George Russell was dominant in F1 Singapore GP win, as Max Verstappen held off Lando Norris for second, while McLaren sealed 2025 constructors’ title.
It was slightly damp to start F1 Singapore GP at Marina Bay Sands circuit, but everyone opted to use the slick tyres albeit Red Bull’s Max Verstappen going for the softer option. The Dutchman did not have the best of starts, as Mercedes’ George Russell had one to lead the way.
McLaren’s Lando Norris made an aggressive move and almost clouted the back of Verstappen at Turn 2 exit. To avoid the Red Bull, the Brit had a moment and touched his teammate Oscar Piastri, who almost hit the wall. The Australian was not pleased with the barging to drop to fourth.
He argued about it not being fair and since the stewards took no action, McLaren ended the analysis that way. Norris damaged his endplate. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc made a place on Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli at Turn 1 to be fifth, as Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton stationed himself in seventh as he started.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was up to eighth after contact between Visa Cash App RB’s Isack Hadjar and Haas’ Oliver Bearman at Turn 1. The Brit took the evasive action by taking the run-off and held 10th ahead of Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg. The stewards took no action on Hadjar and Bearman.
Outside the points, Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda had a moment which dropped him to 17th on the soft tyre. The Japanese driver was the first to stop on Lap 14 and switch to the hard compound, while Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto pitted on the same lap from medium to hard.
He had to change the front wing since he was carrying a damaged front wing after his Lap 1 contact with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll. While Russell led the way comfortably, Norris was chasing Verstappen for second, as McLaren started to play pit stop games on the radio.
Verstappen eventually stopped first on Lap 20. He had track position ahead of Alonso, but Leclerc wasn’t lucky against Hulkenberg when the Monegasque pitted on Lap 22. But the Ferrari driver made quick work of the Sauber to regain the lost track position after the pit stop.
Teammate Hamilton had a slow stop on Lap 25 to fall behind Hulkenberg in track position game, as Mercedes opted for double stack on Lap 26, while Norris opted to pit first on Lap 27. And Piastri pitted on Lap 28, but it was a slow stop which didn’t cost him any track position.
Alonso, meanwhile, lost couple of place after a slow stop. He lost out to Bearman and Hadjar, where the Brit made a good run on Williams’ Alexander Albon, while the Frenchman was nursing an engine issue – losing about three to four tenths per lap on his lap time.
At halfway mark, Russell continued to lead from Verstappen, Norris and Piastri, as Leclerc in fifth had Antonelli on his tail, with Hamilton at a distance. Things steadied at the front, but there were mini battles. Hadjar with his issues had Alonso chasing him for track position.
Despite the hard run in defence, Alonso finally made the move at Turn 3 to take the place. He was in the chase of Bearman, who was being held up by non-stoppers Stroll and Williams’ Carlos Sainz. The Canadian eventually pitted on Lap 39 to release the duo in their fight.
Verstappen, meanwhile, started to struggle with an issue. He locked-up to lose out to Russell and had Norris on his tail. The Brit had a moment in the dirty air but hung on. Outside the Top 10, Alonso got through Albon for track position, in the chase of Bearman and potential eighth place.
It was getting tasty behind them as Colapinto made couple of errors to allow Tsunoda through at Turn 7 exit. Hulkenberg tried to get through at Turn 8 but had his endplate clipped. The German maintained the place ahead of Bortoleto, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Ocon.
In the chase of Colapinto, Hulkenberg spun into the run-off after locking his rear. He managed to continue on and pitted to change tyres and the front wing. Meanwhile, Hamilton took the free stop option to switch to soft compound and take a gamble in case of late safety car.
Ahead of him, Norris caught the back of a struggling Verstappen, but the Dutchman managed to hang on due to traffic mayhem. Behind them, Antonelli got through Leclerc to retake fifth finally. Alonso was back in eighth after clearing Bearman, with Hadjar holding 10th from Tsunoda.
After Antonelli cleared Leclerc, Hamilton got through the Monegasque in the chase of the Italian. He got on his tail but with no chance of passing after a minor wall brush, he let Leclerc through again. Up front, Russell took the F1 Singapore GP win by 5.430s margin in a dominant fashion.
Verstappen held off Norris by 0.636s margin to end up second, while Piastri was fourth. The result allowed McLaren to clinch the 2025 F1 constructors’ title for the second consecutive season. Antonelli was fifth from Leclerc and Hamilton, as Alonso was eighth in a good finish for the Spaniard.
Bearman ended up ninth from Sainz, who passed Hadjar late in the race. Tsunoda was 12th in the end from Stroll, Albon, Visa Cash App RB’s Liam Lawson, Colapinto, Bortoleto, Ocon, Gasly and Hulkenberg to round out all the 20 runners – with everyone from Sainz until Hulkenberg, finishing a lap down.
Hamilton was put under investigation for track limits after brake issues hurt his run towards the end, with Alonso very close to him at the line.
Here’s reprimand for Alexander Albon: https://www.fia.com/system/files/decision-document/2025_singapore_grand_prix_-_infringement_-_car_23_-_use_of_pit_exit_lane_during_reconnaissance_lap.pdf
UPDATE: Hamilton was handed 5s time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage due to late brake issues. The stewards deemed that it wasn’t a justifiable reason to cut corner, as Ferrari and Hamilton did not protest against it.
It dropped Hamilton to eighth and behind Alonso, from seventh. The Spaniard gained one place to score six points, which is crucial for Aston Martin’s bid to finish fifth in the constructors’ championship.
