Verstappen wins Singapore Grand Prix for the first time as Antonelli stretches title lead
Pole, sprint and race: a complete weekend for the Red Bull driver at Marina Bay, with Leclerc second and Antonelli third.
· · 2 min read
Max Verstappen won the Singapore Grand Prix for the first time on 11 October 2026, beating Ferrari's Charles Leclerc by 7.3 seconds. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli finished third.
Key takeaways
- Max Verstappen won from pole at Marina Bay, 7.335 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc.
- Kimi Antonelli was third and leads the drivers' championship with 340 points.
- Verstappen also won the sprint on Saturday.
- George Russell started from the back after a power-unit penalty and finished ninth.
Singapore had been the one circuit where Max Verstappen had never won. That changed on 11 October, when the Red Bull driver converted pole position into victory at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, finishing 7.335 seconds ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc after 62 laps.
It completed a full weekend for Verstappen, who had also won Saturday's sprint. His race time was 1 hour, 42 minutes and 0.785 seconds.
How the race was won
Leclerc made a strong start, but Verstappen held the lead into the first corner and built a gap on soft tyres. He switched to mediums in a single stop and stayed in control despite radio problems that forced Red Bull to communicate through the pit board.
Leclerc held second throughout. Kimi Antonelli, who started fourth, finished third for Mercedes, 24.573 seconds behind the winner, despite reporting a leak around his feet that the team put down to heat soak.
Lewis Hamilton, on a different strategy, was passed late by Leclerc and Antonelli and finished sixth. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri took fourth and fifth for McLaren, a day after colliding with each other on the last lap of the sprint.
7th: Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
8th: Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)
9th: George Russell (Mercedes), who started at the back after a 60-place grid penalty for exceeding his power-unit allocation
10th: Isack Hadjar (Red Bull), who started from the pit lane
Gabriel Bortoleto (gearbox), Lance Stroll (clutch) and Franco Colapinto (driveline) retired. Bortoleto's stop on lap 7 brought out a virtual safety car.
The title picture
Antonelli left Singapore with 340 points, 102 ahead of team-mate George Russell on 238, with Hamilton third on 229. Mercedes lead the constructors' standings on 578 points to Ferrari's 444.
Singapore was round 17 of 23. The next race is the United States Grand Prix in Austin.
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