2018 Singapore Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Lewis Hamilton followed an outstanding qualifying lap with victory at the 2018 Singapore Grand Prix. Max Verstappen finished second at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, while Sebastian Vettel‘s third place left Ferrari facing a larger championship deficit after a weekend it had hoped would favour its car.

Race Guide

Season: 2018 F1 World Championship
Race date: 16 September 2018
Race start time: 20:10 local time (UTC+08:00)
Circuit: Marina Bay Street Circuit
Laps: 61 laps
Circuit length: 5.063 km
2017 winner: Lewis Hamilton

Pole position
Driver	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Time	1:36.015
Fastest lap
Driver	Kevin Magnussen	Haas
Time	1:41.905 on lap 50
Podium
First	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Second	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing
Third	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
14 September 2018	Practice 1	16:30 – 18:00
14 September 2018	Practice 2	20:30 – 22:00
15 September 2018	Practice 3	18:00 – 19:00
15 September 2018	Qualifying	21:00 – 22:00
16 September 2018	Race	20:10

All times are local (UTC+08:00). The race time is the scheduled start.

Championship background

Hamilton led Vettel by 30 points after Italy. Singapore’s slow corners appeared to offer Ferrari and Red Bull Racing an opportunity, but Mercedes arrived determined to improve its form at a circuit that had often proved difficult.

Race entries

The regular 20-driver line-up contested the weekend without practice substitutes. Racing Point Force India continued with Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon as it rebuilt its constructors’ score following the new entry in Belgium.

Free Practice

Daniel Ricciardo led FP1 in 1:39.711, with Max Verstappen second and Sebastian Vettel third. Red Bull Racing showed encouraging speed on the street circuit.

Kimi Räikkönen topped FP2 with a 1:38.699, only 0.011 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Vettel hit the wall and lost valuable running time.

Vettel led FP3 in 1:38.054, ahead of Räikkönen and Hamilton. Ferrari‘s pace looked strong before qualifying, although the final session would produce a very different order.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2018 Singapore Grand Prix FP1, 14 September 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1:39.711	27
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.201s	27
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+0.286s	23
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.775s	21
5	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+1.394s	26
6	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+1.521s	28
7	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	+1.618s	23
8	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+1.718s	28
9	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	+2.324s	24
10	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+2.397s	21
11	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+2.697s	23
12	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point Force India	+2.701s	25
13	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+2.741s	20
14	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+2.919s	23
15	31	Esteban Ocon	Racing Point Force India	+3.466s	25
16	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	+3.529s	25
17	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	+3.774s	30
18	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	+4.138s	30
19	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	+4.325s	29
20	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+5.449s	11

Free Practice 2 Classification

2018 Singapore Grand Prix FP2, 14 September 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:38.699	35
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.011s	20
3	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.522s	28
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+0.610s	33
5	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.669s	33
6	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	+1.575s	36
7	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+1.685s	33
8	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+1.760s	31
9	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+1.934s	12
10	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+1.969s	35
11	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point Force India	+2.075s	30
12	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+2.113s	37
13	31	Esteban Ocon	Racing Point Force India	+2.171s	33
14	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	+2.363s	37
15	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+2.455s	32
16	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+2.465s	32
17	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	+2.843s	38
18	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	+2.916s	36
19	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	+3.442s	17
20	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	+3.482s	36

Free Practice 3 Classification

2018 Singapore Grand Prix FP3, 15 September 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:38.054	19
2	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+0.362s	16
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.504s	14
4	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.549s	17
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	+1.132s	14
6	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+1.211s	10
7	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+1.693s	14
8	31	Esteban Ocon	Racing Point Force India	+2.019s	14
9	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point Force India	+2.177s	14
10	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+2.200s	10
11	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	+2.396s	17
12	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+2.505s	13
13	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	+2.537s	14
14	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	+2.632s	16
15	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	+2.744s	15
16	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	+2.861s	20
17	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	+3.508s	18
18	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	+3.830s	19
19	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+3.899s	18
20	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	+4.166s	18

Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton delivered a remarkable 1:36.015 to take pole. Max Verstappen qualified second despite driveability problems, while Sebastian Vettel could manage only third.

