Max Verstappen dominated the Sprint Race at the Singapore Grand Prix, after George Russell crashed out of the lead at the end of the opening lap.
The Mercedes driver took the lead from Verstappen going into Turn 1, after the start was delayed by half-an-hour due to heavy rainfall just before the scheduled start of the race.
But with the track still damp, Russell touched a white line on the exit of the final corner, spun and hit the pit wall, sending him out of the race.
Verstappen maintained his lead throughout despite late pressure from Lewis Hamilton, to take victory.
Charles Leclerc finished third, amid a last lap battle with both McLarens behind, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri colliding. Norris would recover to take eighth place, with Piastri punted out.
Russell gets the jump, but spins himself out of contention
The race got going without getting going, as rain began to fall heavily just as the cars arrived on the grid. Standing water began to collect at Turns 2 and 3, with the medical car sporadically being sent out to inspect the elements.
Half-an-hour elapsed before proceedings could finally begin for real and at lights out, Russell got the much better start and breezed past into Turn 1.
Amid the wall of spray, Hamilton emerged into third place, scything past both McLarens and Leclerc.
Antonelli held sixth, with Hadjar falling backwards, as Bearman made it a trio of aced starts from British drivers by taking 10th.
Just as things started to look settled, despite the rain, it claimed a huge victim.
Exiting the final corner, Russell took too wide a line for the slippery surface and spun, tagging the pit wall and coming to a stop by the wall on the opposite side, narrowly avoiding collecting any other drivers.
With a grid penalty set to be taken for the Grand Prix, Russell’s weekend went from bad to worse. Out of the Sprint, and the Safety Car was out.
Stroll and Perez were also out after contact, with Hadjar and Colapinto following them, the latter duo through technical issues.
Racing resumes
The spray continued to be hazardous but the Safety Car would end at the end of Lap 6, with Verstappen leading, Hamilton second and Leclerc third, coming under pressure from Piastri immediately.
Bearman looked racey straightaway, and after persistent harrying of Pierre Gasly, took eighth place.
This time, things did settle, but as the track began to try out – some of it completely – all cars were now forced into a position of taking unusual lines to collect water on their Intermediates.
By the midway point, Verstappen led Hamilton by 1.4s, the Brit under investigation for a yellow flag infringement. Leclerc was a futher 1.6s behind. Norris kept Piastri honest in the battle for fourth and fifth, with Antonelli two seconds behind.
Verstappen continued to increase his lead, now five seconds on Lap 16. The predictable lack of racing would indeed become a reality, but further back, Antonelli was inching closer to the two McLarens, but with his teammate out, there was no need for risks.
With just two laps to go, Hamilton began to cut into Verstappen’s lead, now down to 3.5s. Complaining of turbo issues, the Red Bull was now required to be nursed to the finish line.
Going into the final lap, the gap would maintain, but behind the front two, Leclerc, complaining of shot tyres, found himself fending off Piastri, who was fending off Norris.
Perhaps predictably, the papaya pair would collide as Norris tried to dive down the inside. An embarrassing moment in Singapore two years in a row for the McLaren pair.
No such worries for Verstappen, who could coast to the line to take Sprint victory, with Hamilton second, and Leclerc defending Antonelli to take third.
Liam Lawson was fifth, Bearman sixth, Nico Hulkenberg seventh and Norris, recovering to get going again, taking the final point in eighth.
An enquiry will most certainly be launched by McLaren, but it won’t bother Verstappen a jot, who reaffirmed his return to winning ways ahead of qualifying.
READ MORE – F1 2026 Singapore Grand Prix – Sprint Results
Discussion about this post