The hot and humid streets of the Marina Bay circuit in downtown Singapore were the location for this weekend’s Formula 1 action, and, following today’s nighttime Grand Prix, it was Mercedes’ George Russell who claimed a clear-cut lights-to-flag victory. Furthermore, McLaren clinched the 2025 Constructors’ Championship title, having won it last year too at the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi.

On the news front, during the two-week interval since the previous round in Azerbaijan, the Red Bull team confirmed that its former CEO and team principal, Christian Horner, had now left the outfit after an agreement was reached about the terms of his severance deal. He had been removed from his duties shortly after this year’s British Grand Prix in July, and with his contract having been due to run until 2030, his payout is understood to have been in the region of £80 million. This will of course not only substantially benefit Horner but also the UK government’s beleaguered revenue coffers, as, unlike most F1 drivers and key figures such as Mercedes’ Toto Wolff, who choose to base themselves in Monaco, enjoying major tax-avoidance benefits, Horner has steadfastly chosen to live with his family in England, accepting the massive tax penalties for doing so.

Times set in the first practice can often be misleading in terms of what follows as a race weekend progresses, but Aston Martin enjoyed some early glory ...

He has been one of the most successful team leaders in the 75-year history of Formula 1, and although he certainly doesn’t need a new job to pay the bills, he is a youthful 51 and still has a massive passion for the sport. As such, it will be fascinating to see where his future might lie, although a nine-month gardening leave period is set to happen first as part of the settlement terms. One thing which is clear, though, is that Horner is keen to return to F1 in a senior management role which also provides an equity stake, like Wolff at Mercedes.

Meanwhile, after two successive and highly dominant F1 victories for Max Verstappen in Monza and Baku, the four-time champion has elevated himself into a position where, mathematically at least, he still has a very small chance of taking this year’s Drivers’ title away from the McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, however unlikely the outcome may prove to be. As a true racer, for whom fame is unimportant and even undesirable, he spent last weekend, in between his ongoing F1 duties, making his GT3 debut at Germany’s iconic Nordschleife circuit in the Nürburgring Endurance Series (NLS), sharing an Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 with Chris Lulham for Saturday’s four-hour race. Verstappen drove for the first two hours and dominated, building a one-minute lead over everyone else before handing over to Lulham, who brought the car home for victory. This made Verstappen the only current F1 driver to win in a Ferrari so far this season, a point hardly lost on Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton! Ferrari reject Carlos Sainz was also more than happy to arrive in Singapore after a podium finish in Baku for Williams, compared to no Grand Prix podium results so far this season for the multiple champion whose arrival forced his departure from Ferrari.

However, to his rear, a feisty start by fifth-placed Norris saw him hit his teammate, Piastri, after moving to avoid Verstappen, and the British driver climbed up to third position.

Two last snippets before turning to the on-track action in Singapore. There’s an overall consensus amongst the F1 teams and the sport’s global fan base that three hour-long practice sessions during a Grand Prix round is too much and that this should be reduced, allowing more sprint races to be added. In Singapore the Williams team principal, James Vowles, took this a step further by suggesting that F1 weekends should become two- rather than three-day affairs, thereby freeing up 24 days per season to allow potential inclusion of additional Grand Prix venues and more sprints. On the driver front, Russell is still without a contract beyond the end of this year, as the British five-time F1 winner seeks a longer-term deal with Mercedes than the team is willing to offer him, with Wolff wanting to keep a seat available for 2027 in case Verstappen comes asking. Last Friday Wolff also categorically stated that young Kimi Antonelli, whom he still sees as a real star of the future, will definitely continue to race for Mercedes next season and not be loaned out to a team like Williams or Alpine as he continues to gain experience. Russell should still be in the other Mercedes in 2026, but the following season may be a different story.

Max Verstappen had to work hard to hold off the McLarens

The Race

Early in Friday’s opening free practice session, the Williams of Alex Albon suffered a rear brake fire, which left the team looking to get his car repaired before the later second practice hour. Times set in the first practice can often be misleading in terms of what follows as a race weekend progresses, but Aston Martin enjoyed some early glory as Fernando Alonso topped the timing screens ahead of Leclerc and Verstappen, with the McLarens of Piastri and Norris only fifth and sixth quickest. Russell caused a red flag interruption to the second practice after spinning his Mercedes into the Turn 16 wall, losing his front wing, before red flags flew again after Racing Bull’s Liam Lawson had his own wall-related accident and stopped near the pit lane entry. This was then followed by a collision in the pit lane itself after Ferrari had unsafely released Leclerc into the path of Norris, and the Italian outfit was fined 10,000 euros for its error. At the end of the session, it was Piastri who had set the fastest time, as Racing Bull’s Isack Hadjar and Verstappen proved to be the best of the rest.

As the race started to settle, Russell extended his lead over Verstappen, but Piastri was still clearly very unhappy with Norris’s behaviour.

