Max Verstappen dominated proceedings in Singapore to claim his first grand prix victory in the event.
The Red Bull driver completed a dominant weekend by winning the grand prix from pole position, as he did in the previous day’s sprint race.Verstappen easily saw Charles Leclerc’s attempt to pass him in turn one at the start, then showed the Ferrari pair a clean pair of heels.
Ferrari split the tyre strategies between their drivers, starting Leclerc on softs like Verstappen, while fitting mediums to Lewis Hamilton’s car. However he lacked pace from the start and pitted before his team mate.
That left Hamilton in a compromised position in the second half of the race. Unlike Leclerc, he did not come in for a second pit stop during a Virtual Safety Car period in the second half of the race, and his tyres faded over the final laps.
Hamilton therefore came under attack from Lando Norris and Andrea Kimi Antonelli. He repelled the McLaren at first, which allowed Antonelli to pick off Norris, but then lost places to both his rivals. On the penultimate lap, Oscar Piastri completed his misery by picking off the Ferrari on the run to turn 16.
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Verstappen had over seven seconds in hand over Leclerc when he took the chequered flag. Antonelli was briefly troubled by overheating brakes, and sailed close to the wind with multiple track limits infringements, but came home in the final podium position. The McLaren drivers completed the top five in front of Hamilton.
George Russell made steady progress from 19th on the grid over his opening stint. The second VSC period appeared to be perfectly-timed for him, giving him the chance to cement seventh place.
However race control cancelled the VSC period as he pitted, and he lost three places to Liam Lawson, Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly as a result. Russell was able to pick Gasly off but had to settle for ninth place behind the other two.
Gasly also lost his grip on the final points place, which went to Isack Hadjar following a long slog from the pit lane. It was a tough afternoon for Alpine as Franco Colapinto was one of three drivers to retire.
Gabriel Bortoleto and Lance Stroll also failed to see the chequered flag, both triggering VSC periods as they retired. Bortoleto’s Audi briefly caught fire in the pit lane after stopping with a clutch problem.
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