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Verstappen dominates Singapore for first Marina Bay Grand Prix win

Luiza MoraesPublished just now3 min readBased on 11 sources
Verstappen dominates Singapore for first Marina Bay Grand Prix win
Photo by Takayuki Suzuki from Kanagawa, Japan / CC BY-SA 2.0

Max Verstappen won the Singapore Grand Prix for the first time, controlling the night race from pole to flag on 11 October. It was his second commanding victory in eight days after Red Bull's breakthrough win in Malaysia the previous weekend BBC Sport.

Verstappen held off Charles Leclerc off the start line and never looked back. Leclerc stayed closest all evening and finished second, while Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli came home third to strengthen his grip on the championship.

Antonelli now leads by 102 points. He can seal his first world title at the next round, the United States Grand Prix on 25 October, if he wins there and closest rival George Russell finishes ninth or lower.

The sharpest late drama involved Lewis Hamilton. The Ferrari driver tried to stretch one set of soft tyres — the fastest but least durable compound — for 44 laps. It almost worked. Then the grip faded in the closing laps and he slipped behind Antonelli, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to finish sixth.

Russell had a busy night of his own. After starting 19th, he fought back to ninth to salvage two points. It capped a bruising weekend in Singapore for the Briton, who had crashed out of Saturday's rain-hit Sprint.

That Sprint had already hinted at what was coming. Verstappen won the chaotic, wet short race — a roughly 100km dash held before the main Grand Prix — after losing the lead at the start and fighting back, with the two McLarens colliding and nine cars retiring in total Formula 1.

What makes this stand out is how complete Verstappen's weekend was. He took Sprint pole in 1m 31.156s, then Grand Prix pole in 1m 31.373s, just 0.054 seconds clear of Leclerc Reuters. That was the 50th pole of his career for the four-time champion.

For fans, this means two stories at once. Verstappen and Red Bull, winless for so long this season before Malaysia, have now won twice in a row. And Antonelli, still only just ahead in experience terms, is edging ever closer to the title maths taking care of itself in Austin.

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