Verstappen wins Singapore GP in 250th Formula 1 start
NXTbets Pro | Published On: October 11, 2026
Verstappen’s Singapore sweep
Max Verstappen turned Singapore into a full weekend sweep at Marina Bay, winning the Grand Prix from pole position and adding the Sprint race to his tally. He closed the event with Sprint pole, Sprint victory, Grand Prix pole and Grand Prix victory, a clean run that left no gap for anyone else to exploit. The Grand Prix also marked his 250th Formula 1 start, and the win was his first at Marina Bay. Verstappen had already done the hard work in qualifying, taking pole by 0.05 seconds over Charles Leclerc. He then protected the lead when the race began, holding off Leclerc at Turn 1. The result was his second consecutive Formula 1 victory. Singapore rewarded that control. Verstappen converted every front-row advantage into a win and left the circuit with the rare sweep that touches every competitive phase of the schedule. He left Singapore with every major box checked, from pace over a single lap to control in the race itself.
Leclerc, Antonelli chase
Charles Leclerc finished second for Ferrari, and Kimi Antonelli took third for Mercedes, giving the front of the field a familiar look after Verstappen checked out of the biggest fight. Leclerc had already been close enough in qualifying to push the margin to 0.05 seconds, and he stayed in the thick of it once the race started. Verstappen shut the door at Turn 1, though, and Leclerc spent the rest of the race chasing a gap that never fully opened. Antonelli took advantage of the position ahead of him and converted it into a podium finish for Mercedes. Lando Norris finished fourth for McLaren and Oscar Piastri followed in fifth, a steady pair of results that kept McLaren in the conversation through the top five. Lewis Hamilton came home sixth after a strategy gamble unraveled under a Virtual Safety Car, a twist that changed the shape of his race without changing his sixth-place finish. The front group settled into its order, and each of those finishes came after the opening laps had already set the tone. That left Singapore with a podium that featured Verstappen, Leclerc and Antonelli, and a top five that included both McLaren drivers behind them.
Russell, Hadjar charge
Behind the top five, George Russell and Isack Hadjar also finished in the top 10. Russell climbed from 19th on the grid to finish ninth, a result that showed how much ground he recovered over the course of the race. Hadjar finished 10th after starting from the pit lane, another gain that underlined how far he moved up after a difficult launch position. Both drives mattered because the race left little room for a bad start to disappear on its own. Russell had to work from deep in the order, and Hadjar had to make the pit lane start count. They each moved through the field without changing the podium picture above them, and they each finished with enough ground made up to round out the top 10. That closing stretch gave Singapore another layer of movement, one built on recovery rather than the fight for the lead. The result ended with Verstappen on top, Leclerc and Antonelli on the podium and several drivers making the most of what they had left to work with.
