Verstappen Completes Singapore Sweep as Antonelli Nears Title!

Max Verstappen won the Singapore Grand Prix on October 11, completing a perfect weekend after also claiming pole and the rain-affected Sprint. Verstappen resisted Charles Leclerc at Turn 1, controlled the 62-lap race and finished 7.335 seconds ahead of the Ferrari. Kimi Antonelli placed third, followed by Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and Lewis Hamilton. It was Verstappen’s first Singapore victory, his 73rd career win and his second Grand Prix triumph in eight days.

The decisive pace theme was how effectively Verstappen used the soft tire. Leclerc remained within a second early, but Verstappen gradually escaped before making an uncomplicated soft-to-medium stop on Lap 33. Although two Virtual Safety Cars created strategic opportunities, Red Bull’s advantage was large enough that neither threatened the lead. The soft-medium one-stop proved the fastest conventional strategy; unexpectedly low degradation allowed the soft to remain competitive over long stints.

Ferrari split its approach, starting Leclerc on softs and Hamilton on mediums. Hamilton stopped early for softs and recovered toward the podium, but the second VSC changed the race. Ferrari called both cars in; Leclerc stopped, while Hamilton missed the pit entrance and elected to preserve track position. His old tires then collapsed, allowing Antonelli, Norris and Piastri past. Hamilton accepted responsibility for finishing sixth when Ferrari believed second and third were available had he pitted when called in.

Antonelli’s third place expanded his championship lead to 102 points over George Russell, who recovered from 19th to ninth after an engine penalty. Antonelli can clinch the championship in Austin if he leaves that weekend at least 125 points clear. Russell remains the only remotely credible challenger; Hamilton is 111 points behind, Verstappen 119, Leclerc 125 and Norris 139, leaving each mathematically alive but dependent on repeated Antonelli failures. Mercedes leads Ferrari by 134 points in the Constructors’ Championship. Ferrari is the only remaining remotely realistic challenger; McLaren and Red Bull are 239 and 246 points behind respectively.

Haas’ Grand Prix result understated a reasonably encouraging weekend. Oliver Bearman scored three points by finishing sixth in the Sprint, then fought Esteban Ocon for position in the main race before taking 12th, one place ahead of his teammate. Bearman briefly ran in the points but could not resist Russell and Isack Hadjar; Ocon reported persistent sliding and insufficient grip. Haas believes its upgrade continues to show progress, although it still needs several tenths of race pace. The team remains seventh, seven points ahead of Audi, after Nico Hülkenberg’s strong Singapore weekend reduced the margin.

Cadillac finished both cars for the first time since Monza but remained well outside the points. Sergio Pérez’s soft-tire opening stint was competitive enough to keep him involved with the midfield, but a second stop after the VSC cost time and left him 17th. Valtteri Bottas started on mediums, which performed worse than expected, and finished 19th. Pérez estimated Cadillac remains roughly one to 1.5 seconds per lap short of the cars ahead. Operational execution is improving, but the team remains scoreless and its underlying pace deficit is still severe. See you in Austin!