1. George Russell (Mercedes), 2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull), 3. Lando Norris (McLaren)
TRACK INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Jenson Button)
Q: Congratulations, Zak Brown, Andrea Stella, and the whole McLaren team. You’ve just won the 2025 Constructors’ Championship.
Zak BROWN: Pretty awesome. Unbelievable team here, unbelievable team back at the factory. All the men and women have done such an awesome job. The leadership that Andrea has provided to this race team, the whole leadership team, our owners, our shareholders – it’s such a team effort. Pretty awesome to go back-to-back; it’s been a while since we’ve done it.
Q: And Andrea, I guess it was kind of inevitable, given how this season has gone, that this was going to happen. But what are the emotions right now? You’ve just done back-to-back championships, the first time since 1991.
Andrea STELLA: Yeah, it’s an incredible emotion. I want to share it with the team, thank them for the incredible work. I mean, even with six races to go, which looks unbelievable, but that’s thanks to the great work that has happened at McLaren. Thank you to our fans, to our sponsors, all the technical partners. It’s teamwork, and it’s great that the teamwork is rewarded like this.
Q: So we see with championships, you know, when you win one, when you win two, there are many more. Do we think this can continue through the next regulation change in 2026?
AS: It’s a big ask, obviously. We are definitely working very hard to continue this streak of wins into the future with these big changes of technical regulations. We know it’s difficult, but it’s an undertaking that we are all in for.
Q: Zak, obviously big celebrations tonight, I’m sure. How do you work with the drivers for the rest of the season? Because you’ve won one championship, this is a big one, but obviously Constructors’ is big, while Drivers’ is really special. And you’ve got two very feisty young individuals here that both want to take that title.
ZB: They’ve driven brilliantly all season. You can’t win the Constructors’ without two awesome racing drivers. As you can see, we’re letting them race. That was a bit more of a nail-biter there, but they race hard, they race clean, they race to win. So, a lot of racing to go and hopefully some more victories for both of them.
Q: George, you’ve just won the Singapore Grand Prix. How’s it feeling?
George RUSSELL: Yeah. It feels amazing, especially after what happened a couple of years ago. That was a bit of a missed opportunity, but we more than made up for it today. Just so grateful for the team. They did an amazing job this whole weekend. We don’t really know where this performance came from, but really happy.
Q: From that first lap in Q3, it looks like you’ve just been so calm and confident with the package you have. And the same in the race — from the first lap to the end, it looked very controlled.
GR: Yeah. I mean, Friday was a really tough day for me for many different reasons, and I wasn’t feeling comfortable. But by the time I went to Q3, I felt great in the car, and that’s when it matters. Obviously, I was a bit nervous at the beginning when I saw Max on the Soft, but that first stint was great from us and we just extended the gap.
Q: Max, you started on the Soft. It looked like you were trying to get that jump on George. It didn’t quite work out for you. And then it looked like quite a frustrating race for you — quite vocal on the radio.
Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, the track only just got dry (before the start), and starting on the dirty side of the grid… Yeah, well, we just opted to try something different because normally, if you just cross or pass Turn 1, you just stay there without anything crazy. So we tried. It didn’t really work out. So, then the first stint was always about just surviving on the tyres, trying to make it long enough to then pit for the Hard tyre. I think that worked out, but unfortunately, I think the whole race was quite difficult — more difficult than I hoped — for a lot of different reasons, let’s say it like that. So a few things we need to understand, why these things went wrong today. But even then, around here, even if you have more pace, you can’t pass without anything crazy happening. So I think, for us, second was the maximum result.
Q: Lando, how are you feeling first of all? Because I know that this week’s not been the easiest for you physically.
Lando NORRIS: Yeah. Not too bad. Not too bad. I could go again. I mean, it was a tough race. Max didn’t make any mistakes, whether I was feeling good or not. I gave it my all today and got close. A few chances where we were side by side and some good little bits of battling. But, yeah, like they said, just too difficult to overtake, which is a shame because the pace was very strong today, and I would have loved to have tried to catch George and given him a little bit more pressure. So, I’m happy with today. I got forward two positions. We won, as a team, the Constructors’ once again, so I’m most happy about that.
