Autobayng News Team
George Russell claimed his second victory of the season with a commanding drive from pole position in the Singapore Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver kept his lead as the race began, despite Max Verstappen alongside him opting to start on soft tyres while most others chose mediums.
As the threat from Verstappen failed to materialise over the opening laps, Russell drew steadily clear of his pursuers, building a lead of over eight seconds.
Lando Norris took up pursuit of Verstappen after barging his way past his team mate at the start. The championship leader was clearly unhappy with Norris’s driving, and prompted McLaren for their views on the situation, but the team left the running order unchanged.
As Verstappen’s soft tyres began to fade, he opted to make an early pit stop. McLaren gave Norris the option to pit after Piastri, but he chose to come in first. That potentially proved beneficial, as Piastri suffered a slow pit stop which cost him precious seconds.
Over the second half of the race, Verstappen increasingly struggled with his car’s handling, which allowed Norris to draw within range. The McLaren driver got close enough to have a look at his rival on the outside of turn seven once, but was unable to make a move stick, while Piastri behind drew within range.
Lewis Hamilton briefly held fifth place after making a second pit stop for a set of soft tyres. However he immediately began to struggle with his brakes and dropped back behind Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc. Fernando Alonso chased him home on the final lap and finished less than half a second behind him, but Hamilton is under investigation for a track limits violation and could face a penalty.
Oliver Bearman took ninth, while Isack Hadjar lost 10th place as he struggled with a power unit problem. Carlos Sainz Jnr capitalised, salvaging a point for Williams after starting at the back of the grid following the team’s double disqualification yesterday.
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2025 Singapore Grand Prix
- McLaren’s pit problems strike again – three of their last four stops were slow
- Track surface changes key to surprise Singapore GP win – Russell
- Norris defends first lap move on Piastri: ‘If you fault me, you shouldn’t be in F1’
- Ferrari warned Hamilton not to cut corners. He claimed it was “force majeure”
- McLaren satisfied first-lap incident between Norris and Piastri was “just hard racing”
