Liam Lawson’s bold one-stop strategy failed to deliver results at the Singapore Grand Prix, leaving the Kiwi 15th after an otherwise disciplined drive.
Despite managing to run 49 of the 62 laps on his first set of tyres and rising as high as eighth, Lawson’s late pit stop dropped him down the order, with all 20 cars finishing the race and no safety car to help his cause. Williams’ Carlos Sainz executed a similar strategy more effectively, finishing 10th and taking the final point, while Lawson lamented earlier practice crashes that hurt his qualifying position.
At the front, Mercedes’ George Russell secured victory from pole, ending Red Bull’s Max Verstappen’s winning streak as McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finished third and fourth, sealing McLaren’s constructors championship.
Internal tension lingered within McLaren after Norris overtook Piastri on lap one without team orders. Meanwhile, Lawson’s Racing Bulls teammate Isack Hadjar narrowly missed the points in 11th due to engine issues, and rival Yuki Tsunoda finished 12th. Formula One now heads to the US Grand Prix in Austin following a week’s break.
