George Russell Wins Maiden Singapore Grand Prix As One McLaren Makes Podium

 

George Russell has won the Singapore Grand Prix at Marina Bay for the first time, in a well-controlled race that left Max Verstappen trailing to finish in second, while Lando Norris finished on the podium in third. 

The Mercedes driver set the pole position at the qualifying session and maintained it as the McLaren battled for track position against Verstappen. Oscar Piastri was faced with strong resistance from Norris as the McLaren duo battled for the F1 Championship title. 

Last weekend, Piastri retired and was unable to finish the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Since winning the Dutch Grand Prix, the Australian driver has failed to win three consecutive races and has finished outside of the top three for two straight races - the Azerbaijan and Singapore Grand Prix. 

Meanwhile, the McLaren team has secured the defense of the Constructors' Championship title, despite having six more Grand Prix remaining. However, for Piastri, his teammate, Norris has reduced his lead to 22 points. 

Track Condition and Grid Start

It was a non-dramatic start without incident, and for the first lap, there was no safety car deployment. Drivers played it safe and avoided a chaotic start in favorable track conditions.  Leclerc narrowly avoided a collision with Kimi Antonelli while negotiating track position, quickly getting behind the McLaren duo as Russell stayed ahead in pole. 

For the McLaren duo, it was competitive from the start. Norris battled Pistris for track position. Coming near the exit of the corner, Norris slightly collided with Verstappen's rear while keeping abreast with Piastri, who was forced to the wall, nearly colliding with the barriers. 

Pit stop and Tyres 

It all went well for Norris, who was pitted first. Piastri spent a longer time in the pit than his teammate. Changing his left rear tire was challenging for the team, costing him more than five seconds to get new rubber. However, he maintained track position, exiting the pit. Alonso's pit stop was another unfortunate incident. The Aston Martin driver spent more than nine seconds getting new tires. 

Singapore Grand Prix Top 10 Result

1. George Russell (Mercedes).......1:40:22.367s

2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

3. Lando Norris (McLaren)

4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

5. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

7. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

8. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

9. Oliver Bearman (Haas)

10. Carlos Sainz Jr. (Williams)