Singapore Sprint: Rain chaos, Russell spins and Verstappen wins

A quarter of an hour before the scheduled start of the sprint race, heavy rain began to fall in Singapore. And, of course, the bad weather dictated the programme. Race control quickly announced that the start would be postponed. It took quite a while before a new start time for the formation lap was confirmed: Half an hour had passed before the GP stars set off. And 11 minutes before the start of the formation lap, race control announced that the decision had been made to run two laps behind Bernd Mayländer’s safety car.

Max Verstappen and George Russell shared the front row, with the Red Bull Racing star starting from pole. Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Antonelli, Liam Lawson, Isack Hadjar and Pierre Gasly completed the top 10. Behind them, Franco Colapinto, Nico Hülkenberg, Ollie Bearman, Gabriel Bortoleto, Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon, Arvid Lindblad, Lance Stroll, Alex Albon, Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas occupied the remaining starting positions. Carlos Sainz had to start from the pit lane because work had been carried out on the suspension of the Spaniard’s Williams, thereby breaching the parc fermé regulations.

Unsurprisingly, everyone set off on intermediate tyres, which are designed for mixed conditions. The 4.927 km circuit was still really wet in some places, but dry again in others, as the GP stars set off. And it wasn’t long before the first reports on track conditions were radioed back to the pits. “The spray is really bad,” was Piastri’s verdict, whilst Liam Lawson emphasised: “The track feels completely dry from turn 13 onwards.”

A bitter pill for Mercedes star George Russell

Race control opted for a standing start, and Sainz told his team: “It’s okay on the intermediates.” Meanwhile, his team-mate Albon speculated: “There’s a good chance we’ll be switching to slicks soon.”

Russell took the lead straight after the start ahead of Verstappen, Hamilton, Leclerc, Piastri, Norris, Antonelli, Lawson, Gasly and Hadjar. Hülkenberg followed in 11th place, but he soon had to concede this position to Bearman, who shortly afterwards also snatched tenth place from Hadjar. Behind Hülkenberg, Colapinto, Ocon, Lindblad, Alonso, Bortoleto, Albon, Bottas, Sainz, Stroll and Pérez completed the field.

Topic of the week

A stuttering start to the Bahrain Grand Prix: the FIA narrowly avoids a fiasco like the one in Indianapolis in 2005

Fans could hardly believe their eyes at what they witnessed at the Bahrain Grand Prix: cars crawling along, racing cars that simply came to a standstill. The FIA narrowly avoided a fiasco like the one at Indy in 2005.

Read More

TV Program

Tomorrow

Singapur: Rennen Re-Live

FIA Formula One World Championship

11.10.2026 - 18:00

Russell’s joy was short-lived; he went off the track in the final corner of the second lap after spinning. The race was also over for Stroll, who pulled his Aston Martin over to the side of the track after colliding with Pérez in turn 16. Mayländer guided the field through the pit lane so that the Briton’s Mercedes could be cleared from the track quickly and safely.

Singapore Sprint: Chaos in the opening laps

Hadjar provided some entertainment during the yellow flag phase; he too had to retire his Red Bull Racing car and simply carried on driving into a run-off area when a gate leading to the public section of the road was opened for him. Engine failure was suspected as the reason for his retirement.

He was not the only casualty in the early stages of the Sprint. Colapinto pulled his Alpine over onto the track because he had lost radio contact and, for safety reasons, did not continue, whilst Lindblad spun out at the fifth corner, which sent him back to the rear of the field. As a result, he briefly drove in the wrong direction, which drew the attention of the race stewards.

The race restarted on lap seven and Bearman was involved in a thrilling wheel-to-wheel battle with Gasly, with the Haas driver coming out on top. The stewards announced an investigation into the Pérez–Stroll collision and Lindblad’s offence following the end of the sprint.

Soon, the field had a new rear-runner as Albon and Bortoleto got in each other’s way. The collision saw the Williams driver drop back to 15th place and Bortoleto head for the pits. Albon had already had an unpleasant encounter with Bottas. Gasly, meanwhile, had quite different concerns: he was overtaken by Hülkenberg and complained over the radio that the German had forced him off the track.

Team-mate collision: McLaren duo lose vital points

On lap 10 of 20, the order was: Verstappen ahead of Hamilton, Leclerc, Piastri, Norris, Antonelli, Lawson, Bearman, Hülkenberg, Ocon, Gasly, Alonso, Sainz, Lindblad and Albon. The stewards had their hands full, as the incident between Gasly and Hülkenberg also demanded their attention. However, they decided not to impose a penalty.

The stewards’ work was not over yet, as Hamilton also came under their scrutiny, suspected of having breached the yellow flag rules. It was a bitter pill to swallow for the two McLaren drivers, who were running in fourth and fifth place, when they got in each other’s way and spun off the track in unison. Whilst Piastri retired, Norris managed to cross the finish line in eighth place and snatched a point. Ahead of the world champion, winner Verstappen, Hamilton, Leclerc, Antonelli, Lawson, Bearman and Hülkenberg crossed the finish line. Behind the McLaren star, Gasly, Ocon, Alonso, Sainz and Lindblad saw the chequered flag but came away empty-handed.