Russell shines in Singapore as Lawson endures a tough weekend
Mercedes’ George Russell delivered a commanding lights-to-flag victory at the Singapore Grand Prix, while Kiwi driver Liam Lawson endured a frustrating weekend at Marina Bay.
Starting from pole, Russell controlled the 62-lap night race to claim his second win of the 2025 Formula 1 season, finishing 5.4 seconds ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. McLaren’s Lando Norris completed the podium in third, securing enough points — alongside teammate Oscar Piastri’s fourth-place finish — to wrap up McLaren’s second consecutive constructors’ championship.
“It feels amazing,” Russell said post-race. “We don’t really know where this performance came from, but I’m really, really happy. The first stint was great from us.”
While Russell celebrated, it was a race to forget for 23-year-old Lawson. After two heavy practice crashes, the Kiwi qualified 14th but moved up to start 12th when both Williams cars were disqualified. Running a long stint on medium tyres, Lawson struggled in traffic and could only bring his RB home 15th — well outside the points. His teammate Isack Hadjar also fell back, finishing 11th.
Piastri’s championship lead over Norris has now been trimmed to 22 points, with Verstappen 63 points adrift and six rounds remaining. Tensions flared at McLaren early in the race when Norris forced his way past Piastri into the first corner, prompting the Australian to accuse his teammate of “barging” him aside over team radio. The stewards took no action, but Piastri made clear he was unhappy.
Behind the top four, Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli finished fifth, followed by Charles Leclerc in sixth. Lewis Hamilton’s troubled race saw him penalised for track limits, dropping from sixth to eighth behind Fernando Alonso. Haas driver Oliver Bearman took ninth, while Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz salvaged the final point in tenth after starting at the back.
For Lawson, it was a weekend of lessons rather than results — and one he’ll be eager to move past when the championship heads to Suzuka later this month.
