F1 Singapore Grand Prix 2026 recap: Verstappen waltzes to first-ever win at Marina Bay
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen picked up his first-ever win in Marina Bay, putting in a commanding drive to win the 2026 Formula One Singapore Grand Prix.
Largely unbothered for the majority of the race barring right at the beginning, the Dutchman converted his 50th career pole to a second win for this season.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished second ahead of current championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who put in another strong drive and made the most of a shocking Ferrari strategy to move closer to his maiden Drivers’ championship title.
As the lights went out, it was Charles Leclerc with the better start. The Ferrari man seemed like he had done enough to snatch the lead heading into Turn 1, but Max Verstappen fought back, sweeping past Leclerc to retake the lead, keeping both the Monégasque and his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, behind him.
Carlos Sainz was one of the biggest gainers on the opening lap, making up three places to move up to P10 by Lap 2. Behind Sainz, the Haas duo of Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon were involved in a tight scrap, with Bearman getting past his teammate on Lap 3 to slot into P11.
At the front, Leclerc kept the pressure on Verstappen, staying under a second of the race leader, with Hamilton almost two seconds further behind. Bearman, on the edge of the points, continued to make moves; on Lap 5 he made a late move on Sainz at Turn 8 and got past him, going inside his VF-26 to move up to P10.
Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto became the first retiree of the race on Lap 8. Bortoleto complained of a gearbox issue, and soon the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was deployed. His R26 was pushed back to the garage, and the VSC ended a lap later as Verstappen got going again with Leclerc right behind him.
While Verstappen led the race, his teammate, Isack Hadjar, was making up places after starting from the pitlane and was up to P17 by Lap 9. Another driver who was making up places after starting at the back due to an engine penalty was George Russell, who was up to P12 by Lap 15, looking to break into the points.
At the front, behind the top two, Hamilton was being pressured by Kimi Antonelli and Lando Norris, who were within two seconds of the veteran Brit, with Antonelli right on his gearbox. Ferrari called in Hamilton for his first stop on Lap 19, and the seven-time world champion rejoined in P7, while Antonelli moved up to third place.
Hamilton moved to soft tyres, having started on a set of mediums, and was soon making moves, getting past Liam Lawson for sixth place with relative ease. Verstappen, at the front, was increasing his lead as Leclerc continued to struggle to keep up with him.
Antonelli was the second driver to pit on Lap 24, and a quick stop from the Mercedes crew helped him come out in P6, just behind Hamilton. The pit stops continued, as Leclerc pitted a lap later and came out just in front of his teammate, leaving the McLaren duo in second and third behind Verstappen.
Hamilton complained to his team about having more pace than Leclerc but being unable to pass him, while Verstappen by Lap 30 was over 19s clear of Norris in second. On lap 31, Alpine’s Franco Colapinto brought out the Yellow Flag as he stopped at Turn 7, but he managed to get himself into the run-off area, avoiding the need for a Safety Car.
Verstappen finally came in for his stop on Lap 33. A swift stop from the Red Bull crew saw him come out in the lead of the race, with Norris following him into the pits and coming out in P6, while Piastri was just over a second behind Verstappen at the front.
Piastri came in for his stop on Lap 34, but a slow stop from the McLaren crew saw him come out in sixth place, well behind his teammate. Leclerc was once again up to second spot, with Hamilton behind him.
The Virtual Safety Car was deployed on Lap 39 as Lance Stroll was forced to retire his AMR26 due to a clutch issue. Leclerc and Antonelli got cheap stops out of the way, but Russell, who came in for his first stop, suffered as he came in as the VSC ended and rejoined in P10. Ferrari, surprisingly, kept Hamilton on the track under the VSC to gain track position.
With 20 laps left, Verstappen held a lead of 8.5s over Hamilton in second place, while Leclerc was almost 8s further behind. Piastri pitted on Lap 42 due to a front-right-tyre puncture and rejoined in P6.
Leclerc moved back up to second place on Lap 46, easing past a much slower Lewis Hamilton, whose soft tyres seemed like they were struggling to keep up with the rest in the final part of the race. Russell, meanwhile, was making places again and was up to P9 on Lap 48, getting past Pierre Gasly. Hamilton had Norris all over his back for the last nine laps.
On Lap 54 Antonelli picked off P4 from Norris as Hamilton went straight on at Turn 1. Norris himself went wide, which saw Antonelli sneak past him and slot behind Hamilton. On lap 55, the young Italian got past Hamilton to move into the podium places. After keeping him behind for a couple of laps, Hamilton could hold up Norris no longer; Norris moved into fourth spot by making the move stick at Turn 10.
The final couple of laps saw little to no action for the front three, while Hamilton had to pull out his defensive moves again with Piastri on his gearbox. On the final lap, Piastri made the move stick after repeated efforts to move into fifth.
In the end, Verstappen eased to his second win of the season, making it back-to-back wins and his first-ever win in Singapore in his 250th race start. Leclerc took second place, with Antonelli finishing third with another strong comeback drive. Norris finished fourth ahead of his teammate, while Hamilton finished sixth due in large part to a dubious strategy from his team. Lawson, Nico Hülkenberg, George Russell, and Isack Hadjar rounded out the rest of the points places, in that order.
With the completion of the Singapore Grand Prix, the triple header comes to an end, with Verstappen going home as the biggest winner with two wins and a P2 finish from the three outings.
Racing will now move to Austin, Texas, for the 2026 United States Grand Prix, with Antonelli standing a chance to clinch the Drivers’ title here should results go his way.
