Verstappen Wins Singapore Sprint: Russell Crashes Out Early, McLarens Collide On The Final Lap

Max Verstappen won the first Singapore Grand Prix sprint race. Lewis Hamilton finished second, 2.591 seconds behind the Red Bull driver. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc held on to third after the McLaren drivers collided on the final lap.

The start was delayed by 30 minutes after a sudden thunderstorm hit the circuit. On the wet grid, George Russell passed polesitter Verstappen on the inside at Turn 1 to take the lead. But the Mercedes driver lost control at the final corner on lap two after touching the white line, hit the pit wall and came to a stop on the outside of the start-finish straight. The crash brought out the Safety Car. Russell is already set to start Sunday’s Grand Prix from the back of the grid after exceeding his allocation of power unit components, further denting his title hopes.

During the Safety Car period, Verstappen led from Hamilton and Leclerc. Hamilton had made an excellent start from sixth. According to the timing screen, Kimi Antonelli was fourth and Liam Lawson fifth. Elsewhere, Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez came together at Turn 4, and both retired. The screen also showed Bortoleto, Bottas, Colapinto and Hadjar as “Out”, but I could not confirm the reasons behind those retirements.

After the restart, Verstappen kept the lead and controlled the gap to Hamilton. Hamilton set the fastest lap of the race on lap 18 and closed the gap slightly but could not catch him. On the final lap, the focus was on the McLaren drivers. Lando Norris, who was chasing team mate Oscar Piastri in fourth, made contact with him, and both dropped down the order. The incident handed Leclerc third place. The sprint was 21 laps long.