F1 | Singapore GP | Race | Russell earns redemption; McLaren retains Teams’ Championship

Karishma Persad030 mins
George Russell, 2025 F1 Singapore GP, Race 2025 Singapore Grand Prix , Friday, Richard Pardon
Photo Credit: Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team
Spread the love

The 2025 Formula 1 Singapore GP unfolded beneath the dazzling lights of Marina Bay, marking one of the most demanding and unpredictable races of the season. With its tight corners, unforgiving walls, and sweltering humidity, the street circuit once again tested both driver skill and team strategy to the limit. George Russell, starting from pole for Mercedes, aimed to convert his strong qualifying performance into victory, while Max Verstappen, alongside him on the front row, sought to close the gap in the championship fight. Behind them, the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri prepared to mount a serious challenge, adding another layer of intrigue after recent internal tension. With Ferrari, Red Bull, and Mercedes all in contention, and the midfield packed with ambitious rookies and seasoned veterans, the stage was perfectly set for an intense night of strategy, precision, and resilience under Singapore’s unforgiving glare.

Russell on pole; Gasly and Albon start from pit lane

Under the dazzling Marina Bay lights, George Russell started from pole position, having delivered a superb qualifying performance for Mercedes, while Max Verstappen lined up alongside him in second, eager to challenge for victory. Oscar Piastri took third for McLaren, giving the team a strong launch point for the race ahead.

Kimi Antonelli, starting fourth, completed an all-Mercedes second row, continuing his impressive rookie form. Just behind, Lando Norris lined up fifth, determined to turn McLaren’s pace into points. Lewis Hamilton, in sixth, led Ferrari’s charge, while Charles Leclerc, starting seventh, aimed to recover after brushing the wall during qualifying.

Isack Hadjar in eighth once again impressed for Racing Bulls, followed by Oliver Bearman in ninth, marking another strong effort for Haas. Fernando Alonso rounded out the top ten, positioning his Aston Martin well for a potential points finish.

Behind them, Nico Hülkenberg started eleventh for Sauber, ahead of Liam Lawson, who recovered strongly after his FP3 crash. Yuki Tsunoda began from thirteenth, followed by Gabriel Bortoleto in fourteenth and Lance Stroll in fifteenth. Franco Colapinto lined up sixteenth for Alpine, ahead of Esteban Ocon in seventeenth.

Carlos Sainz started eighteenth after a post-Qualifying disqualification for a technical breach involving his car’s DRS system. Both Pierre Gasly and Alexander Albon were required to start from the pit lane after their teams made changes under Parc Fermé conditions, including floor and suspension modifications.

With Mercedes controlling the front, Red Bull ready to attack, and McLaren and Ferrari close behind, the stage was perfectly set for an intense night of strategy, precision, and survival through Singapore’s unforgiving streets.

The start: Russell leads as McLaren clash sparks early drama

The twenty drivers embarked on the formation lap around a damp but steadily drying Marina Bay circuit, all committing to slick tyres. On the front row, Max Verstappen, starting from P2, opted for the soft compound to maximise grip off the line. He shared that strategy with Hadjar, Alonso, Tsunoda, Stroll, and Colapinto, while the rest of the field—including pole-sitter George Russell—selected the more durable medium compound. After an uneventful formation lap, the eighteen cars took their places on the grid, as Gasly and Albon remained in the pit lane to begin their races.

When the lights went out, Russell launched perfectly, defending the inside line through Turn 1 and immediately establishing control of the race. Verstappen, caught between the two McLarens, lost momentum after light contact, allowing the Mercedes driver to stretch an early lead. The McLaren pair produced the opening flashpoint of the race, as Lando Norris forced his way past Oscar Piastri for third place, though the move cost him a small fragment of his front wing.

Further back, Charles Leclerc made an electric start from P7, climbing two positions to settle into fifth, just behind the McLarens. In contrast, Kimi Antonelli slipped to sixth, while Lewis Hamilton fell to seventh, conceding ground to his Ferrari teammate. Race Control swiftly reviewed the McLaren clash and confirmed no further action would be taken.

In the midfield, Fernando Alonso muscled past Bearman and Hadjar to seize eighth, leaving the rookies ninth and tenth. Esteban Ocon, meanwhile, dispatched Yuki Tsunoda for sixteenth.

As the opening lap stabilised, Russell led confidently, Verstappen regrouped in pursuit, and the field braced for a long, tactical evening ahead.

