Max Verstappen marks his first-ever victory at the Singapore Grand Prix

Written by Henry Quach 🇻🇳

Left to Right: Charles Leclerc, Gianpiero Lambiase, Max Verstappen, and Kimi Antontelli standing on the podium of the Singapore Grand Prix. (Getty Images)

After ten attempts at the Singapore Grand Prix, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won his first race at the Marina Bay Circuit, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc claiming his fifth podium finish this season at second place. Driver’s championship leader Mercedes’s Kimi Antonelli finished third to claim his 14th podium finish of the season. 

With Antonelli’s third-place finish, he could win the World Drivers’ Championship in Austin, Texas. Mercedes’s George Russell and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton finished way lower than expected,  ninth and sixth respectively. 

Let’s cover the race before breaking down how Antonelli can become the youngest World Drivers' Champion at 20 years old. 

After a slight detour to Malaysia instead of Bahrain, F1 returned to its normal scheduling in Singapore for the Singapore Grand Prix to tackle a hot night race that consisted of 62 laps. 

This qualifying session was a battle between Antonelli, Hamilton, Leclerc, and Verstappen, all within one-tenth of a second to gain the favorable pole position of the race, but in the end Verstappen took it at the last gasp to insert himself at the front of the grid. 

Before the race begins, F1 drivers must complete a formation lap to warm up their tires and check track conditions. 

As the race began, it looked like Leclerc was close to taking the lead from Verstappen, who defended well. Everything looked clean from the start, but Racing Bulls’s Arvid Lindblad didn't get the start he wanted, dropping four positions at the start after a slow getaway. 

On lap two, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso overtook a Cadillac driver. On the following lap, Haas’s Ollie Bearman tried to overtake his teammate Esteban Ocon but did so incorrectly and had to return the place, or else he would face a penalty for overtaking off the track. He eventually did it cleanly just a few seconds later. 

On lap five, Bearman’s aggressiveness continued, and he overtook Williams’s Carlos Sainz to take 10th place. 

On lap eight, it was over for Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto as his car lost power in his gearbox, which caused a short virtual safety car period, instructing drivers to slow down their racing pace. 

On lap 36, Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar overtook Sainz for 14th place; then three laps later, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll also lost gearbox power to end his race. 

On lap 46, Leclerc overtook Hamilton to take second place in the race; then the following lap, Russell overtook Alpine’s Pierre Gasly to take ninth. 

On lap 54, in a battle between Hamilton and Mclaren’s Lando Norris for the final podium spot, both he and Norris had to back out, which allowed Antonelli to sneak by to take fourth place. Eventually, a few seconds later, Antonelli goes past Hamilton for the final podium spot 

However, it was a dominating day for Verstappen as he finally claimed his first Singapore Grand Prix victory, with Leclerc in second place and Antonelli in third place. 

Now this race has added some implications for the Austin Grand Prix, the upcoming race in the calendar. As mentioned earlier, after some unfortunate results for Hamilton and Russell, the two drivers are closest to Antonelli in the championship battle. 

There was a sprint race before the Grand Prix, in which Hamilton and Antonelli got points, but Russell didn’t; then Russell and Hamilton didn’t secure good points either during the Grand Prix. 

If Antonelli wins the Austin Grand Prix, Russell must finish 9th or lower, and Hamilton must finish 5th or lower to secure the championship and become the youngest F1 champion in history at just 20 years old. 

The drivers will prepare for the Austin Grand Prix on October 23rd. The F1 season could potentially see history being made at the next race.