Formula One: Antonelli nears title after Singapore

Formula One heads towards a potential championship decider after Kimi Antonelli finished third at the Singapore Grand Prix, putting the Mercedes driver within mathematical reach of the title in Austin. Max Verstappen won ahead of Charles Leclerc, while Lewis Hamilton’s decision to ignore a Ferrari pitstop instruction left him sixth rather than fighting for a podium.

That combination gives the championship an intriguing split: the driver setting the pace now is not the one closest to lifting the trophy. Add a collision between McLaren’s team-mates and an approaching change in Verstappen’s engineering partnership, and Singapore delivered consequences well beyond its finishing order.

What happened

Hamilton’s race turned on a decision during a late virtual safety car period. Ferrari wanted both drivers to stop, bringing Hamilton in behind Leclerc. He stayed out instead, committing himself to a lengthy final run on soft tyres that left him vulnerable as their performance deteriorated.

Ferrari had started its drivers on different compounds: softs for Leclerc, mediums for Hamilton. That gave the team two possible routes to challenge Verstappen rather than tying both cars to an identical plan. But Hamilton’s mediums performed poorly, forcing an early change and complicating the rest of his afternoon.

The important distinction is between that opening strategy and the later refusal to stop. A second-and-third finish remained plausible before the virtual safety car decision; it was never guaranteed. Our reading is that blaming everything on Ferrari’s initial tyre choice misses the moment when Hamilton’s race became much harder to rescue.

Verstappen, meanwhile, dealt with Leclerc’s challenge at the first corner and controlled the grand prix from there. He also won the sprint, completing a weekend that underlined Red Bull’s improved form. Singapore offered a convincing demonstration of its current competitiveness, although one circuit cannot settle which team has the strongest car everywhere.

Antonelli made his opportunity count while Hamilton and Norris were occupied with each other. The Mercedes driver passed Norris and then cleared Hamilton, turning a difficult weekend into third place. Norris and Piastri brought McLaren home fourth and fifth, respectively.

Further back, Liam Lawson finished seventh after using soft tyres to pass Pierre Gasly at the start, then keeping Nico Hülkenberg behind during a second stint on mediums. Hülkenberg’s eighth place equalled Audi’s best grand prix finish to date. George Russell took ninth after a grid penalty, with a virtual safety car ending just as he committed to a stop.

The background

For anyone returning to F1 after a spell away, Singapore was a useful reminder that tyre strategy is not simply a choice between fast rubber and durable rubber. Compound performance changes with the circuit, conditions and car. A supposedly sensible option on paper can become a liability once the race starts.

A virtual safety car requires drivers to slow to a prescribed pace without gathering the field behind a physical safety car. Because cars on track are travelling more slowly, a pitstop can cost less time relative to rivals. Miss that opportunity and the same tyre change may become considerably more expensive once normal racing resumes.

A double-stack stop adds another calculation: both team-mates use the same pit crew in succession. The second driver can lose time if the cars arrive too close together. That risk must be weighed against the cost of leaving him out; it does not automatically make stopping both cars the wrong call.

The championship also rewards accumulation, not just the most recent display of speed. Antonelli’s earlier victories built the position he is now defending. Taking third when victory is out of reach can therefore matter more to a title campaign than producing one spectacular overtaking sequence and finishing nowhere.

There was a personnel story behind Red Bull’s celebrations, too. Gianpiero Lambiase collected the constructors’ trophy after his 73rd grand prix victory alongside Verstappen. The race engineer is being phased out ahead of an eventual move to McLaren, with Tom Hart due to take over radio duties at selected races later this season.

That role deserves attention. The engineer connects the driver to a much larger operation, relaying information, discussing adjustments and helping execute strategy. For readers drawn to the sport through its design and timing culture, our guide to motorsport watches and what is worth buying off the track explores its wristwear connection. Here, though, the crucial machinery included the human relationship behind the radio.