Verstappen’s Singapore Win Brings Him One Step Closer to a Full Circuit Sweep

Max Verstappen took his 73rd Formula One victory when he dominated the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix from his first‑position start. After securing his first pole at Marina Bay, he led every lap but did not set the fastest lap because other drivers switched to softer tyres in the final stint, so he missed the seventh grand‑slam. The win gave Verstappen victories on 27 different circuits, a tally only surpassed by Lewis Hamilton’s 31. He has won on every track on the current calendar except the new Madring circuit, which was added this year.

New rounds add extra hurdles

The 2027 calendar will feature three new rounds. Of those, two are circuits where Verstappen has already competed but has not yet won, and a third is a brand‑new track. To claim a clean sweep of all 24 current tracks, he will need victories at each of those venues. Hamilton last achieved a sweep in 2018, winning 21 of the 21 races that season. The added rounds make a future sweep even more impressive. Verstappen reached 50 pole positions on his 250th race start, joining Ayrton Senna, Hamilton, Schumacher and Vettel.

The season’s points gap also widened: Red Bull, now 10 points behind Mercedes after last‑round victories, reached 100 points—its best since 2021. Alpine struggled, failing to score for the third round straight, while Williams finished outside the points. Sainz’s early top‑10 slip saw him finish 14th on the flag.