After 11 years of racing through the streets of Marina Bay, Max Verstappen has finally secured his first Singapore Grand Prix victory on Sunday, seizing back-to-back wins as the Formula 1 season nears its conclusion.
Despite experiencing technical difficulties with the Red Bull pit wall mid-race, the Dutch driver remained composed to maintain his 62-lap lead, finishing with a comfortable 7.3-second margin over Charles Leclerc.
“It’s taken a while, but I think this race was very good… You always try to do your best and luckily it was good enough,” Verstappen said post-race. “I think the last few races have been really positive for us, it’s just great to see and we have a lot of motivation in the team to try and deliver even more results,” he added.
Verstappen Continues Late Season Surge
Notching 50 points in the last seven days, Verstappen continues to provide Red Bull with a spark of momentum this late in the season, bringing its point total to 306—only 11 points shy of tying reigning constructor’s champion McLaren at third.
Additionally, the win also means that Verstappen has now seized a victory in almost all active tracks in the Formula 1 calendar, as the Madring Grand Prix—which only debuted this year—was won by Kimi Antonelli.
Meanwhile, Leclerc once again chalked up his best performance in Singapore with P2, a feat he has only accomplished twice in seven outings.
Antonelli Can Win Title in Next Race
After having difficulty driving under new car upgrades during the Sprint, Antonelli still managed to pull through for Mercedes and round up the podium with a P3 finish, and is now officially within striking distance of the 2026 title.
With 340 points to his name, the sophomore driver can win the championship as early as the next race at the United States Grand Prix, should his teammate George Russell finish outside the points, and Lewis Hamilton finish outside P5.
Regardless of when he wins the title, Antonelli will become the youngest ever Formula 1 champion at just 20 years old, breaking Sebastian Vettel’s 16-year record that began when he was 23.
Antonelli will look to seize the title at the Circuit of The Americas on Sunday, Oct. 25.
