Verstappen takes Singapore as Antonelli’s lead reaches 102

Max Verstappen had finished on the Singapore podium four times without standing on its highest step. On Sunday, at his tenth attempt, he finally left Marina Bay with the winner’s trophy. He had led all 62 laps, kept Charles Leclerc behind him at the start and finished 7.335 seconds clear of the Ferrari. It was a satisfying end to a long wait, and another sign of how much Red Bull’s season has improved in the space of a few weeks.

Kimi Antonelli’s third place carried consequences that reached further down the calendar. The Mercedes driver now leads teammate George Russell by 102 points, with six Grands Prix remaining. He will arrive at the next round in Austin with his first mathematical chance of becoming world champion. For supporters looking ahead to Qatar and Abu Dhabi, the final two rounds could therefore begin with the drivers’ title already decided.

Verstappen’s victory followed his first win of the season at the relocated Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia a week earlier. Singapore gave that result a convincing sequel: he won the Sprint, took pole for the Grand Prix and then converted it on Sunday. The opening metres still required care. Leclerc got away well from second, forcing Verstappen to defend the inside approaching the first corner before he could begin to build a lead.

The advantage grew steadily enough for Red Bull to extend his first stint until lap 33. Verstappen changed from soft tyres to mediums and returned to the circuit still in front, keeping control through a race interrupted by two Virtual Safety Car periods. There were problems to manage, including radio difficulties that required the team to use its pit board, but the stop itself left him with the position he needed. Leclerc could reduce the gap towards the finish without getting close enough to change the result.

Afterwards, Verstappen described a car that had become easier to drive and more predictable, giving him the confidence to compete at the front. He also acknowledged early difficulties with energy deployment and a start that still needed investigating. The wins suggest Red Bull are making progress, while the start and deployment issues still give the team work to do. Verstappen’s own emphasis was on enjoying the remaining races and taking individual victories, with Antonelli too far ahead for the championship to be his immediate concern.

The standings explain that assessment. Verstappen has 221 points, 119 behind Antonelli, despite taking the maximum 33 available across Singapore’s Sprint and Grand Prix. He is fourth overall, eight points behind Lewis Hamilton and 17 behind Russell. There is room to climb further, and recent results give him reason to expect more opportunities, but the work still ahead of him reflects the months before Red Bull found this form.

Leclerc’s second place was his first Grand Prix podium since Belgium. He had stayed close to Verstappen in the early laps before tyre wear weakened that challenge, then used the later Virtual Safety Car to stop again. Fresh tyres allowed him to recover second from Hamilton, although they could not make up the full distance to the leader. Leclerc felt Ferrari had extracted a good result and that recent small changes had helped, while remaining clear that more performance was needed.

Hamilton took a different route and paid for it at the end. Ferrari called both drivers in during the Virtual Safety Car, but Hamilton missed the pit entry and then chose to stay out. As his tyres deteriorated, Antonelli, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri all passed him, leaving him sixth. Hamilton accepted responsibility afterwards. Staying out had preserved his track position for a time, but his worn tyres left him unable to defend it.

Antonelli had also stopped for fresh soft tyres during the interruption, sacrificing a position to Norris. The benefit came later, when Norris became involved in a fight with Hamilton and the Mercedes driver found a way past both. A race spent largely outside the podium places ended with his 14th Grand Prix podium of the season. It was a valuable recovery on a weekend that had begun with Mercedes struggling to understand the updated car he was driving.

The team left Singapore with a clearer view of that work. Russell had returned to the previous specification, allowing Mercedes to compare the two versions. Trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin said Antonelli’s updated car was clearly the faster of the pair by the end of the weekend, while stressing that the team still needed to understand its operating window. Antonelli’s difficulties on the medium tyre and stronger pace on the soft gave that assessment a practical focus for the next round.

Russell recovered from 19th on the grid, following penalties for additional power unit components, to finish ninth. His first stop came as the Virtual Safety Car was ending, reducing the time he could save, and Nico Hülkenberg then held him back. Saturday had already been expensive: Russell crashed out after taking the Sprint lead, while Antonelli finished fourth. Across the weekend, Antonelli added 20 points and Russell two, turning the 84 point gap they brought to Singapore into 102.

Austin follows on 25 October, before Mexico, Brazil and Las Vegas complete the run of races in the Americas. Qatar hosts the penultimate Grand Prix on 29 November, with Abu Dhabi closing the season on 6 December. Antonelli may still need those later weekends, but Singapore has brought the possibility of finishing the job much earlier. His response was to concentrate on producing the best weekends he could, rather than dwell on the calculation.

There will be plenty to follow as the championship approaches the Gulf, whatever happens to that lead. Ferrari are trying to turn encouraging pace into a victory, Mercedes still have more to learn about their car, and Red Bull have found a way to win on successive weekends. Verstappen finally has his Singapore trophy. Antonelli leaves with the prospect of a much bigger prize within reach, and with another podium earned on a day when winning was beyond him.