11 October 2026, Singapore – From no success at the Marina Bay to a clean sweep, Max Verstappen completed a triumphant Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2026 weekend for Red Bull Racing with his first full Grand Prix win in the Lion City. 

Starting the 62-lap race - his 250th Grand Prix - from his 50th F1 pole, the 29-year-old Dutchman held off Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari to lead into Turn 1 and controlled the race from the front to win by 7.335 seconds from the Monaco driver, with Mercedes’ title-chasing Kimi Antonelli third, almost 25 seconds behind. 

Coming on top of his victory in the first Singapore F1 Sprint race and his two pole positions over the weekend, it was the 29-year-old Dutch driver’s 73rd Grand Prix victory of his 12-season career and moved him up to fourth in the Drivers’ World Championship. 

“It’s taken a while,” said Verstappen, “but I think this race was very good! We’re very happy to win here.” He was quick to agree that his start was crucial: “Yes, you always try to do your best, and luckily it was just good enough.” 

Good enough to keep a lead which he never relinquished as first Leclerc, then Hamilton tried to keep him in their sights. By quarter-distance Verstappen’s lead was four seconds; by half-distance it was almost 20 seconds after the first round of pit stops. Leclerc set the fastest lap of 1 minute 35.202 seconds on lap 41 in pursuit. “We did a slightly different strategy to Max with the Safety Car,” he said. “I pushed a lot at the beginning of that last stint - I gave it my all and I don’t regret anything.” 

A Virtual Safety Car just past halfway shook things up as teams made different choices on whether to take advantage of a pit stop and which tyres to use, and some felt the consequences more than others. But Verstappen was never threatened. 

Hamilton looked likely to make two stops but changed his mind - and was sorry for it as his pace tailed off in the second half of the race. “I let you down with my strategy,” he said over team radio. “It was my call, and I cost you valuable points. I’ll try and make up for it in the next one.” 

Antonelli’s one apparent flaw - his habit of exceeding track limits - almost brought him undone again as he picked up a five-second penalty for a fourth offence, but his comfortable gap to fourth-placed Lando Norris negated the punishment. 

In fact Antonelli’s opportunistic move on lap 54 to pass Norris and then Hamilton was one of the highlights of the race. “It was a very tough race out there,” said the 20-year-old Italian, “but I’m pretty happy with the podium at the end. I managed to take advantage of the fight of Lando and Lewis to make the move on both.” 

Only three of the 22 starters failed to finish: Gabriel Bortoleto’s Audi with gearbox trouble after seven laps, Franco Colapinto’s Alpine with a driveline problem on lap 31, and Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin on lap 36 with clutch failure. 

Not only did Verstappen claim his first Singapore Grand Prix win, he also became the ninth different winner at the Marina Bay and is confident he and Red Bull can carry this momentum into the remaining rounds of the season. 

Porsche ARbox Carrera Cup Asia 

New Zealand’s Marco Giltrap produced his own clean sweep in Singapore, winning both races in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia’s final round. The 22-year-old Team Porsche New Zealand driver held off Marcus Amand in the BWT Shanghai Yonda entry by just 0.356 of a second as he claimed the overall series title.