Verstappen wins Singapore Grand Prix for first time
NXTbets Pro | Published On: October 11, 2026
Verstappen wins
Max Verstappen won the Singapore Grand Prix for the first time on Sunday, finishing 7.3 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc. Kimi Antonelli took third and Lewis Hamilton finished sixth after strategy hurt his race. He claimed pole for the Singapore Grand Prix for the first time in his career with a lap of 1:31.373 at Marina Bay, and that time beat Leclerc by 0.054 seconds. The pole was his 50th career Formula 1 pole and his second pole in a week. Verstappen also won the first-ever Singapore Grand Prix sprint race from pole position. His first Singapore pole and first Singapore win came in the same weekend. The pole, the Sprint victory and the Grand Prix win gave him the full set of key results at Marina Bay. Leclerc stayed closest to him in both the one-lap fight and the race, while Antonelli’s third-place finish and Hamilton’s sixth-place run rounded out the front end of the Grand Prix.
Verstappen takes pole
The qualifying session set the tone. Hamilton led Q1 and Q2, but he could not improve on his final lap and stayed third. Antonelli followed in fourth and Norris was fifth, while Russell qualified sixth even though he was set to start from the back of the grid. Piastri qualified seventh after recovering from his Sprint collision with Norris.
Sprint race swing
The other major turning point came in the first-ever Singapore Grand Prix sprint race, where Verstappen started from pole position and won. George Russell briefly led the Sprint before crashing out on the opening lap, and Verstappen inherited the lead immediately. That change flipped the race in a matter of seconds and put Verstappen in command before the field had settled. He kept the front from there and turned the Sprint into another result that fit the rhythm of his weekend. Russell’s crash ended his chance to build on that early lead and left him with a short-lived front-running moment. Verstappen handled each stage, making the weekend his.
