Max Verstappen controlled the Singapore Grand Prix from lights to flag for his first win at the circuit, but the race’s lasting consequence was at the other end of the podium: Kimi Antonelli’s third place put a first world championship within reach at the next round, Hiru News reported.
It was Red Bull’s second dominant result in a week, following the team’s maiden victory of the year in Malaysia and a sprint win in Singapore on Saturday — a run that confirms its return as a front-running force after a barren start to 2026.
The title maths
Antonelli’s podium, combined with Mercedes team-mate George Russell finishing only ninth after starting 19th, extends the Italian’s championship lead to 102 points.
That makes the title mathematically available to him at the United States Grand Prix on 25 October. To clinch it in Austin he would need to win the race with Russell ninth or lower and Lewis Hamilton fifth or lower.
Told immediately after the race that Austin could settle it, Antonelli deflected: “Can I? Really? Let’s not worry about that, let’s try to do the best weekend possible and finish the job.”
How Verstappen won it
Overtaking is notoriously hard in Singapore, and the race turned on the first corner. Charles Leclerc got the better launch and went down the inside into Turn One, but Verstappen squeezed him towards the pit wall; with both cars’ entry compromised, Leclerc backed out and the four-time champion took the corner — and the lead he never surrendered.
Leclerc stayed within a second for ten laps before Verstappen edged clear, eventually finishing 7.3 seconds ahead.
“I think the last few races have been really positive for us and it is just great to see and we have a lot of motivation in the team to try and deliver even more results,” Verstappen said. “It is a really good group of people — I really enjoy working with them and hopefully we can have a bit more fun until the end of the year.”
Hamilton’s strategy unravels
Hamilton finished sixth after declining to pit when asked, attempting to run a set of soft tyres for 44 laps.
Having started on mediums, he switched to softs on lap 18. When a virtual safety car on lap 39 offered a cheap stop — roughly ten seconds cheaper than under racing conditions — Leclerc and Antonelli took it; Hamilton did not, which briefly promoted him to second. Told later he needed to stop, he pushed back and asked to run to the end, but was told he was six laps short on tyre life.
Leclerc passed him on lap 46. As his grip faded, Hamilton was caught by Lando Norris, ran wide at Turn One under a passing attempt on lap 54, and lost places to Antonelli, Norris and finally Oscar Piastri on the last lap. He apologised for the call on the slowing-down lap.
Ferrari’s decision not to order Leclerc to let the faster Hamilton through after the first stops was questioned by Hamilton from the car.
Not reported
Hiru’s account does not give the full classification beyond the leading positions, the winning margin over third, or lap times. It does not report the constructors’ standings after the race, or Russell’s explanation for a ninth-place finish from 19th on the grid.
No other verified newsroom had filed on the race at the time of writing — searches returned only earlier Singapore editions and this season’s preceding rounds — so this article is written from the single filing.
