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The 2026 Singapore Grand Prix delivered an unforgettable weekend at the Marina Bay Street Circuit for Round 17 and the final Sprint of the season. Max Verstappen added another momentous victory to his tally, though plenty of other drama unfolded across the three days, from a McLaren intra-team crash to a costly strategy blunder for Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen's dominance was total across Sprint Qualifying, the Sprint race, main Qualifying, and the Grand Prix itself. Despite F1 records spanning a decade, a Singapore win had always eluded the Dutchman, with three second-place finishes and four podiums previously. At his 10th attempt, he finally secured P1. Backing up his and Red Bull's first win of the season in Malaysia, the result puts Verstappen fourth in the Drivers' Championship, with the Milton Keynes-based squad closing in on McLaren in the Teams' battle. Marking his 250th Grand Prix start, Verstappen celebrated his maiden Singapore triumph and noted the strong motivation within the team.
Charles Leclerc and Ferrari emerged as the primary threat, with Leclerc lining up second and teammate Hamilton third. A strategic split saw Leclerc and polesitter Verstappen choose soft tyres, while Hamilton started on mediums. Leclerc backed out of a move on Verstappen at Turn 1, and the soft tyre proved far superior. Under a Virtual Safety Car, Leclerc pitted for fresh tyres while Hamilton stayed out to attempt to finish on ageing softs. The call backfired as Hamilton tumbled down the order behind Kimi Antonelli, Lando Norris, and Oscar Piastri to finish P6. Hamilton took full responsibility for missing the pit entry and struggling with massive tyre degradation, apologizing to the team for the lost points while Leclerc safely followed Verstappen home in P2.
Antonelli stuck with Mercedes' recent upgrade and claimed third on Sunday after passing both Norris and the struggling Hamilton in the closing stages, supplementing his points haul with fourth in the Sprint. With a 102-point margin over teammate George Russell, Antonelli could mathematically claim the title at the next round in the United States of America. Russell endured another difficult weekend, starting from the back due to power unit component changes. Russell initially took the lead of a wet Sprint from Verstappen, but hit the kerb on the exit of the final corner and crashed into the pit wall on the opening lap. On Sunday, Russell drove a steady recovery to finish P9, leaving his title hopes practically over behind Liam Lawson's Racing Bulls and Nico Hulkenberg's Audi.
McLaren lacked the outright pace of Red Bull, Mercedes, and Ferrari, leaving Norris and Piastri fifth and sixth on the grid. Norris admitted he was not happy with P4. Saturday's Sprint provided even greater friction when Norris and Piastri collided on the final lap at Turn 5. Norris spun and reached the chequered flag in P8, arguing he had the right to make the move, while an eliminated Piastri felt Norris was a reasonable way behind. Stewards took no further action, but Team Principal Andrea Stella expressed his disappointment with his drivers.
Away from the track, the Marina Bay paddock drew significant star power. Footballer Paul Pogba, basketball stars Dwayne Wade and Chris Paul, and Olympic champion freestyle skier Eileen Gu walked the grid. K-pop acts Cortis watched from the Red Bull garage, and Tzuyu from Twice visited the Williams team. Model Romeo Beckham and Kim Turnbull visited the Alpine garage, while Kim Kardashian was in the paddock to support Hamilton.
