It was a flawless drive for George Russell under the lights at Marina Bay Street Circuit, as the Mercedes driver turned his pole position into a maiden Singapore Grand Prix win. Max Verstappen secured second place for Red Bull ahead of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who brought the 2025 World Constructor’s Championship trophy to McLaren this race.
Russell On A Mission
It was smooth sailing at the top for George Russell, who turned an unexpected pole position into a second victory of the year, and first one on the streets of Singapore. The Briton avenged his past shortcomings at the night track in spite of difficult first two free practice sessions.
However, the Mercedes driver dominated the rest of the race weekend and put on a flawless drive to snatch his fifth career victory in Formula 1.
Talking to Jenson Button post-race, Russell acknowledged:
“I’m so grateful for the team, they did an amazing job this whole weekend. We don’t really know where this performance came from, but I’m really happy.”
McLaren Crowned World Champions
It was a tense race start for the McLaren drivers, as contact between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri hindered the championship leader’s race early on. The Australian voiced his dissapproval at the lack of action against his teammate.
Later, Norris was asked whether he should come into the pits or let his team mate box before him as a chance to fend off Leclerc, but the Briton refused and went ahead. Then followed Piastri who, with a slow pit stop at 5.2s, ultimately secured fourth place.
However, Norris found himself struggling at times, as the pressure to chase down Verstappen had the championship runner up barely keeping the car from hitting the wall. It was later in the race that Norris was right on the tail of the Dutchman’s Red Bull, but the four time world champion kept him behind and defended his second place.
In the end, it was third place for Norris and fourth for Piastri, who grabbed just enough points for McLaren to be officially crowned the 2025 World Constructors Champions.
A Quiet Singapore Grand Prix
Although the free practice sessions teased a tight and eventful Sunday, it was a clean race in Singapore, with no safety car on track or retirements. A swift yellow flag was brought by Nico Hulkenberg’s Kick Sauber as he locked up chasing down Pierre Gasly in the Alpine, but the German kept the engine running and quickly returned on track.
Nonetheless, it was a display of rookie masterclass at the Marina Bay. Haas’ Ollie Bearman and Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli overtook Albon and Leclerc respectively late on the breaks and both secured top 10 finishes. Isack Hadjar fiercely fought off a charging Fernando Alonso before ultimately being passed by the Spaniard, in spite of running into engine trouble.
It looked hopeful for Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari towards the last stint, with the seven time world champion on his way to catch up to Antonelli in fifth in a new set of fresh tyres. However, break issues found him back in P7, right behind teammate Charles Leclerc.
With six races left in the season, McLaren has already been crowned the 2025 champion. The question, however, still remains if one of their drivers will also snatch a maiden drivers’ championship. Norris and Piastri seem set to continue their battle for the title, but with Verstappen more and more comfortably back in the mix, there’s everything still to play for.