Round 17 of the 2026 F1 season has been completed at the Singapore GP, view the full race report here.
Sprint Race winner on Saturday, Max Verstappen started on pole position as he had the two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton right behind him. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri completed the big six. George Russell was back in 19th, with Isack Hadjar dead last after lots of component changes.
Pierre Gasly led the midfield group from P7, with Lawson, Lindblad and Hülkenberg completing the top 10 once the penalty to car #63 was applied.
Race start
Off the line, Leclerc got the better launch but was fairly squeezed to the inside by Verstappen. The Dutchman held it around the outside into Turn 1 and kept the lead. The big changes came in the midfield as Lawson and Hülkenberg jumped ahead of Gasly. Carlos Sainz also had a superb one to move into 10th.
It was a horrible first lap for Arvid Lindblad as he fell from 9th to 13th. George Russell made up two spots, as Hadjar cleared Stroll.
Battling for P11, Ollie Bearman engaged in a cracking battle with teammate Esteban Ocon, eventually coming out on top around the outside into Turn 7 after multiple switchbacks. A couple of laps later, the Brit absolutely sent it into Turn 8 on Carlos Sainz to take 10th.
Meanwhile, George Russell was making good progress, passing Albon, Bortoleto, Lindblad and Colapinto to be P13.
VSC deployed
As he was completing Lap 7, Gabriel Bortoleto’s gearbox completely broke. He pulled off near the pit exit, meaning a VSC was thrown. Nobody boxed, however.
On the restart, Isack Hadjar was fully alert and passed both Alonso and Pérez seconds after it went green. The Frenchman then passed Albon and Lindblad to be P15 on Lap 16. The other fast car from the back, Russell overtook Sainz for 12th after multiple laps behind him.
Hamilton pits and starts a chain reaction
Starting on the medium tyres, the only one in the top six, Lewis Hamilton boxed at the end of Lap 18 for softs. He had dropped over 10s off the lead and 7s behind his teammate through the first stint. The seven-time World Champion rejoined in 7th, quickly clearing Liam Lawson for P6.
Five laps later, Kimi Antonelli came in and was out at 3s behind car #44. Leclerc came in a tour later and just rejoined ahead of his teammate.
At the end of Lap 29, Pierre Gasly was the first of the key midfield runners to box from P9. Down at Turn 7, Franco Colapinto stopped but just managed to get to an exit and stop a VSC or SC appearing.
That triggered a lot of stops. Verstappen, the McLarens, Lawson and Hülkenberg all boxed. The Dutchman retained the lead, with Leclerc, Hamilton, Antonelli, Norris and Piastri the order.
Russell was running very long on mediums to create a tyre delta and ran in P7, ahead of Lawson, Hülkenberg and Gasly.
A second VSC appears in 2026 F1 Singapore GP race
After locking up at Turn 15, Lance Stroll was told to stop the car as he had a clutch issue.
Leclerc and Antonelli boxed under the VSC and went back to the softs. They came out behind Hamilton and Norris respectively. Russell pitted as it was ending but got a small benefit to come out in 10th.
On Lap 41, Oscar Piastri had to pit thanks to a slow puncture. He easily retained P6.
With 20 to go, Verstappen led Hamilton, Leclerc, Norris, Antonelli, Piastri, Lawson, Hülkenberg, Gasly and Russell.
On far fresher rubber, Charles Leclerc caught Lewis Hamilton very quickly and passed him into Turn 7 for 2nd on Lap 46. Further down, George Russell went down the inside of Pierre Gasly for 9th a tour later once the Frenchman fell out of overtake mode.
In the final corner, Max Verstappen ran wide and lost over a second as he needed to back out of it. Charles Leclerc was coming hard at it him due to softer and fresher tyres.
Hadjar continued his relentless progress as he passed the Haas drivers and Gasly to take 10th, ending up a spot behind Russell.
Hamilton falls away
As Hamilton was in big trouble with tyres, he came under pressure from Lando Norris and Kimi Antonelli. The World Champion tried to make the move into Turn 1 but both went off. This allowed the Italian to get Norris, before clearing the Ferrari on the straight down to Turn 16. The World Champion followed through a lap later on the exit of Turn 9 with far better traction.
On the penultimate tour, it got even worse for the seven-time World Champion as Oscar Piastri demoted him to P6 with a switchback out of Turn 15.
Max Verstappen wins the 2026 F1 Singapore GP race
Verstappen won by 7.3s to take his first win at Marina Bay. Charles Leclerc was a strong P2, as Kimi Antonelli took the final podium spot.
Norris, Piastri and Hamilton rounded out the top 6, as Russell and Hadjar got to P9 and P10. Lawson and Hülkenberg drove superbly for 7th and 8th.
