Get a peek at all the F1 Singapore highlights - from adrenaline-charged festivities to fun tidbits about this year's race.
Another race weekend is over, and we’ve got the latest F1 Singapore highlights for you. After cheering our lungs out for our favourite teams, partying it up at the fringe events, and spotting F1 drivers in Singapore, it’s finally a wrap on all the F1 excitement. For anyone who missed out on the high-octane festivities, we’ve got your back. Here’s our roundup of this year’s Singapore F1 news.
F1 Singapore highlights: What happened in 2026
1. Valtteri Bottas takes the scenic route
Unlike the other drivers who took a boring ol’ plane from the Sepang track to Singapore, Valtteri Bottas decided to take the road less travelled… Literally. The Cadillac driver decided to embark on a 420km cycle from Malaysia to get to Singapore. And it took four days to get there!
2. Max Verstappen finally wins in Singapore!
Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix history has been made this year as veteran Max Verstappen has finally clocked his first-ever victory in the Singapore track. After 10 attempts at that! This is on top of him winning Saturday’s Sprint race and claiming pole position. A fabulous way to complete his 250th race in his Formula 1 career.
3. A boys’ trip to Langkawi
Some of the drivers have clearly missed the Sepang track and Malaysia as a whole, because off to Langkawi they went for some much-needed R&R. Masterminded by Carlos Sainz, George Russell, Alex Albon, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Ollie Bearman, Gabriel Bortoleto, and former F1 driver Roberto Merhi made their way to the gorgeous island ahead of the Bahrain race. The boys spent their time playing chess, cycling, go-karting (which ended up being very chaotic), and simply unwinding.
4. Thursday Pit Lane Experience ends up being… Less than ideal
The Thursday Pit Lane Experience is a dream if you manage to get a ticket through the ballot. You get first dibs at walking through the track, catching the teams making their final race preparations, and even get to spot some of the drivers in their garages. However, social media posts from attendees reported the experience was less than stellar. Snaking queues and congestion meant any fans who walked the track late found covered cars and no crew in the garages. Not quite an exciting start to the races…
5. Special helmets for McLaren
We couldn’t be the only ones who physically gasped when the video of Oscar Piastri’s specially designed helmet dropped. Embellished with traditional Peranakan beadwork, the entire helmet was decorated by hand with around 350,000 beads sewn in by Peranakan artists Angeline Kong and Carolyn Law. It took them around two months to complete it! Oscar even called it his favourite helmet out of all the ones created in Singapore.
6. George Russell’s bad luck continues
After his shocking crash during the final lap of the 2023 race and his free practice crash in 2024, we figured the last of George Russell’s luck was behind him. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case during the Sprint race. After completing his first lap, the Mercedes driver spun out of control and hit the pit wall, leading to a safety car. Thankfully, he’s unharmed and even managed to finish the final race within the top 10 – an impressive feat considering he started at the back of the grid.
7. Scuderia Ferrari got new social media interns
For any followers of the Scuderia Ferrari, you might have caught the two hours of chaos that happened on the brand’s Instagram page. In a surprising turn of events, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc hijacked the page, publishing several posts and even going went live to chat with fans during their two-hour takeover. Just goes to show Formula 1 drivers are just like us and love to goof off while on the job.
8. FIA software issues cause delays
A rare human error from the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) led to some minor delays during the Sprint qualifying over the weekend. Long story short, someone forgot to flip a switch, leading to lost power on the Formula 1 cars. This compromised on the session’s fairness as some drivers completed the qualifying lap with half a second’s worth more speed. In Formula 1 terms, this is a lot.
9. More drama for McLaren
Oh, McLaren… What is happening to the team? During the final lap of the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix Sprint, drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri ended up crashing into each other while battling for fourth place. It was so bad, that McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella condemned the drivers, calling it “absolutely unacceptable” and even told the two to park their egos aside for the greater team goal and championship. Yikes.
10. Alex Albon has a durian helmet!
If we wanna talk about quintissentially Singaporean helmets, we can’t miss out on Alex Albon’s! Inspired by the durian, the helmet features a print of the classic spiky skin of the fruit, decorated with Alex’s personal branding touches like his racing number and an MBS icon.
11. Fire in the pit lane
After just eight laps, trouble caught up to Audi driver Gabriel Bortoleto, who had to exit the race due to problems with the gearbox in his car. As he made his way into the pit lane, his car suddenly caught fire! Not the first time this has happened to Audi, as the R26 car also burst into flames during the Miami Grand Prix earlier this year in May.
12. Get well soon, Lewis!
This year’s Singapore Night Race proved challenging for Lewis Hamilton, who faltered and admitted fault to a failed team strategy which costed the Ferrari team a potential double podium. After the race concluded, the driver reported feeling unwell after seeing the FIA medics, and did not attend media interviews so he could rest. We’re wishing him a speedy recovery ahead of the United States Grand Prix.
13. Heat hazard declarations continue
Singapore was officially declared a heat hazard over the F1 weekend (the second year in a row!), but what does that mean? After particularly high temperatures and humidity during the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, the FIA (F1’s governing body) began looking into possible fixes for the high temperatures. Now, a heat hazard can be declared if weather forecasts predict temperatures will hit 31°C or above.
As every Singaporean knows, 31°C is just a regular day in the city. No sweat for us, but plenty of sweat for the drivers. Since the hazard was declared, teams were required to implement driver cooling systems. This includes a pump, plumbing, thermal store, cold fluid to keep drivers cool, and a prototype cooling vest that drivers can choose to wear. Seems like the Marina Bay Street Circuit continues to hold its notorious reputation as the most challenging and demanding track of the season.
14. Afterparties hit the floor
Amber Lounge might be the hottest party in town, but it isn’t the only one! (Although we did spot 13 Reasons Why actor Ross Butler there.) This year, we saw a multitude of parties keeping the high-octane energy up. From sipping on free-flow cocktails to rubbing shoulders with celebs to dancing the night away with heart-thumping hits by big-name DJs, the F1 weekend in 2026 was one to remember.
See you next year for more Singapore F1 news and highlights!
