Verstappen Climbs to Fourth as Antonelli Extends His Championship Lead in Singapore

Kimi Antonelli arrived on the Marina Bay Street Circuit seeking to shield his championship lead. He leaves with an even bigger one, and the potential of changing into the youngest Formula 1 world champion in historical past as early because the United States Grand Prix in Austin.

The headline act on Sunday was Max Verstappen, who received his first-ever Singapore Grand Prix, following Red Bull’s victory on the earlier spherical in Malaysia. But the story the championship standings inform after Round 17 is primarily about what didn’t occur: George Russell — who started the weekend as Antonelli’s closest challenger — had an engine penalty, began nineteenth and completed ninth. The internet impact of Singapore was to push the 2 Mercedes teammates additional aside.

Before and After: The Championship Shift

Entering the Singapore weekend, the highest of the Drivers’ Championship appeared like this:

1. Kimi Antonelli — 320 pts
2. George Russell — 236 pts (84 behind)
3. Lewis Hamilton — 214 pts
4. Charles Leclerc — 191 pts
5. Lando Norris — 188 pts (tied)
6. Max Verstappen — 188 pts (tied)

After Verstappen took dash pole, the dash race and Sunday’s fundamental race, and after Russell’s penalty stored him mired in the back of the sector, the desk reads:

1. Kimi Antonelli — 340 pts
2. George Russell — 238 pts (102 behind)
3. Lewis Hamilton — 229 pts
4. Max Verstappen — 221 pts (up from sixth)
5. Charles Leclerc — 215 pts (down from fourth)
6. Lando Norris — 201 pts

The most dramatic repositioning belongs to Verstappen. He entered the weekend tied for fifth and exits in fourth, having outscored each different driver within the prime six throughout your entire Singapore format — a weekend that additionally marked his 250th Formula 1 begin. The Dutchman had by no means received at Marina Bay in 9 earlier makes an attempt.

Charles Leclerc, who began second and completed second, drops one place within the standings to fifth. A Ferrari technique choice to pit Leclerc for recent tyres throughout a Virtual Safety Car helped him acquire observe place over Hamilton, however Verstappen on the entrance was untouchable. Leclerc’s internet acquire of 24 factors throughout the weekend — 18 from the race, six from the dash — was strong, however Verstappen’s 33-point haul (25 plus eight) was the weekend’s decisive quantity.

Antonelli Can Clinch in Austin

Antonelli’s path by Singapore was not faultless — Lewis Hamilton initially ran forward of him, and Ferrari’s technique left Hamilton on ageing tyres late within the race after he missed the pit entry throughout a Virtual Safety Car interval. Leclerc, Norris and Piastri in the end handed Hamilton earlier than the flag. Antonelli completed third on Sunday and fourth in Saturday’s Sprint. The factors trickled in relatively than poured.

But they had been sufficient. With six Grands Prix remaining after Singapore, together with the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Antonelli now leads Russell by 102 factors. Only one Sprint stays this season, in Qatar. The arithmetic give him an opportunity to clinch the title on the Circuit of the Americas in two weeks, though he would want a sufficiently massive factors swing in his favor to get rid of Russell’s remaining championship possibilities. He enters Austin having received eight of the season’s 17 Grands Prix, with the championship more and more inside his grasp after extending his lead over Russell in Singapore.

Russell’s restoration drive from nineteenth to ninth at Marina Bay — a circuit traditionally hostile to overtaking — confirmed the caliber of the driving force he’s. It did nothing to alter the arithmetic. He now wants Antonelli to have a catastrophic Austin weekend merely to maintain the title alive previous October.

In the Constructors’ Championship, Mercedes maintained its lead, now on 578 factors to Ferrari’s 444, McLaren’s 339 and Red Bull’s 318.

Formula 1 resumes Oct. 23–25 with the United States Grand Prix weekend on the Circuit of the Americas. The Grand Prix itself takes place on Sunday, Oct. 25. Antonelli, the youngest driver ever to problem for the title on this trend, could have the prospect to shut the matter there.