekend in fifth, while Ferrari salvaged sixth and seventh with Leclerc and Hamilton.
Alonso, Bearman, and Sainz completed the points, while Hadjar missed out in 11th after a spirited drive hampered by mechanical gremlins.
Final Classification (Top 10)
- George Russell (Mercedes)
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
- Lando Norris (McLaren)
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
- Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
- Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
- Oliver Bearman (Haas)
- Carlos Sainz (Williams)
Formula 1 now takes a one-week break before the circus heads to Austin for the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas on October 17–20.
