Verstappen celebrates first Singapore Sprint win as Russell crashes
The Dutchman wins the first sprint in Singapore and celebrates again after Sepang. The McLarens collide on the final lap.
Max Verstappen celebrates his first victory in Singapore!
The Red Bull driver wins the sprint, held for the first time at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, and thus celebrates again after his success at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia last week.
Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) takes second place after a strong start, ahead of his teammate Charles Leclerc.
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) finishes fourth and extends his lead over George Russell to 89 points.
Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls), Oliver Bearman (Haas), and Nico Hülkenberg (Audi) follow in fifth to seventh places, while Lando Norris collides with McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri and finishes eighth – as the instigator, he squanders fourth and fifth places for his team.
The sprint is characterized by a rainy, delayed start and numerous retirements. A total of nine drivers retire – more than ever before in a Formula 1 Sprint.
Russell throws away strong start
Five minutes before the scheduled start, rain begins in Singapore. Turns two and three, in particular, are waterlogged, which is why the sprint is postponed by 30 minutes.
At the start, Verstappen gets away well, but Russell has an even better start and takes the lead. Hamilton also has a strong start: The Ferrari driver moves past both McLarens and teammate Leclerc into third place.
However, Russell's lead doesn't last long. Towards the end of the first lap, the Mercedes driver loses control of his car and crashes into the wall at the start/finish line. For Russell, who will have to start Sunday's Grand Prix from the back of the grid anyway, it is another setback on a difficult weekend.
Untroubled Verstappen victory
At the restart on lap seven, Verstappen sets the pace early and defends his lead confidently. In the leading group, positions subsequently remain unchanged.
In the final phase, no major changes at the front are anticipated. None of the pursuers takes a higher risk; Verstappen controls the action at the front and brings his lead to the finish. On the final lap, Norris attacks his teammate; it doesn't end well.
Qualifying for tomorrow's Grand Prix is still on the schedule for today, Saturday (from 3:00 PM in the LIVE ticker).
