Max Verstappen claims sprint victory at Singapore; George Russell crashes, Mclaren teammates collide

Verstappen finished 2.50 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc taking third. | Photo Credit: AP

Max Verstappen claimed victory in a rain-drenched Singapore sprint on Saturday, after initial race leader George Russell crashed out in the second lap. Verstappen finished 2.591 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc completing a double Ferrari podium.

The downpour arrived 10 minutes before the scheduled race start which delayed proceedings by 30 minutes.

All cars began on intermediate tyres with some sectors of the Marina Bay Street Circuit much dryer than others as the field embarked on two formation laps behind the safety car.

Mercedes’ Russell had a solid launch ahead of pole-sitter Verstappen and took the lead, but his advantage lasted less than a lap. He then ran onto a slippery white line at the final corner, lost control of the car and hit the pit-lane wall, triggering a safety car.

The crash further added to a difficult season for Russell. An engine penalty means that, regardless of his main race qualifying result, he will start from the back of the grid on Sunday’s race.

“It was a miscalculation; I came through the corner, had more battery deployment than I thought, which pushed me a little bit wider than I hoped, and went on to the white line. Silly mistake. Big consequences.” Russell admitted to Sky Sports.

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Meanwhile, Hamilton moved up to second after a strong launch from sixth, passing teammate Leclerc and the two McLarens, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Verstappen then kept the Ferrari behind him to secure the sprint win.

The ‘Papayas’ were involved in another race incident as Norris and Piastri collided and spun on the final lap while running fourth and fifth respectively.

The incident then gave a boost to championship leader Kimi Antonelli as he took fourth for Mercedes, with Racing Bull’s Liam Lawson taking fifth and Haas driver Oliver Bearman sixth. Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg finished seventh, while Norris recovered to eighth and took the final point.

Published on Oct 10, 2026

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