Martin Brundle steals the show after wild Singapore Grand Prix
Key takeaways
- Max Verstappen won his first Singapore Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton fell to sixth after a tyre call went wrong.
- Martin Brundle trended for his grid walk chat and blunt Sprint verdicts.
- Kimi Antonelli can seal the title in Austin. He leads George Russell by 102 points.
Martin Brundle is trending because his Singapore weekend had it all. He got a warm grid walk chat. He also gave blunt verdicts on two big race moments.
The race itself was wild too. Max Verstappen won. Lewis Hamilton said sorry for a tyre call.
This piece explains what happened, in plain words.
What happened
Who is Martin Brundle?
Martin Brundle is a former Formula 1 driver. He now works as a presenter for Sky Sports F1. He is best known for his grid walk. The grid walk is a pre-race walk on the start grid.
Brundle chats with drivers and famous guests. He asks short, sharp questions. Fans love these chats.
They also love his blunt race calls. Both sides of Brundle showed up in Singapore.
Verstappen finally wins in Singapore
Max Verstappen won the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday, October 11, 2026. It was his first win at Marina Bay. He led all 62 laps from pole position. Pole position means first place on the start grid.
He won even with a radio problem. He could not talk to his team. It did not slow him down.
This was his second win in a row. It came on his 250th Grand Prix start, according to Sky Sports.
Charles Leclerc finished second for Ferrari. He crossed the line about seven seconds back. Leclerc had pushed hard at the start.
He drew close to Verstappen into Turn 1. Verstappen held the lead. Leclerc stayed within one second for the first 15 laps. Then Verstappen pulled away.
He built a nine-second lead by lap 25, according to Sky Sports. He pitted on lap 33 and kept the lead. Leclerc pitted on lap 39 under a virtual safety car.
A virtual safety car slows all cars for a short time. Leclerc took fresh soft tyres. He could not close a 17-second gap, according to Sky Sports.
Kimi Antonelli finished third for Mercedes. Lando Norris was fourth for McLaren. Oscar Piastri was fifth.
Lewis Hamilton finished sixth. Liam Lawson was seventh. Nico Hulkenberg was eighth.
George Russell was ninth. Isack Hadjar took the last point in tenth. Four cars retired with faults.
They were Gabriel Bortoleto, Franco Colapinto, Lance Stroll, and Alex Albon. No full safety car was needed.
Hamilton's tyre call goes wrong
Lewis Hamilton started third on medium tyres. Medium tyres last longer than soft tyres. Soft tyres are faster but wear out sooner.
Hamilton was the first front-runner to pit. He stopped on lap 19 for soft tyres. He set fast lap times on the fresh rubber.
But he got stuck behind Leclerc.
Then came the key moment. Lance Stroll stopped on lap 39. The virtual safety car came out. Ferrari called Hamilton in to pit.
The team wanted both cars to pit, one after the other. Hamilton chose to stay out. He stayed on the same soft tyres for 44 laps in total, according to F1i.
That is a very long stint on soft tyres. Worn tyres lose grip as they age.
Rivals on fresh tyres soon caught him. Leclerc passed him. Antonelli passed him.
Norris passed him. Piastri passed him too. Hamilton fell to sixth.
After the race, he owned the call on team radio. He said: "Sorry boys. I let you down today with that strategy.
My call, and I lost us valuable points. I'll try and make up for it in the next one. " Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur said the choice was Hamilton's.
He said the team could have put both cars on the podium. He felt Hamilton could have finished third, according to F1i.
Piastri fights back after a puncture
Oscar Piastri had his own tyre trouble. He suffered a slow puncture in the final part of the race. A slow puncture means a tyre loses air bit by bit.
Piastri had to make a second pit stop. That cost him time. He still fought back.
He passed Hamilton late in the race. He finished fifth. It was a strong recovery after bad luck.
His team-mate Norris finished fourth.
Brundle's big grid walk moment
Brundle's most shared moment came before the race. It came on his grid walk. He spoke with Kim Kardashian on the grid.
She was at the race to support Lewis Hamilton. The chat mattered because of an earlier snub. At the Monaco Grand Prix, Kardashian did not speak to Brundle.
This time, she did. She opened with a joke. She asked: "Did we get off on the wrong foot?
" Brundle said it was fine. He asked what she thought of F1. She called the sport "amazing and fun and crazy and wild. " She said Hamilton was "very confident.
