Singapore Grand Prix: 3 winners & losers under the lights
6th October 2025There was high drama under the lights in Singapore as Mercedes’ George Russell led home from pole to claim the fifth F1 victory of his career. Not every team basked in glory, however, as it was a weekend to forget for many at the Marina Bay Circuit. Below are my winners and losers from the Singapore GP.
Feature image credit: Mercedes F1
Winners
George Russell
The Mercedes man came into the weekend with paddock rumours swirling around him as contract talks for his 2026 race seat continue, and the Brit answered in fine fashion. A stunning pole position on Saturday and a controlled display throughout the race saw a comfortable victory for Russell, on a weekend that even he didn’t expect Mercedes would be quick.
McLaren
The Papaya outfit finally clinched the constructors’ championship with a P3 for Lando Norris and P4 for Oscar Piastri, ensuring the team secured the title for the second year in a row. Despite the lap 1 teammate collision and slow pit stop for Piastri, McLaren still managed to seal the title many have expected for a long time.
Fernando Alonso
The self-proclaimed “hero of the race” clinched the driver of the day award following fierce on-track battles with drivers such as Isack Hadjar. His feisty attitude and elbows-out driving saw Alonso finish in a well-earned P6 after Lewis Hamilton received a 5-second time penalty following the race. Not even a botched pit stop which saw him stationary for over nine seconds could stop the Spaniard, who climbed three places from his grid spot of P10.
Losers
Nico Hulkenberg
Following a positive P11 in qualifying, Hulkenberg’s race never really got going, leading to him falling down to P16 before an incident with Alpine’s Franco Colapinto on lap 43 saw Hulkenberg lose part of his front wing endplate. The German’s day went from bad to worse two laps later, as he locked up going into turn 7 and spun into the runoff area, leading to his eventual last place finish.
Ferrari
Only the fourth-best car of the weekend, Ferrari will be left disappointed at a track that they have been quick at in previous years. Brake overheating issues on both cars caused even more headaches for the scarlet team, with Hamilton’s eventual front left brake failure at the end of the race forcing him to limp home only four-tenths ahead of the charging Alonso. This would be in vain, however, as the stewards would punish Hamilton with a five-second penalty for track limit violations as he struggled to keep his car on the road – demoting him to 8th. A weekend to forget for Ferrari.
Yuki Tsunoda
After what looked like a breakthrough weekend for the Japanese driver in Baku, finishing outside of the points would not have been on Tsunoda’s to-do list. Following a poor qualifying which saw him starting P15 – before the disqualification of both Williams drivers – Tsunoda was only able to make up one place in the entire race. With pressure growing internally for Tsunoda’s results to improve, this weekend will not have helped his chances of a 2026 drive with the team.
Honourable mention: The McLaren pit crew
Another slow pit stop – this time for Oscar Piastri with a slow rear-left replacement – makes it three race weekends in a row that the team have caused unnecessary problems for their drivers.
Read more Formula 1 here:
- Lewis Hamilton slapped with post-race penalty after Singapore Grand Prix
- Russell wins Singapore Grand Prix as McLaren take title
- Williams risk disqualification after Singapore Grand Prix qualifying
- George Russell claims pole position for Singapore Grand Prix
- Lando Norris aware Max Verstappen is a title threat
- McLaren and Alex Dunne part ways with immediate effect
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