Max Verstappen took victory in the Singapore Grand Prix sprint race from pole position after George Russell crashed out of the lead at the end of the first lap.
A downpour soaked the starting grid 15 minutes before the scheduled start, while some parts of the Marina Bay Street Circuit remained dry. The race was delayed by half an hour due to the standing water in Turns 2 and 3.
When the sprint got underway, it was still a tale of two halves in terms of track conditions and all cars started on intermediate tyres after two formation laps.
Front-row starter Russell had a much better getaway than Verstappen and took the lead before Turn 1, with Lewis Hamilton up to third from sixth on the grid. Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, Kimi Antonelli, Liam Lawson and Pierre Gasly followed, with Isack Hadjar down to 11th.
Russell’s lead was short-lived, as he lost control of his Silver Arrow on the kerb at the exit of the last corner and spun into the inside wall at the end of lap one. Meanwhile, Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez collided at Turn 16, with the Aston Martin coming to a halt against the barriers, and Isack Hadjar retired after reporting “the engine braking is dying”.
The safety car was called into action, with the race neutralised for five laps – during which Arvid Lindblad spun, rejoining in last place after driving the wrong way down the track, and Franco Colapinto’s race ended because of a technical issue.
Verstappen maintained the lead at the restart, while Oliver Bearman snatched eighth place away from Gasly after wheel-to-wheel action throughout sector one. The Alpine driver lost another two positions over the following two laps; he complained of being pushed wide by Nico Hulkenberg, but the stewards took no further action.
Verstappen’s gap to Hamilton hovered between 0.7s and 1.4s from lap seven to lap 11 before the Red Bull racer significantly pulled away, with his advantage reaching three seconds at the end of lap 13 and five seconds by lap 16.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Morgan Hancock / LAT Images via Getty Images
The intermediate compound was greatly suffering on the mostly dry track, so it was all about tyre management. Leclerc reported his front tyres were “destroyed”; the Ferrari driver was losing two seconds a lap to team-mate Hamilton and was caught by the McLarens and Antonelli with three laps remaining.
Norris dove down the inside of Piastri on the very last lap, but the papaya cars made contact and spun; the reigning world champion dropped down to eighth, while his Australian team-mate retired, costing the team eight points.
Meanwhile, Verstappen romped to victory with a reduced but healthy 2.6s-second lead over Hamilton, as Leclerc held off the papaya cars for third. Antonelli inherited fourth ahead of Lawson, Bearman and Hulkenberg.
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