George Russell takes decisive Singapore GP victory from pole

A 'heat hazard' declaration had been issued earlier in the week - the first ever in Formula One history - warning of boiling temperatures over the weekend at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. But as the skies opened and temperatures were lowered just ahead of the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix, so too did Mercedes driver George Russell keep his cool from pole position to decisively take the checkered flag.

The Briton's maiden victory in Singapore was clinched amidst a markedly calm race on Sunday evening (5 October 2025) that saw no driver retirements, as well as the undramatic completion of all 62 laps well underneath the two-hour time limit.

George Russell celebrated his first victory in Singapore on Sunday evening, finally granting him a podium finish after he came very close to P2 in 2023

Yet another significant victory was celebrated with the race's completion: With Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finishing in P3 and P4 respectively, McLaren have officially won the Constructors' World Championship for the 2025 season. The Woking-based team have clinched a mega 650 points between Norris and Piastri to date - exactly double the number of points nicked so far by its nearest competitor, Mercedes.

Starting on medium tyres, Russell made tidy work of a stellar start, edging out Red Bull's Max Verstappen (who started on the soft compound), and holding steadily on to his lead through Turns 2 and 3. 

Behind them, slight chaos ensued briefly; the McLaren team had to hold its breath for a few moments as Norris and Piastri made contact after the former shot past Mercedes rookie, Kimi Antonelli.

Slight contact was made between Norris and Piastri on the first lap, with the former managing to edge out his teammate eventually  

The incident left Norris with a slightly misshapen front wing for the rest of the race - and also ultimately pushed a rather unhappy Piastri downwards from his P3 start. The tension between the papaya drivers continued to simmer when Norris denied his teammate the chance to pit first later on in the race. While Piastri continues to lead the Drivers' Championship standings after Singapore, the gap between him and second-placed Norris has narrowed to 22 points. 

Otherwise, the Top 4 was effectively locked in from lights-out to checkered-flag, and was so ahead of the rest of the pack that it found itself having to cut through heavier traffic towards the race-end.

Verstappen was embattled with downshifting issues throughout the race, but deftly fended off Norris - who was especially aggressive in the final act - to finish in P2. Ahead of them, Russell effectively drove a flawless race to his victory. The Briton later expressed particular joy at finally tasting victory in Singapore, two years after he crashed out of the race on the final lap (he would have been P2 then otherwise).

Sunday evening also marked Lewis Hamilton's first outing in Singapore in a Ferrari. This season has been notable for the massive shake-up to the driver lineup 

For a moment, it also appeared that Ferrari would be muscling in on the Top 5 with Charles Leclerc, who started in P7, making an early move on Antonelli to land at P5 mid-race. An ostensible problem with the brakes on both Ferrari cars, however, eventually forced Leclerc back down into P6; Antonelli, who made his Singapore debut this evening, finished in an excellent P5. Behind them, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton managed P7 on his first outing here in a Ferrari car.

The rest of the Top 10 comprises - in order - Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, Haas' Oliver Bearman, and Williams' Carlos Sainz. 

Last year's Singapore GP was notable for its uncharacteristic calmness, marking the first time in its history that the safety car had not been activated, and the 2025 iteration continued this new streak. (Kick Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg almost threatened to disrupt it, though, with a late-race lock-up sending him spinning into the run-off zone.)

With the Constructors' Team Championship already secured, all eyes will be on McLaren's Piastri and Norris and Red Bull's unstoppable Verstappen, as the battle for the Drivers' Championship rages on.