Winners and Losers of the F1 Singapore Grand Prix

Matt Hylen
Oct 7
5 min read

Credit to Mark Sutton - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

Round 18 in Marina Bay, Singapore is officially wrapped. Though it may not have been the most exciting race... again... there is still a lot to take away from the weekend. From an unlikely pace setter to broken Papaya rules to radio debociles, things will be interesting as we head into COTA.

Also, if you want to see how I did with my preditctions, check it out by clicking the link at the bottom of this article! I felt I did pretty well, but go see for yourself how I did!

Now, before we get into my winners and losers this past weekend, here is a few reminders and a look at the current standings:

Formula One has two main championship competitions. The first of the two Championships is the Drivers' Championship, which is a competition based on the drivers' individual performance. On a non-Sprint style weekend, the drivers who finish in the top 10 in each race will score points (the higher you place, the more points you get). These points are added up, and whichever driver finishes with the most points at the end of the season will win the Drivers' Championship.

The next is the Constructors' Championship, a competition between the teams. The number of points the drivers within a team get each race is combined, creating the total points for the team (e.g., Lando Norris has scored 314 points and Oscar Piastri has scored 336 points, giving the McLaren team 650 points in the Constructors' Championship). The team whose drivers accumulate the most points combined for their team will win the Constructors' Championship.

Note, 21 drivers will be listed within the Drivers' Championship Standings, as Franco Colapinto replaced Jack Doohan at Alpine.

Now, here is a look at the standings for both Championships:

Drivers' Championship Standings:

Oscar Piastri 336 points
Lando Norris 314 points
Max Verstappen 273 points
George Russell 237 points
Charles Leclerc 173 points
Lewis Hamilton 125 points
Andrea Kimi Antonelli 88 points
Alexander Albon 70 points
Isack Hadjar 39 points
Nico Hülkenberg 37 points
Fernando Alonso 36 points
Carlos Sainz 32 points
Lance Stroll 32 points
Liam Lawson 30 points
Esteban Ocon 28 points
Pierre Gasly 20 points
Yuki Tsunoda 20 points
Gabriel Bortoleto 18 points
Oliver Bearman 18 points
Franco Colapinto 0 points
Jack Doohan 0 points

Constructors' Championship Standings:

McLaren 650 points
Mercedes 325 points
Ferrari 298 points
Red Bull 290 points
Williams 102 points
VCARB 72 points
Aston Martin 68 points
Kick Sauber 55 points
Haas 46 points
Alpine 20 points

Standings were found at F1.com.

Winner: Ollie Bearman

Credit to Haas F1 Team via motorsport.com

In a weekend that was filled with chaos in the midfield, Bearman was able to weather the storm and secure solid points for Haas. He made little to no mistakes, helping him fend off the likes of Williams' Carlos Sainz. Everyone beneath him got lapped, including his teammate, whom he finished well ahead of. Qualifying and finishing in 9th while your more experienced teammate qualified 17th and finished 18th says a lot about what Bearman accomplished this weekend.

Haas has not looked good lately, especially on high-downforce circuits, yet Bearman continues to fight amongst the top of the midfield. The car had no business making a Q3 appearance nor finishing in the top 10, yet Ollie did both. Great weekend from the rookie.

Loser: VCARB

Coming off a string of very good performances, I had much higher expectations for VCARB. However, with Lawson's two crashes in practice, Hadjar's Q3 mistake on his final lap, and Hadjar's engine problem during the race, they really did not stand a chance. This also would have been anohter great opportunity for both drivers to show why they deserve to stay in F1, especially with Yuki Tsunoda's performance. A weekend to forget for VCARB.

Winner: Mercedes

Credit to REUTERS via sportstar.thehindu.com

I mean, who would have thought Mercedes, at the hottest track on the calendar, would set the pace for the weekend?! Mercedes were the fastest car and frankly it wasn't really close.

First off, this past weekend proved that George Russell is ready to compete with the top in the sport, if his 2025 season hasn't already. Russell has improved so much in just a year's time, winning his second race at a track no one thought Mercedes would be quick at. His talent is legit and his pace when given the right car is among the best in the sport. If I were Mercedes, I would lock him down with a contract ASAP.

As for Antonelli, I think he did make some mistakes in Q3 and the start of the race, but overall he put together a very solid weekend. He was not that far off Russell in qualifying, while also securing his 2nd top-5 finish in a row. If Antonelli can finish the season with this current form, things will be looking incredibly promising in 2026.

Also, quick shoutout to the Mercedes put crew, who completed two 2.4 second pit stops back-to-back in order to prevent both drivers from being undercut.

Loser: Yuki Tsunoda

Oh boy, Yuki.

Just as things started to trend upwards, Yuki turned the optimism train right back around. There was just no pace from him this weekend in qualifying or the race. He was miles off of his teammate Max Verstappen, more than usual even. It is a shame because I truly beleive his performance has to do with the car more than his talent, but this was not a good look for Tsunoda.

Winner: McLaren the Team

Finally, about time they wrapped this up!

As we all know, McLaren were huge winners this weekend as they clinched the Constructors' Championship. Say what you want about this team, but we haven't seen total team dominance like this in years. Yes, you have the Max Verstappen era and the Lewis Hamilton era, but neither of those were complete team dominance. Both drivers have been spectacular all season long, with every single team member contributing to this amazing season. McLaren have come such a long way in the past couple of years, so hats off to them, they deserve this.

Loser: Papaya Rules

Once again, a race has us questioning what Papaya rules truly are. If you are not familiar, McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown clarified what Papaya rules are, basically saying that Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are allowed to race freely with the exception of making contact with one another. So, knowing this, you would think Norris would have to give back the position he gained on Piastri after causing a collision between the two, right? WRONG.

With that being said, do I think Lando should have been required to give the position back? No. I felt that for the first time all season long that Lando made a risky move on his teammate that ended up working in his favor. This is something fans and analysts have been criticizing Norris for all season long. So, when he finally does it, why is he getting criticized?

However, if you look at this from Piastri's point of view, what are Papaya Rules even for if the team aren't going to enforce them? They order Piastri to give Norris back the position for a slow pit stop but do not order Norris to give Oscar back the position after causing a collision with him? To me, that makes no sense and is why the idea of Papaya Rules should never have been implemented in the first place.

All in all, it is just such a messy situation that never ends up going the way it should. My only hope is that now the Constructors' Championship is won, McLaren will ditch these rules and let both drivers race.