Valtteri Bottas, Kimi Räikkönen and Daniel Ricciardo completed the leading six. Sergio Perez headed the midfield in seventh, with Esteban Ocon also reaching Q3 for Racing Point Force India.

Qualifying Classification

2018 Singapore Grand Prix Qualifying, 15 September 2018

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:39.403	1:37.344	1:36.015	17
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:38.751	1:37.214	1:36.334	14
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:38.218	1:37.876	1:36.628	17
4	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:39.291	1:37.254	1:36.702	20
5	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:38.534	1:37.194	1:36.794	17
6	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	1:38.153	1:37.406	1:36.996	12
7	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point Force India	1:38.814	1:38.342	1:37.985	19
8	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:38.685	1:38.367	1:38.320	15
9	31	Esteban Ocon	Racing Point Force India	1:38.912	1:38.534	1:38.365	20
10	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	1:38.932	1:38.450	1:38.588	18
11	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:39.022	1:38.641	—	12
12	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	1:39.103	1:38.716	—	12
13	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	1:39.206	1:38.747	—	14
14	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:39.366	1:39.453	—	14
15	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	1:39.614	1:39.691	—	13
16	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:39.644	—	—	6
17	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	1:39.809	—	—	8
18	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	1:39.864	—	—	8
19	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	1:41.263	—	—	8
20	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	1:41.334	—	—	6

What happened in the 2018 Singapore Grand Prix?

Hamilton held the lead, while Vettel passed Verstappen just before the safety car was deployed. Contact between Perez and Ocon at Turn 3 had sent Ocon into the wall, ending his race immediately.

The leaders carefully managed their tyres after the restart. Ferrari stopped Vettel first in an attempt to undercut Hamilton, but he rejoined behind traffic. Mercedes covered the move, and Verstappen’s later stop also brought him out ahead of Vettel.

Hamilton controlled the race from the front, although traffic briefly allowed Verstappen to close. Romain Grosjean and Sergey Sirotkin were fighting while the leaders approached, and Grosjean received a penalty for ignoring blue flags.

Perez had another difficult battle with Sirotkin, making contact and receiving a drive-through penalty. The incident compounded an already costly afternoon for Racing Point Force India.

Hamilton won ahead of Verstappen and Vettel. Bottas, Räikkönen and Ricciardo completed the top six, followed by Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc and Nico Hülkenberg. Kevin Magnussen recorded the first fastest lap for both himself and Haas.

Hamilton’s championship lead grew to 40 points. His qualifying performance had created the opportunity, and a measured race ensured that Mercedes capitalised on a weekend its rivals had expected to exploit.

2018 Singapore Grand Prix race results

The 2018 Singapore Grand Prix was held on 16 September 2018, with a scheduled start of 20:10 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	61	1:51:11.611	25
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	61	+8.961s	18
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	61	+39.945s	15
4	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	61	+51.930s	12
5	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	61	+53.001s	10
6	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	61	+53.982s	8
7	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	61	+103.011s	6
8	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	60	+1 lap	4
9	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	60	+1 lap	2
10	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	60	+1 lap	1
11	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	60	+1 lap	0
12	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	60	+1 lap	0
13	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	60	+1 lap	0
14	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	60	+1 lap	0
15	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	60	+1 lap	0
16	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point Force India	60	+1 lap	0
17	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	60	+1 lap	0
18	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	59	+2 laps	0
19	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	59	+2 laps	0
Ret	31	Esteban Ocon	Racing Point Force India	0	Collision	0

Romain Grosjean received a 5-second time penalty for ignoring blue flags.

