Race report

F1 Singapore GP: Verstappen wins chaotic wet sprint after Russell's crash

The four-time world champion has taken his second, consecutive victory after inheriting the lead from George Russell

Max Verstappen won the Singapore Grand Prix sprint race from pole position after ephemeral leader George Russell crashed out at the end of the very first lap.

A downpour soaked the 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.

By the time the sprint got under way, it still was 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 even 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 W17 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 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.

Marshals before the delayed start

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

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.

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.

But Norris dove down the inside of Piastri on the final lap and the McLaren duo collided into a spin. The reigning world champion consequently dropped to eighth, while his Australian team-mate retired.

Meanwhile, Verstappen romped to victory with a reduced but healthy 2.6s-second lead over Hamilton, as Leclerc completed the podium in third. Antonelli inherited fourth ahead of Lawson, Bearman and Hulkenberg, with Norris taking the final points position.

F1 Singapore GP sprint race results

SPRINT

All Stats

Cla	Driver	#	Laps	Time	Interval	Pits	Points	Chassis	Engine
1	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	3	20	-		3	8	Red Bull	Red Bull
2	L. Hamilton Ferrari	44	20	+2.591 2.591	2.591	3	7	Ferrari	Ferrari
3	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16	20	+16.871 16.871	14.280	3	6	Ferrari	Ferrari
4	A. Antonelli Mercedes	12	20	+17.238 17.238	0.367	3	5	Mercedes	Mercedes
5	L. Lawson Racing Bulls	30	20	+20.632 20.632	3.394	3	4	RB	Red Bull
6	O. Bearman Haas F1 Team	87	20	+24.321 24.321	3.689	3	3	Haas	Ferrari
7	N. Hulkenberg Audi	27	20	+27.525 27.525	3.204	3	2	Audi	Audi
8	L. Norris McLaren	1	20	+28.272 28.272	0.747	3	1	McLaren	Mercedes
9	P. Gasly Alpine	10	20	+36.220 36.220	7.948	3		Alpine	Mercedes
10	E. Ocon Haas F1 Team	31	20	+37.640 37.640	1.420	3		Haas	Ferrari
11	F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing	14	20	+50.464 50.464	12.824	3		Aston Martin	Honda
12	C. Sainz Williams	55	20	+52.467 52.467	2.003	3		Williams	Mercedes
13	A. Lindblad Racing Bulls	41	20	+55.792 55.792	3.325	3		RB	Red Bull
14	O. Piastri McLaren	81	19	1 Lap		3		McLaren	Mercedes
15	A. Albon Williams	23	14	6 Laps		5		Williams	Mercedes
16	G. Bortoleto Audi	5	6	14 Laps		4		Audi	Audi
17	V. Bottas Cadillac F1 Team	77	6	14 Laps		4		Cadillac	Ferrari
18	F. Colapinto Alpine	43	2	18 Laps		1		Alpine	Mercedes
19	I. Hadjar Red Bull Racing	6	2	18 Laps		1		Red Bull	Red Bull
20	G. Russell Mercedes	63	1	19 Laps				Mercedes	Mercedes
21	S. Perez Cadillac F1 Team	11	1	19 Laps		1		Cadillac	Ferrari
22	L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing	18	0	20 Laps				Aston Martin	Honda
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