Q: You said you got close to Max. You actually got very close to Max in Turn 3 and your team-mate. What’s your read on Turn 3 of lap one?
LN: Yeah. I mean, it was slippery, you know. It was still wet in a lot of places, but it’s racing. I put it on the inside. I had a small correction, but nothing more than that — it was good racing. And like I said, I wish I could have given it a little bit more. I wish there were a few more overtaking opportunities today, but I felt like I did everything I could today. And yep, I’m happy with that.
Q: George, I’ll finish with you. Obviously, a fantastic weekend. Do you feel that this is a balance of a car that works for you — that you can take on to Austin?
GR: I mean, I said it yesterday. If I were to make a list of all the races I thought we could win at this year, this would probably be right at the bottom. So I think we need to sit down tomorrow and Tuesday to sort of understand why the performance was so good. I hope we can carry this through to the rest of the season, but I think realistically, Lando looked incredibly fast. He was within a second of Max the whole race. And around this circuit, that’s not easy. So, we’ll take the performance for today, celebrate it, and I won’t think too much about Austin yet.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: George let’s start with you. Tremendous race – a faultless race by you. Were things out front as smooth as they looked?
GR: I mean, a one hour, 45-minute race here in Singapore, with the heat and humidity, is never smooth and straightforward. But when I saw Max on the Soft tyres, I knew I just needed to stay ahead of him at Turn 1. But then the opening laps were really strong, and I know Max was probably managing those Softs more than I was managing my Mediums, but pulling the 10-second gap in 20-something laps was really great. And from that moment on, I just knew it was, yeah, bring it home and watch out for the wall at Turn 10.
Q: Well, after what happened a couple of years ago, does that make this win all the more satisfying?
GR: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, this track has not been my best friend over the years, and that’s often been through my own doing. But as I said, yes, I’m a very different driver today to the one I was a couple of years ago, and I feel more complete, more confident. I know exactly what I need to do in given circumstances. Of course, I was nervous before the race as you’d expect, but I didn’t feel any additional nerves or any additional pressure. It just felt like another race, and I knew I had a chance to win, and I felt comfortable with that. So, you know, I’ve said it for a while — I feel ready to fight for a championship. I feel ready to take it to my next step.
Q: Now, we had that rain about an hour before the start. Just how nervous were you when you looked across and saw Max on the Soft tyre?
GR: Yeah, 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. You saw Lando was definitely the quickest guy out there, and he just couldn’t pass Max. 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.
Q: You’ve said several times this weekend that you’re not sure where this performance has come from. Having done 62 laps, do you think you understand a little bit more why you’ve been so quick here?
GR: I think there’s been less tyre overheating this year compared to years gone by. I think it’s a track that in the past had major overheating, but with some of the corners having new tarmac, it’s a bit smoother. The tyres seem a little bit more robust this year. It was all just in a bit of a nicer window, but nevertheless, it was still quite a surprise.
Q: Max, let’s come to you. A defensive masterclass from you out there. But can we start with the point George has just made? He thinks that if you’d taken the lead at Turn 1, you could have won the race. Do you agree?
MV: Yeah, I think so too. It’s just super hard to pass around here, but I didn’t take the lead at Turn 1. So, yeah, we knew that the inside just was a lot worse for start performance. For whatever reason, it took a step back even compared to last year, so it’s a bit of a shame, of course. I knew already yesterday that it would be very tough to even keep the position on the same tyres. 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. Plus 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. 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.
Gallery5SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE – OCTOBER 05: Race winner George Russell of Great Britain and Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team celebrates in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Singapore at Marina Bay Street Circuit on October 05, 2025 in Singapore, Singapore. (Photo by Mark Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)Close image galleryPrevious imageNext image
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SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE – OCTOBER 05: Race winner George Russell of Great Britain and Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team celebrates in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Singapore at Marina Bay Street Circuit on October 05, 2025 in Singapore, Singapore. (Photo by Mark Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
Q: How do you assess the step forward that Red Bull has taken this weekend with the car?
