George Russell has brilliantly claimed victory in the Singapore Grand Prix. This marks his second win of the season. Despite handling issues, Max Verstappen finishes in second place, slightly closing the gap in the championship race to Lando Norris (third) and Oscar Piastri (fourth). Nevertheless, it’s a celebration for McLaren: as expected, the team secures the constructors’ title.
The Singapore Grand Prix at a Glance:
ROUND 1/62: Pole-sitter George Russell gets off to a rocket start, with Max Verstappen unable to overtake him. Behind the Dutchman, McLaren teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri battle for third place; the Brit appears to lightly touch Verstappen and then hits Piastri. The latter is not amused and voices his complaints to the team over the radio.
ROUND 6/62: The trend in the opening rounds is clear: Russell is fast on medium tires, Verstappen can’t keep up despite his soft tires. The Dutchman’s deficit is already about three seconds after just six rounds. Meanwhile, to Piastri’s displeasure, McLaren informs him that they can’t and won’t do anything about the situation for now.
ROUND 12/62: Not much is happening, but stay alert! We turn our attention to the sub-top and midfield: Leclerc, Antonelli, Lewis Hamilton, Alonso, Hadjar, and Bearman make up the rest of the top 10 at this point, behind the four leading drivers. Incidents have so far been absent in Singapore, where the chance of a safety car is a solid 83 percent. Perhaps it’s the calm before the storm.
ROUND 20/62: Here comes Verstappen’s first pit stop: from soft to hard tires. The Dutchman re-enters the track right in front of Alonso and has plenty of clear air ahead. One would think it’s time to push hard, and that’s exactly what he does. Meanwhile, McLaren had already signaled in round 17 that Norris should come in, but the team ultimately decided to keep him on the track.
ROUND 28/62: After Russell and Norris had flawless pit stops two rounds earlier, Piastri comes in for his stop. And indeed, it takes significantly longer than intended. Let’s see how this impacts the race… Top four: Russell, Verstappen, Norris, Piastri. And, hold the press: we see an overtaking maneuver: Bearman outmaneuvers Albon in an otherwise unspectacular race so far.
ROUND 44/62: George Russell is experiencing issues with his car, the balance is off and he’s struggling to keep the car away from the wall. Fortunately, he manages to do so, but Norris is closing in. Norris has also had his moments and sees Piastri approaching. Russell is also losing time now, so the real excitement might be in the final stages. Meanwhile, in the midfield, there are exciting battles between Hadjar and Fernando Alonso, Tsunoda and Colapinto, and Bortoleto and Gasly.
ROUND 52/62: Norris and Russell are weaving through traffic, with the Dutchman feeling the Brit breathing down his neck. We’re waiting for an attack from Norris, but Russell will do everything he can to hold onto P2. Meanwhile, Piastri is also getting closer and closer… Russell is barely in sight at the front, he is confidently on his way to what seems to be a victory.
ROUND 56/62: Russell is driving strongly in P2, the gap is always large enough to keep Norris behind him. Norris is trying to line up, but he also knows that Russell will defend the second place – tooth and nail.
ROUND 62/62: George Russell crosses the finish line first, the Mercedes driver wins the Singapore GP in a sublime manner. Russell holds onto P2, Norris once again has to admit defeat to the Dutchman. Piastri is still upset about the initial phase, but finishes fourth. And there’s a celebration at McLaren: they secure the constructors’ title with this result.
