By Rohith Nair
SINGAPORE, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Red Bull's Max Verstappen delivered a commanding performance to win the Singapore Grand Prix from pole position on Sunday, securing his second straight victory of the season after a perfect weekend that included a sprint race triumph.
The Dutchman controlled the race from the start at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, fending off an early challenge from Ferrari's Charles Leclerc who finished second while Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli was third to close in on a first
title.
Verstappen, who won the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia last weekend, had never won in Singapore before and he had come into the race weekend stating he had "unfinished business".
"It's taken a while but I think this race was very good. We had pace when we needed to have it on the soft tyre, even though I think the medium tyre for everyone was more of a struggle," Verstappen said.
"But it worked out, so of course very happy to win here... The last two races have been really positive for us and it's just great to see."
Antonelli extended his championship lead over teammate George Russell to 102 points and the Italian can mathematically win the title in the next round in Austin.
"Can I? Really?" a surprised Antonelli said when he was told after his 14th podium of the season.
"Well, let's not worry about that. Let's try to do the best weekend as possible and finish the job."
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton had qualified third on the grid but he endured a torrid evening, slipping to sixth behind Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri after the two McLaren drivers overtook him in the dying stages as he struggled with his tyres.
Russell, who started at the back of the grid due to engine penalties, finished ninth behind Liam Lawson and Nico Hulkenberg while Isack Hadjar - who also started at the back - was 10th.
VERSTAPPEN SHUTS THE DOOR
Leclerc reacted faster than polesitter Verstappen at the start, nearly lining up alongside the Dutchman heading into turn one, but the Red Bull driver veered to the left to shut the door on the Ferrari and retain his lead.
As the race progressed, Verstappen steadily pulled clear on soft tyres, with Red Bull urging him to manage their life as Ferrari threatened an undercut.
Hamilton's struggles became apparent early as he lost pace on medium tyres in third place and Ferrari brought him in for softs before Leclerc pitted on lap 25 in a move timed to emerge ahead of his teammate.
Hamilton's frustration boiled over on team radio as he urged Ferrari to let him past Leclerc, saying: "I need to use this speed, mate," before Leclerc responded by setting the fastest lap.
When Verstappen finally pitted on lap 33, his commanding lead allowed him to rejoin in first place.
Lance Stroll's retirement with clutch issues triggered another VSC period that sparked a flurry of pit stops and Russell's timing proved unfortunate as the VSC ended earlier than expected, dropping him to 10th.
RADIO ISSUES FOR VERSTAPPEN
The strategy chaos benefited Leclerc, who caught and passed Hamilton on lap 46 to claim second place, though he remained nearly 15 seconds behind Verstappen, who faced radio communication problems for the second time this weekend.
The issue forced his engineer to resort to coded messages, asking the Dutchman to key his mic to make a sound or stay silent when given options on strategy.
The final stint saw Hamilton's pace collapse as multiple drivers closed in sensing a podium.
Norris attempted to pass Hamilton on lap 54, but the Ferrari left the track and went wide while the McLaren went on the dirty part of the track, allowing Antonelli to overtake and move up to fourth.
Antonelli then passed Hamilton for third before Norris found his opportunity at turn 10.
Hamilton's misery was completed when Piastri overtook him on the final lap, relegating the Ferrari driver to sixth place.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Singapore;Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