" She said she was "praying for the best. " The clip spread fast online. Fans praised her for making things right.
Brundle calls out the Sprint crash
Brundle also made news in the Sprint race. A Sprint is a short race. This one ran for 20 laps.
Lando Norris trailed Oscar Piastri for fourth. On the final lap, Norris tried a pass at Turn 5. He went up the inside. The cars touched.
Piastri spun and went out. Norris finished eighth. He scored one point.
The cost was high for McLaren. The team was on course for nine points. It scored just one point instead.
Its lead over Red Bull fell to 11 points. That lead was in the fight for third in the team standings. Race stewards took no action.
They ruled that both drivers had played a part. McLaren boss Andrea Stella called the clash "not acceptable. " Norris later said the team had told him off.
He also said sorry to the team.
Brundle did not hold back on live TV. He called the move "not smart. " He said McLaren would be furious.
He said the risk was not worth it. The two cars were only fighting for fourth and fifth. The gap between those spots was just one point.
Brundle's blunt call shaped how fans saw the crash.
Brundle sums up Russell's weekend
Brundle also wrote about George Russell after the weekend. Russell had a rough Sprint. He started second.
He led at the start. Then he crashed on lap one. He slid on wet kerbs and hit the barriers.
The crash ended his Sprint. In the main race, Russell started 19th. He had grid penalties for a new power unit.
A power unit is the car's engine system. He fought back to ninth. That gave him two points.
Brundle wrote about Russell in his Sky Sports F1 column. He said the images felt like "a fitting summary of his season so far. " It was a kind line and a hard line at once.
It summed up a weekend of promise and pain.
Why it matters
Verstappen's win matters for the late-season story. Singapore had long been a gap in his record. He has now closed that gap.
His second straight win shows Red Bull's late form. It also came on a big day. It was his 250th Grand Prix start.
Hamilton's call matters because it cost real points. Ferrari had a chance at two podium spots. The team left with second and sixth instead.
Vasseur said the team could have finished second and third. In a tight title fight, those lost points hurt. Hamilton owned the error.
That honesty won him some praise. But the team still lost ground.
The McLaren clash matters for team trust. Team-mates must race hard but stay clean. A crash between two team cars is the worst result.
It costs points and repair work. It also puts the team boss in a hard spot. Stella had to calm the storm in public.
Norris said sorry. Piastri stayed calm. The team must now prove it can move on.
Brundle's moments matter because they show his role in F1. He is not just a voice on TV. His grid walk sets the mood before lights out. His live calls shape the story as it happens.
His column then frames the weekend after it ends. That is why his name trends. Fans search for his words after a wild race.
Singapore gave them plenty to search for.
What happens next
Formula 1 heads to Austin next. The United States Grand Prix runs on October 23 to 25. Antonelli can seal the title there. He leads Russell by 102 points.
He must outscore Russell by 23 points, according to Sky Sports. He must also outscore Hamilton by 14 points. If he does both, he takes the crown.
He would become the youngest world champion in F1 history, according to F1 Oversteer.
Ferrari must fix its strategy calls. The team needs clean pit calls in Austin. It cannot afford another long stint on old tyres.
Tyre pressure and tyre wear will matter again. Each pit call can swing points. Hamilton must bounce back.
Leclerc must keep his strong form.
McLaren must keep its drivers on the same page. Norris and Piastri are both fast. They must race hard without touching.
The team needs both cars to score. It cannot lose points to team-mate clashes. The Sprint crash was a warning.
The next race will test if the lesson stuck.
Brundle will be back on the grid too. His next grid walk will draw eyes. Fans will watch for the next big chat.
They will also listen for his next blunt call. If Austin is as wild as Singapore, his name may trend again. The title fight is close.
The drama is real. The next chapter comes fast.
Related stories
Why Does Tire Pressure Drop in Cold Weather?
Cold weather can cut tire pressure by 1 psi for every 10°F drop, thanks to the ideal gas law. Here is what happens inside the tire and what
Why Do Brake Rotors Warp, or Do They Actually?
Mechanics rarely see a truly warped rotor. The shudder usually comes from uneven pad deposits a few thousandths of an inch thick. Here
How to Buy a Used Car Without Getting Scammed: The Checklist
Over 450,000 cars a year have rolled-back odometers, NHTSA says. This checklist covers VIN checks, title washing, and the inspection that