MV: I think over the last few races we’ve definitely improved a lot. A few things that we have done throughout the weekend, that’s what we have to probably look at again for the coming races. But it’s nothing shocking or that we are lost about why maybe some pace has disappeared compared to what we would have liked. It’s just some stuff that we need to analyse, and hopefully next weekend we can do a little bit better.
Q: Max, very well done. Thank you very much. Lando, let’s come to you now. You were very racy out there tonight. George thinks you had the fastest car. Was this the happiest you’ve been with the car all weekend?
LN: Probably, but probably just a little too late in the weekend to say that. I think more just the race pace was strong, like it always is, and we just weren’t good enough yesterday. I think we still need to understand… I think we understand why, but if we were to re-run qualifying now, what would we really do different? I don’t think we have maybe the best or clearest picture, and that’s the only reason we couldn’t win today. But the pace was, I think, also the best out there. It didn’t matter — I couldn’t get past Max. He didn’t make any mistakes and it’s too difficult to follow here. So a bit of a shame, but I did what I could. And even though I was feeling good with the car, and I felt like if I could get past Max, I’d be able to try and have a crack at catching George, and I think I would. It’s just too difficult to follow and too difficult to overtake.
Q: You say it’s difficult to overtake. Just how much did the front wing damage you were carrying affect the performance of the car?
LN: No idea. But not much.
Q: You couldn’t feel anything?
LN: No. I didn’t even know at the time.
Q: You made a very good start — that’s where you made the jump from your grid position. Just talk us through the opening ten seconds of the race.
LN: I can’t remember it, to be honest. I think the start was good. Just the right-hand side of the grid was good. I think it was a good launch as well, so I got across and put myself in a good position to not get checked up out of Turn 1 and into Turn 2. Just had a big up on the inside of Oscar. It was very close, you know, so slippery because it was still damp in places and drying out. I think I just clipped the back of Max’s car, and that just gave me a little correction, but then that was it. So yeah, good in terms of getting two positions. If I didn’t get them there, I probably never would have got them, just because, like we saw, it was too difficult to overtake. So the aggression there and the forward thinking paid off.
Q: Aggressive on the team-mate?
LN: Well, I hit Max, so it wasn’t aggressive on my teammate.
Q: Talk us through it. The reason you leant on Oscar was because of the touch with Max?
LN: Yep.
Q: Final one. Six races to go. McLaren are Constructors’ Champions for the 10th time, their first back-to-back win since 1991. What does this one mean to you?
LN: I mean, another one is just a great thing. Another Constructors’ feels the same as the first because to get the first was quite an achievement if you still look at where we were just three years ago. We’ve overtaken every team in terms of development. We’ve outdone them by a long way in terms of development. And in a time when it’s almost harder to do than ever — with more restrictions, less wind tunnel time, all of those different things, budget cap — that’s probably been more in our favour over the last five years compared to the budget that the other teams could run at. But, yeah, in a time when it should be more difficult than ever to dominate, that’s exactly what the team has done and given us, by a long way, the best car on the grid. That’s always a very nice thing to say. Every driver that gets to say that, it always puts a smile on your face. But we’ve also done very well as a team in terms of drivers, between Oscar and myself pushing each other and delivering every single weekend. You don’t see that in any other team. I think we’re also very proud of that as drivers. But for me, I’ve been with McLaren since I started. It was a very different time and place then to where we are now. So that journey makes it more special — to know the downs, because that’s a lot of what it was back then — to see the rise we’ve had, to see the teamwork, the changes, the atmosphere difference, and the leadership from Zak and Andrea especially, has turned things around and made us the best team in the world. That’s something not many people ever get to say.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Ronald Vording – Motorsport.com) It’s a question to Max. You mentioned Red Bull’s progress in recent weeks. How would you describe the role of Laurent Mekies in that? He himself just said in hospitality, just like in Monza, “My contribution is absolutely zero,” and he actually pointed to you as one of the driving forces. And when Helmut Marko said Laurent’s way too humble, how would you describe his contribution?
