Singapore’s first Sprint was everything the forecast promised. A downpour shortly before the scheduled start delayed the race by half an hour, the field set off on intermediates behind the Safety Car, and only 14 of the 22 starters were classified. At the front, Max Verstappen controlled the race from the restart and beat Lewis Hamilton by 2.591 seconds — his first win at Marina Bay in any format, a week after his victory at Sepang.

The biggest swing came on the opening lap. George Russell, who needed points here before starting Sunday’s Grand Prix from the back, passed Verstappen at the start and led — then lost the car exiting the final corner and hit the wall. Kimi Antonelli, seventh on the grid, came home fourth. The Mercedes title gap grew from 84 to 89 points.

A wet start, then Russell’s mistake

Rain hit the circuit around ten minutes before the 17:00 local start. Race Control delayed the formation lap to 17:30 while standing water — especially around Turns 2 and 3 — was assessed, then sent the field away behind the Safety Car before switching to a standing start. Everyone started on intermediates.

Russell made the better launch from second and took the lead from Verstappen, while Hamilton jumped from sixth to third. It lasted less than a lap: exiting the final corner, Russell lost control on the wet surface, slid across the track and hit the wall. The Mercedes was out and the Safety Car was called. Russell apologised on the radio and confirmed he was unhurt.

The opening laps claimed four more cars. Lance Stroll and Sergio Pérez collided under braking for the Turn 16 hairpin, putting the Aston Martin into the barrier and the Cadillac back to the pits to retire. Isack Hadjar stopped at Turn 5 and Franco Colapinto at Turn 14 — RaceFans reports a technical failure on the Alpine. The field ran through the pit lane while marshals cleared the debris, and the Safety Car only came in at the end of lap 6.

Verstappen in control, Ferrari on the podium

At the restart Verstappen led Hamilton, Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris and Antonelli. He pulled clear as the track began to dry and was never threatened. Hamilton kept second all the way to the flag for seven points, and Leclerc held third despite reporting badly worn intermediates in the closing laps, finishing 16.871s behind.

The restart itself caused another pile-up. Alexander Albon ran into the back of Gabriel Bortoleto’s Audi, and Valtteri Bottas then hit the Williams. Bortoleto and Bottas retired on the spot; Albon continued with damage before stopping on lap 14.

McLaren’s last-lap collision

The final twist came on the last lap. Running fourth and fifth, Piastri and Norris were fighting when Norris dived down the inside into Turn 5. The gap closed at the apex, the two McLarens touched, and Piastri spun into the barrier. He was classified 14th, a lap down; Norris continued but fell to eighth, scoring a single point. It is the second incident between the McLaren team-mates in two races — RaceFans reports Norris was reprimanded at Sepang for nearly hitting Piastri behind the Safety Car.

Antonelli was the big winner from the chaos, inheriting fourth. Liam Lawson took fifth for Racing Bulls, Oliver Bearman sixth for Haas and Nico Hülkenberg seventh for Audi — a strong afternoon for the midfield on a day when the usual front-runners dropped out.

Under investigation

Five cases were referred to the stewards after the Sprint: the Norris–Piastri collision, the Stroll–Pérez contact, the Albon–Bortoleto restart crash, Arvid Lindblad’s spin and recovery under the Safety Car, and a pre-race maximum-delta case involving Bearman. Any penalties could still change the classification. A potential yellow-flag breach by Hamilton at the start was reviewed and closed with no further action.

Next: qualifying for the Grand Prix

Grand Prix qualifying starts at 15:00 Paris time (21:00 in Singapore), with the track expected to keep drying through the evening. Whatever happens, Russell starts Sunday’s race from the back after his power-unit change; Antonelli has the chance to extend his lead further from a normal grid position.

Sources

Classification, laps, tyres, Safety Car, investigations and weather: OpenF1 session results, race control messages, stints and weather for the Sprint (session 11383).

Start procedure, Russell crash, retirements and restart incidents: Formula1.com Sprint report, RaceFans, RACER, Autosport.

McLaren collision and investigation: RaceFans; Sepang reprimand: RaceFans.

Championship standings before the Sprint: Jolpica F1 API, updated with official Sprint points.