Verstappen dominates Marina Bay as Hadjar charges through the field

Starting down in 22nd place on the grid, Isack Hadjar had a mountain to climb under the lights at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. By the time the dust settled on a frantic 62 laps, the Red Bull driver had pulled off the drive of the afternoon, gaining 12 places to finish 10th and pick up a hard-earned point. Timing records showed Hadjar making 19 on-track position changes during the race.

Up at the sharp end, Max Verstappen encountered far less traffic. Having already topped qualifying, the sprint qualifying, and the sprint earlier in the weekend, the Red Bull driver converted pole position into a commanding victory. It was the 73rd Grand Prix win of his career, and it moved him up to fourth in the drivers standings on the back of a 7.335-second margin over Charles Leclerc.

Tyre choices and the tactical chess match

Strategy played a massive role in shaping the order behind the leader, with teams splitting across three distinct approaches. The most common strategy among the finishers was a simple soft-to-medium switch, utilized by six drivers including Verstappen, Lando Norris, and Liam Lawson. Another six drivers, such as Lewis Hamilton, Nico Hülkenberg, and George Russell, opted to start on the medium compound before moving to softs later on. A bolder four-driver group including Leclerc, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Oscar Piastri, and Sergio Pérez pulled off a two-stop strategy using a soft-medium-soft rotation.

Hamilton quietly stretched the limits of Pirelli rubber with a 44-lap stint on softs from lap 19 to the flag, helping him secure sixth. Meanwhile, among the top ten finishers, seven drivers made a single stop while three opted for two. Track limits proved costly across the field as the stewards deleted 30 lap times. Antonelli led that unfortunate count with four deleted times, while Oliver Bearman and Lance Stroll each lost three.

The podium and the championship picture

Leclerc pushed hard and even claimed the fastest lap with a 1:35.202 on lap 41, but ultimately had to settle for second place in his Ferrari. Behind him, Antonelli completed the podium in third for Mercedes, capping off a solid points haul. The young Italian still commands the drivers championship on 340 points, holding a 102-point gap over teammate George Russell, who salvaged ninth after starting 19th. With six rounds and up to 150 points left on the table, the championship arithmetic remains mathematically fluid, though Mercedes maintains a 134-point cushion over Ferrari in the constructors standings.

Further down the order, Hülkenberg delivered a tidy drive to finish eighth and score valuable points for Audi. Four cars failed to reach the finish line, with Alexander Albon retiring after 59 laps, while Lance Stroll, Franco Colapinto, and Gabriel Bortoleto all failed to complete the distance on a night where two safety cars neutralized the action.

Next up, the Formula 1 circus heads across the Atlantic for the United States Grand Prix, round 18, on 25 October.

Timing data: Jolpica-F1, tyres and race control: OpenF1. Charts and results card by Slip Stream GP.

This report was written automatically with the help of AI (Google Gemini), from public timing data. Every number in the tables and charts comes straight from the data. Spotted a mistake? Tell me.

Published by

Pasindu Senavirathna

Data

Jolpica-F1, OpenF1, Wikidata and Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons and MET Norway

Last updated

13 Oct 2026, 21:10