MV: Yeah, well, I think Laurent is probably being too nice in that sense. But at the end of the day, what is very good is that we just approach it as a proper team effort. We always tried to look into the details. We tried to understand what our weaknesses were. And since a few races, it’s definitely picked up a lot. Maybe now it was not as good as last race weekend, but sometimes you come out of a race just a bit lost, not really understanding why or how. I do think that now we understand why or how we can be better. And, yeah, by asking the right questions, including Laurent being involved in that, it’s just working well.
Q: (Lawrence Edmondson – ESPN) Question for Lando. I appreciate that you said that you hit Max first and that led to the contact with Piastri. But, of course, because there was contact with Oscar and the team have said that there shouldn’t be contact when you’re racing, were you concerned that they might ask you to give the position back, or were you just certain within your understanding of the rules of engagement that that wasn’t going to be on the cards?
LN: I’ve still not even seen it. I still need to go in and see it. I might look at it and think there’s something else I could have done or done better. Anyone on the grid would have done exactly the same thing as I did. So I think if you fault me for just going on the inside and putting my car on the inside of a big gap, then, yeah, I think you shouldn’t be in Formula 1. So, you know, I don’t think there was anything wrong that I did. Of course, I misjudged a little bit how close I was to Max, but that’s racing. Nothing happened otherwise, and I’m sure I still would have ended up ahead of Oscar anyway because I was on the inside and he would have had the dirty side of the track on the outside. So, I need to go review it, of course. I need to look at things and see if there was something I could have done better. The last thing I want is to make contact with my teammate, especially because all I get is questions from you guys. So, you know, I’m the one that can’t afford anything compared to him. I would put myself at risk just as much if that kind of thing happens. So, yeah, I’ll see what I can do with it next time. But the FIA obviously thought it was fine, and the team did too. So, that’s it.
Q: (Zuhrah Beevi – Vavel.com) Question for Max. With four consecutive podiums under your belt, how confident are you that Red Bull can close the gap and fight Mercedes and Ferrari for second in the Constructors’ Championship, given that you’re only 10 points behind Ferrari and 35 off Mercedes?
MV: Yeah, the 35 is quite a lot already. Ideally, I would have won today. But, yeah, we will try for sure. It’s going to be a proper battle. It’s not so easy when Mercedes wins today and you’re P2, and I think the other Mercedes also scored points — I don’t know what position. So it’s tough, but we’re going to give it a good go.
Q: (Ronald Vording – Motorsport.com) Question to George. You’ve mentioned the crash here a couple of years ago a few times this weekend, and yesterday you said, “I’m a completely different driver now.” Can you specify that a bit? Is that more growing into the role of team leader, or is it on-track performances, lap time? What’s improved?
GR: I think it comes with experience, just knowing how to maximise every situation. Probably a couple of years ago I was driving a bit more tense and probably over-pushing in circumstances when I shouldn’t have been. Now I just feel much more relaxed. Going into today, I was relaxed. When it was raining an hour before the race, I just said, you know, it is what it is. It’s the same for everybody. There’s nothing I can do, so there’s no point stressing about it. I think myself a few years ago would have been slightly different (Audio drops out).
Q: (Deepanraj Ganesan – Straits Times) Unfortunately, it’s about racing with your team-mate again. Congratulations on the Constructors’ title, but with that out of the way, can we expect more racing against your teammate for the remainder of the six races? Is that a conversation you’re going to have with your team and your teammate for the remainder of the season, as both of you are still in the title fight?
LN: I mean, it’ll just remain the same, which is open to race. So, yeah, nothing will change because we’re free to race and have been the whole season.
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