Verstappen takes victory in chaotic, rain-affected Singapore sprint
The rain started to fall down heavily around the Marina Bay Street Circuit, just 15 minutes before the Singapore sprint race was supposed to begin. Following a half hour delay, the drivers took 20 trips around the rain-soaked circuit in an attempt to gain some extra points ahead of tomorrow's Grand Prix.
The race set the record for the most DNFs in a Formula One sprint race, with a total of nine drivers retiring from the race. This included George Russell who started on pole position after he crashed out in the final corner of Lap 1.
After starting the sprint race on the front row, Max Verstappen led for a majority of the race, all the way to victory. He was followed by the Ferrari duo, with Lewis Hamilton in second and Charles Leclerc in third.
Sprint race report
The field had two formation laps as the race director confirmed there would be a standing start. This meant that there would be 20 racing laps compared to the scheduled 21.
The red lights went out in Singapore as Russell launched off the front row. Hamilton managed to move up into third place after starting sixth.
The spray still looked to be severe, but for most of the first lap, all of the drivers managed to keep it clean. This was until Russell lost control of his Mercedes in the final corner of Lap 1, touching the rain affected kerb and spinning out into the wall. The incident brought out a Safety Car.
Lance Stroll and Sergio Pérez also crashed after battling for position, both retiring from the sprint race.
The drivers had to take a different route through the pit lane due to Russell's Mercedes being cleared on the straight.
Isack Hadjar looked to have a technical issue and was seen pulling his car out of Turn 5 and retiring from the race.
The retirements didn't start there as Franco Colapinto's race was over after coming to a halt on the track and
Arvid Lindblad spun out during the Safety Car too, which resulted in him running last in 17th. However, trying to get himself going again, he drove in the wrong direction of the track to get more room to turn around, which meant he was noted and investigated for it after the sprint race.
On Lap 6, the Safety Car ended and the grid got racing again. Verstappen led the pack, followed by both Ferrari drivers. Further back in the pack, there was an exciting battle for the first few corners pf the restart between Pierre Gasly and Oliver Bearman, with Bearman managing to pass the Alpine.
On the restart, Gabriel Bortoleto collided with Alex Albon, which resulted in Bortoleto being the seventh driver out of the race. The incident was also noted and set to be investigated following the sprint.
Hamilton was noted too for yellow flag infringements and was also set to be investigated after the race, but it was unclear what the incident related to.
Kimi Antonelli running in sixth was struggling for the most part to keep up with the McLarens following the restart. A few laps later, he was within a one second reach of Lando Norris, chasing the reigning World Champion for fifth.
On Lap 15, Williams called Albon into the pits to retire fur to damage to the car, a result of his collision with Bortoleto a few laps prior.
On Lap 17, Leclerc complained about his intermediate tyres being "destroyed", but with only three laps to go, he stuck it out to the end.
The final two laps saw a tight battle for third between Leclerc, Oscar Piastri and Norris. Norris went for the overtake on his teammate on the final lap of the sprint, but the McLarens collided, losing the opportunity of a top five finish for the two.
Piastri was unable to get moving again after hitting the wall, making him the ninth driver retiring from the sprint. Norris dropped down the grid into eighth, still managing to pick up a sole point for the team.
Verstappen was still then followed by the Ferrari's, with Antonelli moving up into fourth and Liam Lawson into fifth.
Top eight
1. Max Verstappen
2. Lewis Hamilton
3. Charles Leclerc
4. Kimi Antonelli
5. Liam Lawson
6. Oliver Bearman
7. Nico Hülkenberg
8. Lando Norris
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