Early tension at McLaren

Inside the McLaren garage, tension began to build. Piastri, frustrated by the early contact with his teammate, questioned the team’s handling of the situation. McLaren, however, maintained that Norris’s move had been necessary to remain within striking distance of Verstappen, particularly given the Red Bull driver’s soft-tyre advantage. With Race Control opting not to intervene, the team refrained from imposing internal orders mid-race, instead assuring Piastri that the incident would be reviewed after the Grand Prix.

Settling into rhythm

By Lap 8, the race began to stabilise, though Esteban Ocon reported brake issues over team radio. Despite the problem, he managed to hold position against Tsunoda’s pressure.

Further up the order, Norris turned his focus towards Verstappen, eyeing a potential fight for the Drivers’ Championship. The gap between the two remained at around 1.5 seconds, denying Norris access to DRS. Despite Verstappen’s soft tyres and reported downshift struggles, the Red Bull driver remained composed, keeping the McLaren at bay.

Behind them, Piastri, running fourth, maintained a steady 3.5-second gap to his teammate, conserving tyres and awaiting strategic openings. With over a second separating most cars by Lap 12, the race settled into a measured rhythm.

One of the few exceptions was Hamilton, who continued to apply pressure on Antonelli for sixth place, while Russell remained untroubled out front. The Mercedes driver extended his lead to 6.7 seconds over Verstappen, securing the fastest lap and consolidating his early dominance in Singapore.

The pit stops start

Lap 14 marked the beginning of the first pit stops. Gabriel Bortoleto came in for a new front wing and tyres after earlier contact with Lance Stroll had damaged his endplate. Meanwhile, Yuki Tsunoda, running in P18 and struggling on his softs, switched to the hard compound in search of longevity. Lando Norris brushed the wall moments later but escaped without visible damage, while Franco Colapinto became the first Alpine to stop, changing to mediums.

McLaren eyes the undercut as Ferrari responds

By Lap 16, McLaren instructed Norris to consider an undercut on Verstappen, whose soft tyres were nearing their limit. Despite the Dutchman’s tyre wear, he held firm in P2, reluctant to pit early and risk rejoining behind traffic. However, McLaren’s inconsistent pit record weighed on Norris’s decision; while confident in pace, he knew that a slow stop could undo his hard work.

By Lap 19, Verstappen had fallen nearly nine seconds behind Russell, with Norris closing to 1.1 seconds. Red Bull reacted on Lap 20, bringing Verstappen in for hard tyres. A slightly sluggish stop saw him rejoin just ahead of Fernando Alonso, maintaining track position. With Verstappen on hards, his priority became bringing them up to temperature and managing wear to reach the finish.

As the pit cycle developed, Norris closed the gap to Russell to under 10 seconds by Lap 22, while Charles Leclerc pitted to cover off Antonelli. Despite a clean stop, the Ferrari driver rejoined behind traffic, slipping to P10. He swiftly passed Hülkenberg, climbing to P9 by Lap 23, just 2.3 seconds behind Bearman, who then pitted on Lap 24, promoting Leclerc to P8, behind Alonso.

Verstappen vs. Hamilton as Mercedes and McLaren make their moves

Meanwhile, Verstappen began closing on Hamilton, who appeared to lack pace in comparison to the Red Bull. With the gap down to 1.6 seconds, a battle loomed. At the same time, Russell reported tyre degradation, bringing Norris’s threat back into play. The McLaren, still on original mediums, trailed by just under nine seconds but carried better pace. Hamilton soon pitted, rejoining P9, while Piastri stayed out to protect his position from Leclerc.

On Lap 26, both Mercedes drivers stopped. Russell, first in, rejoined P3 after a strong stop, while Antonelli emerged in P7, splitting the Ferraris. McLaren faced a crucial choice—pit Norris or allow Piastri priority. After brief hesitation, Norris boxed, prioritising his fight for the win over Piastri’s duel with Leclerc. He rejoined P4, 4.5 seconds behind Verstappen. Piastri pitted the following lap, suffering a slightly slower stop but retaining position ahead of Leclerc, who remained roughly three seconds behind.

Further back, Ollie Bearman executed a bold, calculated move on Albon to rise to P12, while Isack Hadjar reported an engine issue that compromised his pace and dropped him to P14. Fernando Alonso, delayed by a slow stop, rejoined in P15, as Antonelli closed to within 0.7 seconds of Leclerc, placing himself firmly within DRS range.

