Red Bull’s Max Verstappen coasts to maiden F1 Singapore Grand Prix victory

SINGAPORE – On his 10th attempt, Max Verstappen can finally call himself a winner of the Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix.

On Oct 11, the Red Bull driver successfully converted pole to victory in the 17th edition of the Singapore race.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Mercedes’ championship leader Kimi Antonelli were second and third respectively.

As Verstappen crossed the finish line after 62 laps, fireworks erupted above the 4.927km Marina Bay Street Circuit, injecting a much-needed burst of colour into a skyline shrouded in haze over the past week.

But what was clear was that Verstappen had enjoyed a perfect weekend on a track where a win had eluded him in nine previous attempts. The Singapore Grand Prix is one of the few races that the Dutchman had never won till now, despite coming close thrice after finishing second in 2025, 2024 and 2018.

This time, on his 250th career F1 Grand Prix weekend, the four-time world champion reached the top of the podium in Singapore.

A day before his maiden grand prix triumph here, the Dutchman won the first-ever sprint race in Singapore before clinching the 50th pole of his career to cap a dominant Saturday.

The victory in Singapore is just Verstappen’s second of the 2026 season and his 73rd career win.

Verstappen, who made his Singapore GP debut in 2015, finishing eighth for Toro Rosso during his first F1 season, clinched his first victory in 16 races in the 2026 season at the previous weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Sepang, Malaysia.

After back-to-back wins on both sides of the Causeway, Verstappen has climbed to fourth in the drivers’ championship standings with 221 points.

Antonelli retains a healthy lead over teammate George Russell with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton in third with six races remaining in the 2026 F1 season.

Verstappen’s victory means that the night race here has now been won from pole position 12 times out of 17 editions and in four consecutive editions since 2023.

The Dutchman is also the seventh different winner of the Singapore race in as many editions since 2018. The 2020 and 2021 editions were cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 2025 edition was won by Russell, who had also clinched pole in qualifying then, with Verstappen finishing second and Norris rounding up the podium.

Deepanraj Ganesan is a sports correspondent at The Straits Times focusing on football, athletics, combat sports and policy-related news.