All of the drivers began the Singapore Grand Prix on slick tyres, but parts of the Marina Bay circuit were still damp after earlier rain. Russell lined up on pole position, with Verstappen alongside and Piastri starting third. Hamilton was among several drivers who had nervous moments on the formation lap, sliding wide at Turn 13.

At the start, Russell launched well while Verstappen cut across to defend against the McLarens. Norris came charging through from fifth, making contact with Verstappen’s rear tyre before bouncing into Piastri. The two McLaren teammates touched wheels, Norris lost part of his front wing, and Piastri was left unimpressed. “That wasn’t very team like,” he told the pit wall, adding: “Are we cool with Lando barging me out of the way?” The stewards took no further action, but the atmosphere in the McLaren garage was tense.

Further back, Leclerc jumped up the order from seventh to fifth, passing Antonelli and Hamilton. Rookie Hadjar briefly held eighth, but Alonso soon forced his way by, also overtaking Oliver Bearman to climb into the points.

Russell quickly set the pace, pulling out a five-second lead over Verstappen by lap 10. His medium tyres proved far stronger than Verstappen’s softs, while the top ten remained unchanged. Gabriel Bortoleto pitted on lap 14 for a new front wing after early contact, joined by Yuki Tsunoda, while Norris reported he had brushed the wall at Turn 17.

McLaren tried to outwit Red Bull with a fake pit call for Norris on lap 18, but Verstappen’s crew didn’t react. Instead, Verstappen stopped on lap 20, switching to hard tyres and rejoining in seventh. Hadjar also pitted but dropped well down the order. Frustrated, Verstappen told his engineer that “everything” was against him.

Leclerc stopped soon after, followed by Hamilton on lap 25, allowing Verstappen to climb back into the top five. Russell, still leading comfortably, came in on lap 26 for hard tyres, rejoining third. Antonelli pitted at the same time and slotted into seventh.

McLaren then managed their own stops. Norris came in on lap 27, rejoining just behind Verstappen in fourth. Piastri, however, suffered a slow stop, losing several seconds and emerging behind Norris. With the first round of pit stops complete, the order was Russell, Verstappen, Norris, Piastri, Leclerc, Antonelli and Hamilton.

On fresh tyres, Verstappen began to close on Russell, cutting the gap from nine seconds to under three with 30 laps still to run. Norris, too, looked quicker than the leader, while Verstappen struggled with his Red Bull. He described the car as “**** to drive” and later asked for help after another braking mistake. Alonso, meanwhile, fought hard with Hadjar, passing the rookie and calling himself “hero of the race” over the radio. Nico Hulkenberg then had a scary moment at Turn 7, when he spun but luckily managed to avoid the wall.

As the final stint unfolded, Russell re-established control, stretching his advantage back above four seconds. Verstappen complained about blue flags as he tried to lap Lance Stroll, while Norris shadowed the Red Bull and Piastri followed a few seconds further back.

The closing laps brought plenty of action. Norris pressed Verstappen hard, even lunging down the inside with nine laps remaining, but the Dutchman defended firmly. Piastri closed in but could not quite join the battle. Behind them, Antonelli overtook Leclerc for fifth, before Ferrari asked Leclerc to let Hamilton through in the hope of chasing down the Mercedes rookie.

Russell remained untroubled at the front, bringing his Mercedes home to take victory by over five seconds. Verstappen held on to second, while Norris completed the podium. Piastri was fourth, ensuring McLaren scored enough points to secure the Constructors’ title with several races to spare.

Antonelli crossed the line in fifth, capping an impressive drive. Leclerc and Hamilton finished sixth and seventh, while Alonso, Bearman and Sainz completed the top ten.

2025 Singapore Grand Prix results: