Max Verstappen’s 250th F1 start resulted in his first Grand Prix win at the Singapore GP, which was, remarkably, one of just two circuits on the 2026 calendar – the other being the new Spanish GP in Madrid – that the four-time World Champion from Red Bull was yet to win on.
And it came in somewhat dominant fashion, as the Dutchman held off an early attack from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to hold on to the lead from lights-to-flag at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, with a winning margin of over seven seconds at the chequered flag.
Verstappen: Start “didn’t feel good” due to a power unit issue in the first few laps of 2026 F1 Singapore GP
Given the narrow nature of the street circuit in Singapore, overtaking proved once again to be difficult to come by, and the Dutchman knew he had to hold off Leclerc’s charge down towards the first corner to have any chance of winning the race.
But that proved to be quite challenging for Verstappen, as he revealed he was suffering from a yet undisclosed power unit issue in his Red Bull that hampered his start for the second race in a row, after losing the lead last time out in Malaysia.
This time though, it not only meant he had a tricky start and had to defend hard to keep his lead, but also some battery deployment issues which kept the Monegasque in touch for the first few laps of the 2026 Singapore GP:
“Well, start was critical, so that was just good enough. And again, something was not particularly right in the start. So I need to understand what went wrong there before releasing the clutch. It didn’t feel good,” he revealed. “But yeah, it was just good enough. Then we had for a few laps some deployment issues. So that’s where Charles [Leclerc] almost got me actually into turn seven. And once we had cleared the deployment problems, it was fine.
“I need to understand what went on with the engine before even dropping the clutch, because I think that did hurt my start. So I just need to understand what went wrong there, because it was, again, not fantastic, you could say that.”
“Only here to win” – Verstappen’s mindset as he defended his lead into the first corner of 2026 F1 Singapore GP
When asked if at one point he thought he might just have to concede the position into the first corner, as Leclerc’s Ferrari was nearly completely alongside, Verstappen reinforced his champion mindset and stated that he was only thinking about winning, and didn’t even consider backing out, explaining his thought process for pushing the Ferrari as far to the inside of the corner as possible:
“No, I was only here to win,” he said. “So I had to do everything I could to try and make sure that it was very difficult for Charles to go deep into the corner. So I guess that was the only way to try and stop him from getting the lead.
“But luckily, also Charles, he’s a very experienced driver. And we kept it clean. It was actually really nice, I think.
“It’s always very hard to judge what is the right braking point. But I think it just worked out.”
“We had it under control” – Verstappen praises Red Bull’s “really good” handle on tyre degradation
Although tyre wear looked lower than expected on most cars, the Red Bull RB22 had an especially good handle on the tyres at the 2026 Singapore GP, with Verstappen able to find decent pace on medium tyres that were seven laps older than the soft tyres that Leclerc put on during the Virtual Safety Car, which Verstappen and Red Bull chose to stay out.
Verstappen also noted that it was probably the first time he enjoyed clean air at the front of the field in a Singapore GP, given all his previous attempts – including his all-conquering 2023 season – were either behind the top cars or even in the mid-pack:
“The car was really good on the tyres, I could really manage them well,” he said. “But to be honest, I think it was one of the first times that I’ve driven in clean air here in Singapore in the race. So I guess that’s also nice.
“It’s been just a fantastic weekend for us. I mean, we were flying on the soft. We were OK on the medium. And then, of course, with the VSC, I think it was right what Charles did with pitting and going for it back on a soft tyre.
“But we just had it under control. And of course, yeah, really happy to win here.“
Verstappen admits “a bit of relief” after winning 2026 F1 Singapore GP
Although the Dutchman is not very moved by the location of his wins, he did admit to feeling “a bit of relief” for finally checking Marina Bay off the list of circuits he hasn’t won at. The four-time champion also revealed he was happy the race was over, as it was very phisically demanding in the Singaporean heat:
“It was a bit of a relief, of course, to win here,” he admitted. “I think when you win for the first time on a track, it’s always very special and nice.
“I was very happy just with the whole weekend. And at the same time, I was probably also very happy that it was over – the race was long enough, and I was sweating a lot.”
Verstappen had to speak “in code” with GP Lambiase after radio issue during 2026 F1 Singapore GP
During the race broadcast, it became clear that Verstappen was suffering from some sort of radio communication issue on his car, which meant he had to speak “in code” with his race engineer GianPiero Lambiase in order to take critical decisions during the Grand Prix, as his end of the radio wasn’t properly working, meaning Verstappen could hear his team, but the team couldn’t hear him.
“Maybe he was happy that it was not working,” Verstappen jokingly said about Lambiase. “I couldn’t really say anything. Yeah, he did try at one point to ask me a few things in code, and I think he understood well what I meant or did not.“
The Dutchman revealed he’s been suffering from radio issues throughout the season, and Singapore is notorious for radio interference due to the circuit’s closeness to buildings, train stations and more over the city.
“But it’s never nice. I’m having already the whole season difficulty with my radio, and this weekend has been particularly bad.”
Verstappen: “Super nice” to share a podium with Lambiase again after nearly a year
Red Bull sent GP Lambiase to the podium as a team representative for their win at the 2026 F1 Singapore GP, with Verstappen claiming it was “super nice” to have his friend and race engineer sharing a victory on the podium again.
He even revealed they had a conversation about sharing “many more” wins after last season’s Las Vegas GP – and joked that he almost “jinxed it” in retrospect:
“I didn’t expect [him on the podium]. I remember he said to me last year in Vegas, ‘this might be the last time I’m on the podium.’
“I said, ‘don’t be silly, you know, we’re going to win much more.’ But yeah, I almost jinxed myself there, I guess.
“It was just super nice that they sent him up. Of course, we all know that he is leaving, but I think it was very special to share the podium here on a track that we had not won together. So yeah, very nice to see him up there.“
After winning two Grand Prix’s in a row, Verstappen has now climbed to fourth in the drivers’ championship, with 221 points to his name, but still 119 behind runaway championship leader Kimi Antonelli.
