Verstappen ends Singapore curse on his 250th start with commanding Marina Bay win

Max Verstappen ended a long-standing Singapore hoodoo on Sunday, winning the Marina Bay Grand Prix from pole position on his 250th Formula 1 start — beating Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by 7.335 seconds, with Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli third.

The victory was the 73rd of Verstappen’s career and his second in succession after winning in Sepang the previous weekend. It was also Red Bull’s first Singapore win since 2022, snapping a run of frustration at a circuit that had repeatedly defied the four-time world champion.

Singapore had been one of the few venues to consistently elude Verstappen. In 2023 — a season Red Bull otherwise dominated — he qualified 11th and finished fifth as Carlos Sainz took the win for Ferrari. Last year, George Russell beat him to the top step. This time, Verstappen converted pole into a lights-to-flag display, never threatened across the full race distance.

The weekend had already gone well before Sunday. Verstappen won Saturday’s sprint, which was delayed by heavy rain and disrupted by a crash involving Russell and a collision between the two McLarens. He then secured his first ever grand prix pole at Marina Bay, setting up the clean sweep.

“It’s taken a while, but I think this race was very good,” Verstappen said. “We had pace when we needed to have it on the soft tyre and on the medium, even though I think the medium tyre for everyone was a bit more of a struggle, but it worked out, so of course very happy to win here.”

Adding a lighter footnote to the weekend, Verstappen’s custom race boots attracted significant attention on social media. His personal Instagram account posted an image of the boots ahead of the race — a navy base with a pink floral pattern alongside his usual Red Bull and Oracle branding — which drew close to 50,000 likes. Fans debated whether the flower depicted was a hibiscus, the national flower of Malaysia where F1 had raced the week before, or an orchid, Singapore’s national flower. Either way, they appeared to bring their owner considerable luck.