As RaceFans reports, Max Verstappen finally conquered the Singapore Grand Prix at his 10th attempt, securing his 73rd career victory with a dominant drive that ended one of the most glaring omissions on his resume. The Red Bull driver had started second on four previous occasions, turning three of those into runner-up finishes while suffering a first-turn wipeout courtesy of the Ferrari drivers on the other. After claiming his maiden pole position at the Marina Bay circuit, the Dutchman never surrendered the lead, commanding every single lap of the race. Even so, a late charge by rivals on the preferred soft tyres meant he missed out on the fastest lap and thus his seventh career grand slam.
That triumph brings Verstappen's tally of winning circuits to 27, a number bettered only by Lewis Hamilton on 31. Right now, Verstappen has won at every single track on the current calendar with just one exception: the Madring, which hosted its inaugural grand prix this year. But capturing a clean sweep of every track on the schedule will demand wins at three new rounds next year, as two venues where he has previously raced without winning are set to return on the 2027 F1 calendar. Hamilton shares this exact mathematical challenge, holding the distinction of being the last driver to complete a clean sweep when he won the French Grand Prix in 2018. Hamilton maintained that streak through the 2020 pandemic-expanded calendar until his run finally snapped at Zandvoort in 2021. Doing it next year will demand conquering an expanded 24-circuit calendar compared to the 21 tracks Hamilton faced in 2018.
Verstappen's weekend also added more milestone numbers to his legendary status. Following his 50th pole position achieved last weekend in his 250th race start, he joined an elite club alongside Ayrton Senna, Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, and Sebastian Vettel. Furthermore, his lights-to-flag victory extended a trend at the venue, marking the fourth consecutive year the Singapore Grand Prix has been won from pole and the fourth lights-to-flag winner in the last five years, following Sergio Perez in 2022 from second on the grid, Carlos Sainz Jnr in 2023, and Lando Norris in 2024.
Further down the pit lane, the constructor battles continue to throw up fascinating contrasts. Red Bull started the year just one win behind Mercedes, but a strong campaign from the latter means Red Bull's wins in the last two rounds still leave them 10 behind, even if Red Bull successfully ended Mercedes' streak of leading at least one lap in every race this year. Meanwhile, Racing Bulls crossed the 100-point threshold, marking their highest score since 2021 during their AlphaTauri era and eclipsing last year's total. Alpine endured a painful weekend as their scoreless streak stretched to three races, highlighted by Pierre Gasly missing out on the points by a single position in both the sprint and the grand prix. Williams also left empty-handed, despite Carlos Sainz Jnr climbing into the top 10 early on during his 250th grand prix weekend appearance before tumbling back to 14th at the finish.