Mid-Race: Russell controls the lead as Verstappen struggles

At the midpoint of the race, George Russell continued to control proceedings, maintaining a lead of over 3.5 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen. Although the Red Bull driver began to chip away at the margin, his progress remained gradual and inconsistent. Behind them, Lando Norris held a comfortable nine-second gap over his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, while Charles Leclerc, in fifth, trailed Piastri by around 7.5 seconds.

In sixth, Kimi Antonelli struggled to stay within reach of Leclerc, slowly losing time as Lewis Hamilton shadowed him within a four-second window. Further down, Liam Lawson, on medium tyres, ran a lonely race in P8, nearly 20 seconds adrift of Hamilton. Lance Stroll, on softs, followed in P9, ahead of Carlos Sainz, who was defending P10 from a determined Ollie Bearman.

Alexander Albon, who started from the pit lane, continued his recovery drive in P12, ahead of Isack Hadjar (P13), Fernando Alonso (P14), Franco Colapinto (P15), and Yuki Tsunoda (P16). The Saubers of Hülkenberg and Bortoleto occupied P17 and P18, with Pierre Gasly in P19. Esteban Ocon, having stopped on Lap 32, fell to the back, though he remained close to Gasly while bringing his hard tyres up to temperature—positioned to benefit once Lawson, Stroll, Sainz, and Albon eventually pitted.

Verstappen falters as Norris closes in

By Lap 36, Verstappen, who had closed to within three seconds of Russell, suffered a lock-up, losing nearly two seconds and slipping 4.9 seconds behind. Over the radio, he reported continued drivability problems, particularly with downshifts, which had plagued him since the opening laps.

The mistake offered Russell valuable breathing room, but simultaneously placed Verstappen under threat from Norris, whose fresher tyres allowed him to close to 1.8 seconds. Meanwhile, Piastri remained more than eight seconds adrift, with Leclerc a further 11.3 seconds back in fifth.

Further down the order, tensions flared between Alonso and Hadjar. The Racing Bulls rookie, still hampered by his engine issue, fiercely defended P13 against the Aston Martin driver. Alonso’s growing frustration was evident over team radio, and moments later, the veteran forced his way through, ending Hadjar’s valiant—though ultimately unsuccessful—defence.

As Stroll pitted, dropping to the rear of the field, Verstappen voiced fresh concerns about rear brake performance, requesting guidance from his engineer. Norris, now within striking range, complained about the effects of dirty air, but McLaren encouraged him to press on, assuring him that Verstappen was struggling even in clean air—adding further tension to the fight at the front.

Unfortunately, the dirty air did begin to affect Norris’s race. The McLaren driver had a tricky moment at the final chicane, narrowly avoiding the wall. The slide cost him eight-tenths of a second, widening the gap to Verstappen to over 2.5 seconds. At the same time, it cut his advantage to Piastri, who had quietly closed in to within six seconds of his teammate—bringing both McLarens back into a delicate balance as the race entered its crucial final stages.

The field tightens behind the leaders

While significant gaps separated the drivers at the front, the same could not be said for those in the bottom half of the order. On Lap 43, Pierre Gasly and Gabriel Bortoleto went side-by-side in a spirited battle for P16, with Bortoleto ultimately holding position, though Gasly remained close behind. At the same time, Alexander Albon pitted for soft tyres, dropping several places, while Yuki Tsunoda swept past a struggling Franco Colapinto, who was fighting to preserve his medium tyres. Moments later, Nico Hülkenberg suffered contact that tore off part of his front wing endplate, and his misfortune compounded a lap later when a lock-up and spin relegated him to the back, four seconds behind Albon.

Up front, Russell and Verstappen encountered traffic, lapping backmarkers amid a cluster of slower cars. Russell, managing his pace, grew frustrated when Lance Stroll failed to yield promptly under blue flags. Verstappen, meanwhile, admitted over the radio that he was uncomfortable in the car, as Norris closed to within 0.7 seconds. Deprived of DRS, Verstappen was vulnerable, and Norris capitalised, trimming the gap to under 0.6 seconds by the next detection point.

However, the traffic soon complicated matters. Russell carved through cleanly, building a cushion before reaching Tsunoda, while Verstappen and Norris weaved through the likes of Gasly and Bortoleto, the McLaren driver glued to Verstappen’s gearbox. A minor slide for Norris into Turn 17, though, cost him a few tenths. Meanwhile, Tom Stallard warned Piastri to prepare for congestion as he approached the backmarkers. The Australian’s response was one of frustration, his tone reflecting the growing pressure of a race slipping from his grasp—and with it, a dent to his championship ambitions.

