Max Verstappen won a rain-delayed Singapore Sprint from pole, 2.5 seconds clear of Lewis Hamilton, after George Russell crashed from the lead on lap one. Ferrari took second and third, Lando Norris tagged team-mate Oscar Piastri into a spin in the closing laps, and Kimi Antonelli extended his title lead to 89 points.
Singapore: A storm swept across Marina Bay before the field could leave the grid, pushing the Sprint back by roughly half an hour and turning a weekend billed around a declared heat hazard into a test of wet-weather nerve. When the race finally began, it lasted one lap before the first crash.
Russell leads, then loses it
Russell made the start of the day. The Mercedes driver launched from the front row, swept past pole-sitter Verstappen and led the field into the opening lap. Then, at the final corner, he lost the car and hit the wall. His race was over before it had properly begun, and the Safety Car came out.
The neutralisation was messy. Sergio Pérez and Lance Stroll collided, and Isack Hadjar and Franco Colapinto stopped in the early laps. When racing resumed, Verstappen, who had kept pole after the stewards found a yellow-flag breach but applied no penalty, simply drove away. He extended his advantage lap by lap as the order squabbled behind him.
Hamilton carves through for Ferrari
The best drive of the afternoon came from Hamilton. Starting sixth, he made a fast getaway that took him to third, and he kept the pressure on the Red Bull. He crossed the line 2.5 seconds behind Verstappen to take second. Charles Leclerc completed the podium, 16.8 seconds off the winner, giving Ferrari two cars in the top three.
Antonelli was fourth, 17.2 seconds back, a useful haul for a championship leader whose team-mate had gone out on lap one. Liam Lawson, Oliver Bearman and Nico Hülkenberg took fifth to seventh.
McLaren collide at the death
With both McLarens pressing Leclerc in the closing laps, the team-mates tangled. Norris tagged Piastri into a spin at Turn 5, and Piastri stopped, classified 14th and a lap down. Norris slipped to eighth, enough for the last Sprint point. Piastri was left without a score.
Antonelli’s cushion grows
The points swing was small but telling. Verstappen’s eight points lifted him to 196, in a tight pack behind the leader: Hamilton is on 221, Leclerc on 197, Verstappen on 196 and Norris on 189. At the top, Antonelli leads on 325 with Russell on 236, an 89-point gap that stood at 84 after Verstappen’s win at Sepang. The Grand Prix follows on Sunday.
Sprint result: 1 Max Verstappen (Red Bull); 2 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +2.5s; 3 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +16.8s; 4 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +17.2s; 5 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls); 6 Oliver Bearman (Haas); 7 Nico Hülkenberg (Audi); 8 Lando Norris (McLaren)
Drivers’ championship after the Sprint: Antonelli 325, Russell 236, Hamilton 221, Leclerc 197, Verstappen 196, Norris 189
