Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, George Russell, Mercedes
Photo by: James Sutton / Formula 1 / Formula Motorsport Ltd via Getty Images
Max Verstappen won the Singapore Grand Prix sprint race from pole position after ephemeral leader George Russell crashed out at the end of the very first lap.
A downpour soaked the grid 15 minutes before the scheduled start, while some parts of the Marina Bay Street Circuit remained dry. The race was delayed by half an hour due to the standing water in Turns 2 and 3.
By the time the sprint got under way, it still was a tale of two halves in terms of track conditions, and all cars started on intermediate tyres after two formation laps.
Front-row starter Russell had a much better getaway than Verstappen and took the lead even before Turn 1, with Lewis Hamilton up to third from sixth on the grid. Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, Kimi Antonelli, Liam Lawson and Pierre Gasly followed, with Isack Hadjar down to 11th.
Russell’s lead was short-lived, as he lost control of his W17 on the kerb at the exit of the last corner and spun into the inside wall at the end of lap one. Meanwhile, Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez collided at Turn 16, with the Aston Martin coming to a halt against the barriers, and Hadjar retired after reporting “the engine braking is dying”.
The safety car was called into action, with the race neutralised for five laps – during which Arvid Lindblad spun, rejoining in last place after driving the wrong way down the track, and Franco Colapinto’s race ended because of a technical issue.
Marshals before the delayed start
Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images
Verstappen maintained the lead at the restart, while Oliver Bearman snatched eighth place away from Gasly after wheel-to-wheel action throughout sector one. The Alpine driver lost another two positions over the following two laps; he complained of being pushed wide by Nico Hulkenberg, but the stewards took no further action.
Verstappen’s gap to Hamilton hovered between 0.7s and 1.4s from lap seven to lap 11 before the Red Bull racer significantly pulled away, with his advantage reaching three seconds at the end of lap 13 and five seconds by lap 16.
The intermediate compound was greatly suffering on the mostly dry track, so it was all about tyre management. Leclerc reported his front tyres were “destroyed”; the Ferrari driver was losing two seconds a lap to team-mate Hamilton and was caught by the McLarens and Antonelli with three laps remaining.
But Norris dove down the inside of Piastri on the final lap and the McLaren duo collided into a spin. The reigning world champion consequently dropped to eighth, while his Australian team-mate retired.
Meanwhile, Verstappen romped to victory with a reduced but healthy 2.6s-second lead over Hamilton, as Leclerc completed the podium in third. Antonelli inherited fourth ahead of Lawson, Bearman and Hulkenberg, with Norris taking the final points position.
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Source: Autosport