Verstappen closed the gestalt in Singapore: the first victory at Marina Bay

Max Verstappen scored a landslide victory at the Singapore Grand Prix, starting from pole position and finishing a perfect weekend, which also included a triumph in the sprint race. For the Dutch Red Bull driver, this is his second consecutive win of the season and his first success at the Marina Bay city circuit, allowing him to close the gestalt of unfinished business in Singapore. Second finished Charles Leclerc on Ferrari, and closed the podium of Kimi Antonelli from Mercedes, which significantly came close to winning the championship title.

Verstappen controlled the course of the race from the first meters, repelling an attempted attack from Leclerc. The Ferrari pilot reacted to the starting signal faster than the pole holder and almost equaled it on the approach to the first corner, but the Red Bull driver maneuvered to the left blocked the trajectory, retaining the lead. Subsequently, Verstappen increased the advantage on the soft composition of the tires, despite the calls of engineers to save the resources of the car due to the threat from Ferrari, preparing a strategy with a pit stop. The Dutchman himself drove into the boxes on the 33rd lap and thanks to the accumulated handicap returned to the track leader.

Kimi Antonelli, who finished third, increased the lead from his Mercedes team-mate George Russell to 102 points. Now the Italian has a mathematical chance to issue a championship title at the next stage in Austin. The pilot expressed surprise at this prospect, but stressed that he intends to focus on the quality of the weekend and bring it to the end.

Lewis Hamilton, who qualified third, had an unsuccessful race, finishing it only in sixth place. The Briton faced serious problems with the degradation of tires on the middle train, which forced Ferrari to call him early to the pit stop for “software”. Hamilton's attempts to get ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc, who held his foot on lap 25 and was ahead, were unsuccessful due to team tactics. The disappointment of the pilot resulted in emotional negotiations on the radio, but Leclerc did not make concessions, demonstrating the best lap of the race on the track.

The departure of Lance Stroll from Aston Martin due to clutch problems provoked the emergence of a virtual safety car. This event disrupted the strategic plans of George Russell, who started from the last rows due to fines for replacing elements of the power plant. The virtual security machine ended before he had time to complete the pit stop, relegating him to ninth place. Ahead of Russell finished Liam Lawson and Nico Hulkenberg, and the tenth line of the protocol was taken by Isaac Hajar, who also started the race at the end of the peloton.

In the second half of the distance, Verstappen encountered problems in radio communication. The engineering bridge had to use encoded messages and ask the pilot to press the microphone button to give signals or silence to confirm the choice in order to transmit the necessary information.

The race final was a tough test for Lewis Hamilton. After Charles Leclerc on the 46th lap ahead of his team-mate and fixed on the second position, Hamilton's pace fell sharply. On the 54th lap, Lando Norris tried to attack the Briton, but Ferrari, losing clutch, flew off the track. Taking advantage of the situation, Kimi Antonelli beat both rivals, and then went to third place. In the final minutes of the race Hamilton was also ahead of the drivers McLaren: Norris took advantage of the moment in Turn 10 and Oscar Piastri struck the final shot on the final lap, pushing the seven-time world champion to sixth position.