Singapore Grand Prix Takeaways: Russell exorcises his demons
F1 NewsWednesday, 08 October 2025 at 08:30
George Russell won the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix last Sunday and redeemed himself after his embarrassing crash at the 2023 edition of the race.
Back in 2023, while on the charge, chasing Lando Norris for second place, Russell crashed towards the end of the race, going from hero to zero in mere seconds.
But the British driver has come a long way since that day, as he is now the team leader of Mercedes, not having to operate in the shadow of a seven-time Formula 1 Champion teammate, Lewis Hamilton, who is now at Ferrari.
The start of the weekend did not indicate that Russell, or even Mercedes, was in contention for the win, as the former also crashed in practice, a weird crash to be honest, which left him lacking a bit of confidence.
However, come Qualifying, and Q2 in particular, the 27-year-old switched on and found pace, which was enough for him to snatch pole, which he dominantly transformed into a race win on Sunday.
As for others, McLaren secured their second F1 Constructors' Title in a row despite once again not having the best car they were supposed to have, while Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing showed they have turned a corner, as only a cruising Lando Norris denied the Dutchman a chance at pole—which will be remembered.
The race was different for Verstappen, as his RB21 suffered from downshift issues, which meant he was on the defense rather than the attack.
Other than that, Ferrari once again flopped after showing some early promise, but Russell was simply the start of the race, while McLaren were also in the spotlight, not for the right reasons, mind you.
So let's start with those two as we dive into the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix and come up with some Takeaways.
Show me the contract... And the money
Ever since Russell took over the team leader role vacated by Hamilton, he has gone from strength to strength, embracing his new role as his new teammate, Kimi Antonelli, who Toto Wolff is selling as the next generation F1 talent, learns his trade.
But as everyone knows, Russell is yet to sign a contract extension with Mercedes, as Wolff postponed this matter as he flirted around with Verstappen, who ultimately decided to stick to the devil he knew, aka Red Bull Racing, at least for 2026, leaving the Austrian with egg on his face and a dissatisfied George.
Being the shrewd businessman that he is, Wolff should've known that Verstappen would not jump ship, at least now, so we can't really blame him for that, but he should have treated Russell with a bit more respect, especially as the latter declared that he wanted to be a Mercedes driver and was not looking elsewhere.
Wolff has insisted that renewing Russell's contract was a formality and that the delay was about finalizing some details in the paperwork, probably the length of the contract, as the Mercedes boss would be hoping that Verstappen may have a change of heart ahead of 2027.
Then, naturally, there is the money, and Russell, whose recent performances meant Mercedes did not really miss Hamilton, was understandably asking for more money based on his new job description.
Mercedes have not shown decent form this season, but whenever they did, in Canada and Singapore, Russell was on it and delivered big time, and even when the team was not showing great pace, he maximized the opportunities that came his way, and as such, finished on the podium six times, and with his two wins, has delivered a solid reason so far, which will help Mercedes in their fight for second in the F1 Constructors' Championship with Ferrari, especially as the Reds continue to stumble over each other.
I, for one, would like to see Wolff pay some more money to Russell, who deserves that for being one of the top drivers on the grid, and I think the Mercedes boss realized he will have to dig deeper in his pockets after Singapore.
McLaren defend their Title, but...
McLaren scored the 13 points they needed in Singapore to wrap up the 2025 F1 Constructors' Championship, but it wasn't done in style, as Norris was third and Piastri was fourth.
Moreover, their celebrations were tarnished by the clash that happened between their drivers on Lap 1 into Turn 1 and the discussions that followed between Piastri and his race engineer.
But first, let's put this out of the way. Lando was the better driver on the day, and there was nothing wrong with what he did on Lap 1; it's called racing, and Oscar could not catch him during the race.
The Australian also had no right to solicit team orders in this instance, but McLaren's ridiculous management of their drivers trying to be fair with their so-called Papaya Rules has opened this can of worms. They planted that seed when they asked Piastri to move over to Norris back in Monza when the latter suffered from a slow pit stop while leading his teammate.
And let's say this as well: there is a general consensus that McLaren, and by that I mean Zak Brown, wants Norris to win the Drivers' Title, and if this is the case, fair enough, there is nothing wrong with that, but then Brown should be brave enough to say that out loud.
I groomed Lando from the junior categories and want him to win the title first...
And then tell Piastri he has to be #2 until further notice, but instead, McLaren are covering that up with their Papaya Rules, and to be honest, they are becoming a running joke with that.
I just hope that now with the Constructors' Title in the bag, McLaren will let their drivers slug it out for the rest of the season, but if they don't, I think they should brace themselves, as matters between Lando and Oscar will probably turn ugly... Verstappen won't be complaining, though...
Singapore Grand Prix Quick Hits
- We can conclude from the Singapore Grand Prix that Red Bull Racing have finally sorted out their RB21, which was competitive on a track with slow corners that requires high downforce.
Other factors denied Verstappen a chance at pole, while the issue with his gear shifts meant he couldn't challenge for the win and spent the race defending from Norris.
However, both Red Bull and Max may end up ruing Singapore as a missed opportunity to close the gap to the McLaren boys even more. - Speaking of Norris, he may have been the better McLaren driver, but he was found lacking in the fight with Verstappen. He had a fast car and one that didn't have the handbrake on all race long and should've passed.
But then maybe he remembered that Max will remember what happened in qualifying... - Another Ferrari fiasco, showing early promise and then falling off the cliff, and this time both cars suffered brake issues.
What is funny, though, is that Hamilton was penalized for exceeding track limits and not because of driving around with a car with no brakes... - Regardless of what Aston Martin did to ruin Fernando Alonso's race, they couldn't this time, and the Spaniard's drive up the order after that nine-second pit stop is testament to his tenacity and skill. A well-deserved Driver of the Day vote.
- Great drive by Ollie Bearman to score points and an even better drive by Carlos Sainz from the bottom of the grid to score points for Williams after their qualifying disqualification.
- While Russell was the star of the race at the Marina Bay Circuit, Antonelli did a decent job both in qualifying and the race.
What's impressive about him is that another time, he found himself in a bit of a pickle in Q1 of Qualifying but somehow managed to remain composed and deliver a decent lap while under pressure and avoiding elimination.
Having said that, he still shows that experience is what he needs, and maybe Mercedes should've kept him in Formula 2 for one more season. After all, they had the best seat warmer on the grid: Valtteri Bottas.
The Finn would've been happy to get some practice ahead of his Cadillac debut in 2026.
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