Singapore GP 2026: Verstappen Dominates, Antonelli Scores

This weekend we’ve had Formula 1 again, and Goguma is here to talk about it. This time it was the turn of one of the most beautiful Grands Prix to watch: Singapore. I like this circuit, maybe because it combines walls close to the track, high speed and a very selective layout. However, this time it was a sprint weekend, and although it’s not my favorite format, this Saturday was entertaining thanks to the rain.

Rain in the sprint?

Before talking about the sprint itself, I want to point out that there was another incident in sprint qualifying: some drivers couldn’t deploy all their energy because of a human error. Apparently, the energy deployment system wasn’t activated on all the cars. Ridiculous and unacceptable, but since it only affected backmarkers, everyone seems not to care.

Yes, I don’t like the sprint format because, to me, it’s just a spoiler of what’s going to happen on Sunday, and that’s why I normally don’t watch them. But this time it rained, which caught my interest. Max won the race, but from the sprint I’m keeping two things.

First, Russell‘s mistake while he was leading; he seems determined to lose this championship. If he wants to win a title (not this one, it’s already too late, Antonelli came in with a lead of more than 80 points) he can’t make mistakes like this. Given the situation, it’s a serious one, and there’s a lot for him to learn.

The second thing I’m keeping is Norris taking out his teammate Piastri. McLaren isn’t in a position to throw points away like that. Mind you, I believe drivers should be allowed to fight and I didn’t like last year’s Papaya Rules, but this mistake was a big one and I assume there will be a meeting with the drivers.

Sprint race result

Saturday’s qualifying: Verstappen stands out

This was a show of authority: Verstappen took pole without even needing to make a final attempt. The Ferraris looked strong, Hamilton was ahead of Leclerc for a long time, but in the end a driving error of his own kept him from improving further.

And who do we have behind them? Antonelli, doing what’s expected of him: fourth, minimizing damage. That’s how championships are won and, to me, he is clearly eating Russell alive. Aside from Russell’s engine-change penalties, he could only manage sixth in qualifying.

The Spaniards, between bad and very bad. Alonso, disappointing with this car, even though on paper the circuit suited the Honda engine’s lack of power.

And Sainz out in Q2, in 14th, but with controversy. Hülkenberg blocked him near the end of the session. It was blatant, and he got away without a penalty. The German argued (and possibly with good reason) that he thought Sainz wasn’t on a flying lap and that’s why he wasn’t warned, because even his team thought the same. It was an error in the timing system. Are they using AI slop in F1’s software or what?

Formula 1 making a fool of itself, although I would have penalized him anyway because he ruined Sainz’s lap.

Qualifying results

And then comes Sunday’s race

The race was fairly quiet and even predictable. Verstappen started in front, Leclerc had his chance at the start, but in the end he couldn’t make it. Verstappen was very aggressive, taking him almost to the wall, and I thought Leclerc looked a bit soft given the situation he was in. The inside line was his, and by attacking a little more he could have come out first. Besides, Leclerc has nothing to play for this year, so it was the moment to say: if Verstappen is aggressive, I’ll be the same or more. And if there’s contact, tough luck; maybe Verstappen would think twice before closing the door like that.

Goguma, be honest, you wanted the crash

Come on, I’m not saying that. But if he doesn’t take risks now, he never will. Verstappen has earned a reputation as a driver who never yields and doesn’t mind contact, and I think Leclerc should have done the same here.

Aside from these two, the start was very clean and orderly. Surprisingly, there was almost no contact, even though it’s a narrow first corner. Sainz took a big risk, gaining 3 places and almost earning himself a penalty, but it paid off. Well, until right afterwards he started reporting problems and losing positions. But he did what he had to do.

In the opening laps, Verstappen ran a slow pace to keep the group bunched up and save his tyres. At that moment Leclerc pushed him to try an overtake, but here it’s very difficult. This is a track-position circuit. But when Verstappen started to push, the Ferrari fell back. And from there on, a boring race with no changes at the front.

Hamilton, the only entertainment

Hamilton was behind Leclerc on medium tyres that weren’t working, and Leclerc stopped early in the pits. Hamilton put on softs with the idea of going to the end, which he did. Very risky, but he started to fly, until he caught up with Leclerc with much more pace.

Ferrari being Ferrari

Obviously Hamilton complained on the radio and asked to be let through, but Ferrari didn’t allow it, and I still don’t understand why. They sabotage themselves. But on lap 38 a virtual safety car came out because of the incident with Stroll, who had to retire with a problem on his Aston Martin. Leclerc (and many others) pitted, but Hamilton decided not to.

To the point: after this, the situation was reversed. Leclerc behind on fresh tyres, Hamilton in front on worn ones. And this time he didn’t let him through; Leclerc passed him on pace, not through team orders. Honestly, Ferrari should review its lack of team orders. Doing this when both drivers are on different strategies is wasting time with both cars. At the end of the race, Hamilton ended up paying for it with a sixth place because he ran out of tyres. A shame, because after qualifying it looked like he could fight for the win.

Okay, is that it?

Basically yes, it was a boring race and Verstappen ended up winning, followed by Leclerc in second, and once again Antonelli, who did the right thing, finished third and opened up an even bigger gap in the championship. Alonso, doing the maximum he could, finished sixteenth with that jalopy.

Anyway, a bad race at a very beautiful circuit, that said. Here are the race result and the championship standings.

Race result

Drivers’ championship standings

Constructors’ championship standings

Did you watch the race? Did you manage to stay awake? Did you like it? Let me know in the comments.

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Cover photo: Pexels.