George Russell wins F1's Singapore GP as McLaren secures constructors' title

Singapore F1 GP Auto Racing
Photo credit AP News/Vincent Thian

SINGAPORE (AP) — George Russell won the Singapore Grand Prix in dominant style Sunday as McLaren secured the Formula 1 constructors’ championship with six races to go.

Russell stayed in control from pole position to take his and Mercedes' second win of the year ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who held off Lando Norris for second place despite struggling with car problems.

It was a personal milestone for Russell, who crashed on the last lap while fighting for the podium places in Singapore in 2023.

“It feels amazing, especially after what happened a couple of years ago. It was a bit of a missed opportunity, but more than made up for it today," he said.

Norris banged wheels with his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, who finished fourth, as he overtook at the start. Piastri complained to the team over the radio about Norris' driving.

“Are we cool with Lando just barging me out of the way?” the Australian asked.

Norris cut into Piastri’s standings lead for the third race in a row. The Australian now leads Norris by 22 points, with Verstappen 41 further back.

Piastri finished outside the top three in back-to-back races for the first time since the Australian Grand Prix in March.

It was the first F1 race to be officially declared a “heat hazard” by the governing body, the FIA, under new rules that came in this season.

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Featured Image Photo Credit: AP News/Vincent Thian