Russell wins Singapore GP amid McLaren team order drama

Russell led the majority of the race to finish ahead of Max Verstappen, claiming his fifth career victory, with Lando Norris completing the podium in third.

Norris’s result was enough to secure McLaren the 2025 constructors’ championship, their second consecutive and 10th overall, but the main talking point came from decisions on the pit wall after Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri collided on the opening lap.

Norris got a strong start from fifth to challenge Piastri, who was running third and battling Verstappen ahead, unaware of his teammate approaching from behind.

Norris barged past Piastri into Turn 3, the two banging wheels and forcing Piastri toward the wall, while the contact damaged Norris’s front wing.

An irate Piastri called the incident “not very team like” over the radio, then asked if Norris would have to give the position back.

After several laps of discussion on the McLaren pit wall, the team decided not to swap positions, keeping Norris ahead and further frustrating Piastri.

“Mate, that’s not fair, that’s not fair,” the Aussie said over team radio, adding: “If he has to avoid another car by crashing into his team-mate, then that’s a pretty shit job of avoiding.”

Piastri ultimately finished fourth, further hampered by a slow pit stop when a right-rear tyre change caused additional delay, and he was never able to challenge his teammate after the first-corner incident.

Norris’s third consecutive race finishing ahead of Piastri has reduced the gap in the drivers’ championship to 22 points with six races remaining, while Verstappen’s second place cuts Piastri’s lead over him to 63 points.

Speaking after the race, Norris said he believed the incident between the pair was good racing.

“Yeah, I mean, it was slippery [and] still wet in a lot of places, but it’s racing,” Norris said.

“I put it on the inside, I had a small correction, but nothing more than that. It was good racing.

“And like I said, I wish I could have given a little bit more. I wish there were a few more overtaking opportunities today, but I feel like I did everything I could today, and I’m happy with that.”

He also celebrated McLaren taking the constructors’ championship.

“I’m happy with today, I got forward two positions. We won as a team, the constructors, once again. So I’m most happy about that,” he added.

Russell, meanwhile, was never challenged at the front, only relinquishing the lead during the pit stops. The Brit said he was delighted with the win.

“It feels amazing, especially after what happened [here] a couple of years ago,” Russell said.

“We don’t really know where this performance came from, but really happy.

“I was a bit nervous at the start when I saw Max on the soft, but that first stint went really well.”

Verstappen was never fully able to get close enough to Russell, focusing more on Norris behind him as the McLaren attempted to close the gap in the closing stages.

Despite being within DRS range at several points, the Brit wasn’t able to find a way past, with Verstappen holding on for his third consecutive top-two finish.

Kimi Antonelli added to a strong haul of points for Mercedes in fifth, with the team extending its lead in second place in the constructors’ championship over Ferrari to 25 points.

Both Ferrari drivers finished directly behind the Italian, with Charles Leclerc ahead of Lewis Hamilton, after the British driver suffered late brake issues that dropped him behind his teammate.

Hamilton had initially been ordered through to pass Leclerc and was rapidly gaining on Antonelli for fifth on a fresh set of softs before the brake issues hampered his progress.

Adding further pain to Hamilton’s race is the prospect of a penalty, with the Ferrari driver being investigated for a potential track limits infringement.

Fernando Alonso finished eighth after a strong drive from tenth on the grid, also earning Driver of the Day honours, ahead of Oliver Bearman and Carlos Sainz.

The Spaniard had started from the back of the grid after both Williams cars were disqualified from qualifying, securing his first consecutive points finish since Imola and Monaco.

With tensions between the McLaren pair continuing and the constructors’ championship now settled, attention will turn to the Drivers’ Championship battle as F1 heads to North America for the United States Grand Prix in two weeks’ time.