George Russell and Max Verstappen have explained how the start to Formula 1‘s Singapore Grand Prix decided the race in the Mercedes driver’s favour.
Russell cruised to his second win of the season at the Marina Bay Street Circuit as the chequered flag fell over the 62-lap race.
Verstappen had come into the Singapore weekend eager to prove his title credentials, as he aimed to tackle the only track on the F1 calendar he had yet to conquer.
Qualifying saw him slot in behind the Mercedes driver on the front row of the grid, after suggestions of being impeded by McLaren’s Lando Norris during his final Q3 effort.
In the end, Russell believes that maintaining the status quo coming out of the first series of corners was “crucial” to him keeping the Dutchman at bay despite a clear tyre advantage in favour of Verstappen at the start.
“When I saw Max on the Soft tyres, I knew I just needed to stay ahead of him at Turn 1,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“Well, I thought it was a smart move from those guys because if Max jumped me at Turn 1, to be honest, I think he would have won the race, because overtaking was so challenging.”
Norris, who rounded off the podium in third place, had more inherent pace in the MCL39, corroborating Russell’s analysis of why track position was king on the streets of Singapore.
“You saw Lando was definitely the quickest guy out there, and he just couldn’t pass Max,” explained Russell.
“He was within a second every single lap. So if Lando couldn’t get past, I doubt we would have been able to achieve it.
“So, it was crucial that we nailed the start. It’s been a strong point of mine this year, so I’m glad we did.”
Verstappen concurs with Russell’s race start analysis
Verstappen’s second-placed finish saw him cut his deficit to championship leader Oscar Piastri to 63 points with six more rounds remaining this season.
However, the 28-year-old was not ruining missed opportunities to go for the win as he surmised that second was the maximum he could extract out of the RB21.
“The whole race, I was struggling a lot with the shifting – downshifting and upshifting – so that was not helping. And the balance probably was not where I wanted it to be,” he detailed.
“So, yeah, I think second was just the maximum that we could do today.
“But at the same time, even if the balance would have been miles better, second was still the best we could have done if we stayed P2 into Turn 1.
“That’s just how it goes around here. When nothing crazy happens with a Safety Car or an opportunity, then that is just your position.”
Verstappen was also in agreement with Russell that the race was won and lost at the very first corner as he failed to convert his tyre advantage into track position.
“It’s just super hard to pass around here, but I didn’t take the lead at Turn 1,” he added.
“Then, of course, with the rain as well, we opted to go for the Soft, just hoping that first of all we could keep our position and maybe have a shot at fighting for P1 into Turn 1.
“But once I didn’t achieve that, it was a proper management race, trying to keep those Soft tyres alive long enough to bring it to an acceptable lap to stop.
“Then, of course, I knew that even on a Hard tyre, it was still a long way to go.
“I think my tyres were six, seven laps older than George’s and Lando’s more or less. So, yeah, it was not easy out there.”
READ MORE – How banishing his Singapore demons validated the step George Russell has made in F1 2025
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