SINGAPORE LOWDOWN: All the key moments as Verstappen dominates and Ferrari face strategy turmoil

The 2026 Singapore Grand Prix weekend won't be forgotten any time soon as the ever-thrilling Marina Bay Street Circuit hosted Round 17 and the final Sprint of the season, with Max Verstappen adding another momentous victory to his tally.

Plenty of other talking points emerged over the three eventful days, from McLaren's intra-team crash on Saturday to a strategy blunder that cost Lewis Hamilton a podium.

Here are all the key moments from the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix...

Verstappen dominates for maiden Singapore win

Verstappen has rewritten the F1 record books since arriving in the sport a decade or so ago, with little left for the Dutchman to achieve.

However, there was one particular race victory that had eluded him over the years: the Singapore Grand Prix. His CV included three second-place finishes and four podiums in total around the streets of Marina Bay, but never a P1 finish.

That all changed this time out with a commanding display from Verstappen through Sprint Qualifying, the Sprint race, main Qualifying and the Grand Prix itself – nobody able to stop him across all four encounters.

It was a milestone triumph at the 10th attempt, and means that from the current F1 calendar, Verstappen has only yet to triumph at the new-for-2026 Madring track.

Backing up his and Red Bull’s first win of the season at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, the result also puts Verstappen fourth in the Drivers’ Championship, and the Milton Keynes-based squad right on the tail of McLaren in the Teams’ battle.

“I think the last few races have been really positive for us, and it’s just great to see,” said Verstappen, after what was his 250th Grand Prix start. “We have a lot of motivation in the team to try and deliver even more results.

“It’s a really good group of people, I really enjoy working with them, and hopefully we can have a bit more fun until the end of the year.”

Leclerc on the podium – but Hamilton apologises for strategy call

Charles Leclerc and Ferrari emerged as Verstappen’s main threat as the Singapore Grand Prix weekend developed, with the Monegasque lining up second for Sunday’s race, and team mate Hamilton third.

There was an intriguing strategic split between the red cars ahead of the start, when Leclerc opted for the same soft tyre compound as polesitter Verstappen and Hamilton tried something different on the medium rubber.

After Leclerc backed out of a move on Verstappen into Turn 1, the frontrunning cars settled into a rhythm, and it soon became clear that the soft was the much more favourable race tyre, leaving Hamilton on the back foot.

Later in the race, with Hamilton still running behind Leclerc, the Ferrari drivers’ strategies diverged further under a Virtual Safety Car – Leclerc pitting for another set of fresh tyres, and Hamilton staying out, before attempting to make the finish on his ageing softs.

It was a decision that ultimately backfired, for while Leclerc followed Verstappen home in P2, Hamilton tumbled down the order – those ever-fading tyres allowing Kimi Antonelli, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri through.

Post-race, Hamilton explained: “Under the VSC, the team called me in but I missed the [pit] entry. After that, I decided to stay out and try to hold track position to the end, but in the closing laps, I was struggling massively with tyre degradation and lost three places, finishing P6, which doesn’t reflect the pace we had in the car today.

“A painful lesson today, but I take full responsibility for the decisions I made. Not every call will work out, and I can accept getting it wrong, but I’m sorry for the team for the points we lost today. They put so much into every weekend, and I wanted to deliver more for them.”

Antonelli extends championship lead amid Russell recovery drive

Antonelli never looked likely to be a serious contender for victory in the Singapore Grand Prix or Sprint, the young Italian sticking with Mercedes' most recent upgrade that had proved inconclusive a week ago in Malaysia.

Having taken fourth on the grid, Antonelli shadowed Hamilton in the first phase of Sunday's race, but actually lost a position in the pit stop sequence to Norris.

With better pace, Antonelli managed to pass both in the closing stages and claim third, bagging a useful haul of points during one of his more sedate weekends, and which also included a further five from taking fourth in the Sprint.

With a margin of 102 points over team mate George Russell, it means that Antonelli could mathematically claim the title at the next round in the United States of America.

Like most of his 2026 season, Russell's weekend in Singapore was one of disappointment and recovery, as he entered the weekend knowing he would start from the back of the grid due to power unit component changes.

The Briton took the lead of a wet Sprint at the start from polesitter Verstappen, but running over the kerb on the exit of the final corner sent Russell into the pit wall before the end of the opening lap.

His drive on Sunday was steady if unspectacular, claiming only P9 as he failed to clear the likes of Liam Lawson's Racing Bulls and Nico Hulkenberg's Audi with his title hopes practically over.

A crazy Sprint as the McLarens collide – leaving Stella less than happy

The Singapore weekend once again showed that McLaren lacked the outright pace of Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari, with Norris and Piastri left fifth and sixth on the grid for Sunday's race.

Both beat Hamilton in the final classification as the Ferrari driver struggled with worn tyres, but Norris was left "not happy with a P4" as he failed to re-create the pace with which he took two dominant wins during the summer.

The reigning World Champion was also left in a feisty mood after Saturday's Sprint, where he and Piastri came together on the final lap at Turn 5.

Via a spin, Norris was able to reach the chequered flag in P8, saying "I had the right" to attempt a move on Piastri ahead, with the Australian eliminated and believing Norris "was a reasonable way behind for a corner like that".

Although no further action was taken by the stewards, Team Principal Andrea Stella was left unhappy with the actions of his drivers.

“I worked with top drivers for so many seasons that I know that, with drivers, there's always a degree of unpredictability, let me say,” he said. “You always have to leave a little bit of margin to the fact that there may be situations. I am, if anything, disappointed."

Star power in Singapore as Marina Bay puts on a show again

The Singapore Grand Prix has long been a popular venue with both drivers and fans since hosting F1’s first-ever night race back in 2008 – and this year’s event had an extra share of star power as a number of well-known names headed to Marina Bay to enjoy the festivities.

Footballer Paul Pogba was seen soaking up the atmosphere on the grid ahead of the race start, alongside basketball stars Dwayne Wade and Chris Paul. Also in attendance from the sporting world was Olympic champion freestyle skier Eileen Gu.

Fans of K-pop were treated to appearances by a host of artists, including boy band Cortis – seen watching the action in the Red Bull garage – and Tzuyu from girl group Twice, who was a guest of the Williams team.

Model Romeo Beckham – son of David and Victoria – visited the Alpine garage with girlfriend Kim Turnbull, while Kim Kardashian was in the Singapore paddock to cheer on Hamilton.