Yesterday’s final practice period was interrupted when Lawson crashed his car again, this time at Turn 7. Fortunately, the New Zealander was uninjured and apologised to his team. Verstappen ended the session on top, followed by Piastri and the Mercedes drivers Russell and Antonelli. With the Yas Marina street circuit being a difficult one to overtake on, the subsequent qualifying hour held additional significance, and all the leading contenders made it through to the top-ten shootout, although the Baku hero, Sainz, failed to join them. Ultimately Russell put in a couple of excellent laps which gave him pole position just ahead of Verstappen, with Piastri and Antonelli claiming the second row and Norris and Hamilton right behind them, as Leclerc and Hadjar completed the top eight on the grid. Worse was to follow, though, for the Williams cars of Sainz and Albon when both failed post-qualifying rear wing DRS tests in scrutineering and were disqualified from starting today’s race from the rear of the grid. Subsequently, Albon’s Williams and Pierre Gasly’s Alpine were destined to start from the pit lane after further technical changes.

(L-R) Lando Norris angered his teammate Oscar Piastri after colliding with him

Singapore is always a popular holiday destination in its own right, but the annual arrival of F1 simply increases this, and the grandstands were packed as the start of today’s Grand Prix neared. The formation lap began at 20.00 local time, and McLaren knew that, as in Azerbaijan before events went badly wrong for the team, it was in a great position to wrap up the Constructors’ title with seven Grands Prix and a trio of Sprints still remaining this season. Piastri and Norris, seeming to have lost their dominance from earlier in the season, were also fully aware that they didn’t want Verstappen to edge any closer in what had until recently looked like a two-way papaya-and-black battle for the Drivers’ title. With 20,000 F1 horsepower adding to the intense heat on the grid and in the pit lane, those famous red lights were duly extinguished, and it was Russell who converted his pole position into an early lead. However, to his rear, a feisty start by fifth-placed Norris saw him hit his teammate, Piastri, after moving to avoid Verstappen, and the British driver climbed up to third position. This instantly left Piastri complaining bitterly about Norris’ overly aggressive driving, asking over team radio if it was acceptable for the latter to simply barge him out of the way.

As the race started to settle, Russell extended his lead over Verstappen, but Piastri was still clearly very unhappy with Norris’s behaviour. Verstappen was the first of the frontrunners to pit, switching his soft tyres for hards on lap 20 and rejoining the track in seventh position. Both Ferraris also soon headed down the pit lane, and the leading Russell did likewise on the 26th tour, quickly followed by his teammate, Antonelli. One lap later McLaren brought Norris in to change from mediums to hards before Piastri did the same, but the Australian’s mood was hardly improved by a delay caused at the left rear of his car.

The Circuit of the Americas, located just outside the attractive state capital, Austin, is one of the best facilities I have ever visited...

As the remaining laps continued to reduce, the running order out front was Russell, Verstappen, Norris and Piastri, and with just 12 laps remaining, Norris was less than a second behind Verstappen as Antonelli passed Leclerc for fifth position. Backmarkers were causing problems for the frontrunners, and a struggling Verstappen had to defend hard against Norris’ attempts to pass, allowing Piastri to close on the top trio. However, the leading quartet remained unchanged to the chequered flag, with Antonelli fifth and Leclerc sixth after Ferrari had twice swapped the running order of its drivers in the closing stages.

Charles Leclerc drove the first Ferrari to reach the chequered flag

In a fortnight’s time F1 will have relocated from the Far East to Texas in the USA for the next Grand Prix on the calendar, together with the fourth Sprint event of the year. The Circuit of the Americas, located just outside the attractive state capital, Austin, is one of the best facilities I have ever visited, and it will be intriguing to see how the battle for the Drivers’ title continues to develop there, with Piastri set to arrive still 22 points ahead of Norris.



2025 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix
1 George Russell (Mercedes) 1hr40m22.367s
2 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +5.430s
3 Lando Norris (McLaren) +6.066s
4 Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +8.146s
5 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +33.681s
6 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +45.996s
7 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +1m20.251s
8 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +1m20.667s
9 Oliver Bearman (Haas) +1m33.527s
10 Carlos Sainz (Williams) Lapped
11 Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) Lapped
12 Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) Lapped
13 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) Lapped
14 Alex Albon (Williams) Lapped
15 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) Lapped
16 Franco Colapinto (Alpine) Lapped
17 Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) Lapped
18 Esteban Ocon (Haas) Lapped
19 Pierre Gasly (Alpine) Lapped
20 Nico Hülkenberg (Sauber) Lapped


2025 Drivers’ Championship
1 Oscar Piastri 336
2 Lando Norris 314
3 Max Verstappen 273

2025 Constructors’ Championship
1 McLaren 650
2 Mercedes 325
3 Ferrari 300