Formula 1 takes on Marina Bay Street Circuit in the Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix Sunday at 8 a.m. ET. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen aims for his third consecutive victory and his fifth of the season.
Click Here to Watch F1 Singapore Grand Prix 2025 Live Online
The race for the championship continues under the lights on Sunday, as Formula 1 returns for what should be an exciting event in the annual Singapore Grand Prix.
With just 25 points separating the two McLaren drivers at the top of the F1 standings, the tension in the Drivers’ Championship is beginning to mount ahead of Sunday’s crucial Singapore Grand Prix at the spectacular Marina Bay Street Circuit.
McLaren will be hoping for a much better display after a disastrous showing last time out at the Azerbaijan GP, which saw championship leader Oscar Piastri suffer a first-lap crash.
Lando Norris was unable to fully capitalise on his teammate and title rival’s misfortune, finishing in a disappointing seventh. Max Verstappen claimed a second successive victory to keep alive the Red Bull driver’s outside hopes of retaining his crown.
The F1 Singapore Grand Prix will air on ESPN
What: Formula 1, Qatar Airways Azerbaijan Grand Prix
When: Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025
Where: Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore
Time: 8 a.m. ET
TV: ESPN
It’s the one race on this year’s Formula 1 calendar that Max Verstappen has never won. It could be crucial to his chances of a series comeback.
Verstappen is at the Singapore Grand Prix following back-to-back wins which have made a fifth consecutive world title go from near-impossible to merely unlikely.
Meanwhile, standings leader Oscar Piastri had an awful weekend at the last race in Azerbaijan, title rival Lando Norris couldn’t capitalize, and their McLaren team has started making mistakes at pit stops.
Leclerc was fined 10,000 euros ($11,700) for crashing into Norris while leaving his garage during second practice. Norris was pushed into the wall. Norris placed fifth and suggested to the team over the radio that he was frustrated with his own driving.
The stewards determined Leclerc was given unclear instructions to leave by a team member responsible for his safe conduct who misjudged the situation.
Piastri led the way in an incident-packed second practice under lights by 0.132 of a second from Isack Hadjar of Racing Bulls, while Verstappen was .011 further off as he placed third for the second session running.
There were two red flags, the first for George Russell hitting the wall and losing the front wing of his Mercedes, the second when Hadjar’s teammate Liam Lawson crashed and stopped his heavily damaged car at the pit lane entry.
In the daytime first session, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was surprisingly fastest by .150 from Leclerc, with Verstappen .126 further back and Lewis Hamilton in fourth in the other Ferrari.
As he has done all season, Verstappen played down his title chances, saying he’s just taking things race by race and not thinking about the championship.
Verstappen is 69 points behind Piastri with seven races to go, and 44 behind Norris. That’s still a big gap but his recent form, combined with glaring errors at McLaren, suggests the momentum has swung.
Verstappen’s first title in 2021 came down to a controversial last-lap call against Lewis Hamilton, but before that he had a modest lead for much of the season. His titles in 2022 and 2023 were displays of record-breaking dominance. Last year he was the front-runner and Norris the underdog.
There’s little doubt Verstappen has the mindset to chase down the McLarens. “We all know Max and how dangerous he is when there’s something to grab,” Haas driver Esteban Ocon said.
After two-time world champion Fernando Alonso went fastest in Friday’s first practice, normality was restored when Piastri and Max Verstappen took top honours in the subsequent two sessions.
But it was British Mercedes driver George Russell who was the star of qualification with a stunning lap that put him on pole. He’s joined on the front row of the grid by champion Verstappen, with the title chasing McLarens of Piastri and Norris in third and fifth respectively.
The Marina Bay Street Circuit is always a hot and humid test and temperatures are expected to be in the high 80s today. The track’s twists and turns mean there’s a only a tiny margin for error – the drivers will certainly know that they’ve been in a race by the time this evening rolls around.
The Australian has been a picture of consistency in 2025 and currently holds a 25-point lead over his teammate. However, lurking on the periphery is a resurgent Max Verstappen. The Dutch driver won the last two races in Monza and Baku and will be hoping that the inter-team battle between the Papaya duo allows him to sneak into contention.
Elsewhere, tributes have been pouring in this week for Lewis Hamilton’s dog, Roscoe, who was sadly put to sleep last Sunday. The 40-year-old will be hoping to deliver a strong performance this weekend in honour of his beloved bulldog.