2018 Singapore Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time of Day	Time	Avg. Speed
1	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	50	21:48:46	1:41.905	178.860
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	56	21:56:07	1:42.913	177.108
3	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing	59	22:02:07	1:43.120	176.753
4	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	57	21:59:26	1:43.164	176.677
5	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	54	21:52:44	1:43.345	176.368
6	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	48	21:42:27	1:44.669	174.137
7	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	46	21:39:04	1:44.715	174.061
8	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	42	21:31:59	1:44.720	174.052
9	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	38	21:26:58	1:44.889	173.772
10	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	50	21:47:57	1:45.169	173.309
11	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	57	22:00:03	1:45.203	173.253
12	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	50	21:47:23	1:45.211	173.240
13	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point Force India	48	21:45:06	1:45.389	172.947
14	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	50	21:48:02	1:45.555	172.675
15	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	48	21:45:43	1:45.902	172.110
16	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	57	22:00:34	1:45.904	172.106
17	18	Lance Stroll	Williams	53	21:53:36	1:46.033	171.897
18	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	56	21:58:50	1:46.063	171.848
19	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	53	21:53:09	1:46.093	171.800

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear in this table. Time of Day is local time; average speeds are in km/h. No championship point was awarded for fastest lap in 2018.

2018 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings for drivers and teams after the 2018 Singapore Grand Prix.

2018 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Mercedes	281
2	Sebastian Vettel	GER	Ferrari	241
3	Kimi Räikkönen	FIN	Ferrari	174
4	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	Mercedes	171
5	Max Verstappen	NED	Red Bull Racing	148
6	Daniel Ricciardo	AUS	Red Bull Racing	126
7	Nico Hulkenberg	GER	Renault	53
8	Fernando Alonso	ESP	McLaren	50
9	Kevin Magnussen	DEN	Haas	49
10	Sergio Perez	MEX	Force India / Racing Point Force India	46
11	Esteban Ocon	FRA	Force India / Racing Point Force India	45
12	Carlos Sainz	ESP	Renault	38
13	Pierre Gasly	FRA	Toro Rosso	28
14	Romain Grosjean	FRA	Haas	27
15	Charles Leclerc	MON	Sauber	15
16	Stoffel Vandoorne	BEL	McLaren	8
17	Lance Stroll	CAN	Williams	6
18	Marcus Ericsson	SWE	Sauber	6
19	Brendon Hartley	NZL	Toro Rosso	2
20	Sergey Sirotkin	RUS	Williams	1

2018 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Mercedes	452
2	Ferrari	415
3	Red Bull Racing	274
4	Renault	91
5	Haas	76
6	McLaren	58
7	Racing Point Force India	32
8	Toro Rosso	30
9	Sauber	21
10	Williams	7
EX	Force India	0

The original Force India entry was excluded from the championship before the Belgian Grand Prix and its 59 constructors’ points were forfeited. Racing Point Force India entered as a new constructor from Belgium; the drivers retained their points.

2018 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2018 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	25 March
2	2018 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	8 April
3	2018 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	15 April
4	2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix	Baku City Circuit, Baku	29 April
5	2018 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló	13 May
6	2018 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	27 May
7	2018 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	10 June
8	2018 French Grand Prix	Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet	24 June
9	2018 Austrian Grand Prix	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	1 July
10	2018 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	8 July
11	2018 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	22 July
12	2018 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	29 July
13	2018 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	26 August
14	2018 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza	2 September
15	2018 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	16 September
16	2018 Russian Grand Prix	Sochi Autodrom, Sochi	30 September
17	2018 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	7 October
18	2018 United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	21 October
19	2018 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	28 October
20	2018 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	11 November
21	2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	25 November

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Ben is a staff writer specialising in F1 from the 1990s to the modern era. Ben has been following Formula 1 since 1986 and is an avid researcher who loves understanding the technology that makes it one of the most exciting motorsport on the planet. He listens to podcasts about F1 on a daily basis, and enjoys reading books from the inspirational Adrian Newey to former F1 drivers.