Battles through the pack

By Lap 50, Verstappen had re-established a 0.7-second cushion over Norris, while the gap between the two McLarens extended beyond six seconds. Leclerc, running fifth, was 10 seconds adrift of Piastri but faced increasing pressure from Antonelli, who was only 1.4 seconds behind. Hamilton, on fresh soft tyres, sat in P7, holding the fastest lap, while Fernando Alonso, on mediums, remained eighth, a full 46 seconds further back.

Carlos Sainz, still yet to pit, ran ninth, though he dropped down the order after stopping on Lap 52. His stop freed Ollie Bearman, who had been trapped behind him, to climb into P9, while the struggling Isack Hadjar inherited P10, the final points-paying position—though under heavy fire from his former teammate Tsunoda, just 0.6 seconds behind in the RB21.

At the front, the battle for P2 reignited as Verstappen and Norris closed in on Hadjar and Tsunoda, both yet to be lapped. Norris seized the moment, launching his first serious attack on the Red Bull into the braking zone. Despite the high-risk move, both drivers escaped unscathed, with Piastri narrowing the gap to 3.2 seconds behind.

Leclerc loses position as Verstappen and Norris fight for P2

Elsewhere, Antonelli, who had shadowed Leclerc for much of the race, finally made his move, overtaking the Monegasque with precision and bringing Ferrari’s internal duel to an end. Moments later, Hamilton, continuing his charge on the softs, caught and passed Leclerc to claim P6, relegating his teammate further down the order.

With Alonso a distant 51 seconds behind, the Spaniard provided a buffer zone, holding P7 despite fading pace. At the front, Russell maintained command—over six seconds clear of Verstappen—and though wary of traffic, appeared comfortable with just five laps remaining.

Yet the tension was not over. Norris, refusing to yield, cut the gap to under a second, placing himself back within DRS range of Verstappen as the final laps approached—setting the stage for a dramatic showdown under the lights of Marina Bay.

Russell seals victory; McLaren seals 2025 F1 Teams’ Championship title

On the penultimate lap, Lewis Hamilton allowed Charles Leclerc back through for P6, returning the position after leading his teammate for much of the race. With Antonelli too far ahead and Alonso well behind, the fight for sixth was a matter of team management, particularly as Hamilton reported brake issues. The problem forced him to straight-line several corners, earning a black and white flag for track limit violations. On the final lap, he was warned again, with the FIA Stewards announcing a post-race investigation that could bring a penalty.

At the front, George Russell remained composed to claim a dominant win at the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix, finishing 5.430 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen. Despite battling brake and drivability issues, Verstappen successfully defended from Lando Norris, who completed the podium in third.

Oscar Piastri finished fourth, ensuring both McLarens scored heavily. Though tension lingered from their opening-lap clash, the result marked a major milestone as McLaren reclaimed the Constructors’ Championship with several rounds to spare. For Norris, the finish reduced his Drivers’ Championship gap to 22 points, keeping his title hopes alive.

Kimi Antonelli secured an impressive fifth place, ahead of Leclerc and the ailing Hamilton in sixth and seventh. Fernando Alonso, after a combative race, brought his Aston Martin home in eighth, while Ollie Bearman earned more points with ninth.

From the back of the grid, Carlos Sainz recovered to take tenth, overtaking Isack Hadjar in the final laps to claim the last championship point after Williams’ earlier disqualification for a technical infringement.

As the chequered flag fell under the Singapore lights, Russell celebrated a flawless victory, while the championship battle tightened heading into the final rounds.

2025 F1 Singapore GP Race Results:

  1. George Russell
  2. Max Verstappen
  3. Lando Norris
  4. Oscar Piastri
  5. Kimi Antonelli
  6. Charles Leclerc
  7. Lewis Hamilton
  8. Fernando Alonso
  9. Oliver Bearman
  10. Carlos Sainz
  11. Isack Hadjar
  12. Yuki Tsunoda
  13. Lance Stroll
  14. Alexander Albon
  15. Liam Lawson
  16. Franco Colapinto
  17. Gabriel Bortoleto
  18. Esteban Ocon
  19. Pierre Gasly
  20. Nico Hülkenberg

Related News

×
Cookies
We serve cookies. If you think that's ok, just click "Accept all". You can also choose what kind of cookies you want by clicking "Settings".
Settings Refuse all Accept all
Cookies
Choose what kind of cookies to accept. Your choice will be saved for one year.
Save Refuse all Accept all