Verstappen Wins the Singapore Sprint for His First Victory at Marina Bay
Max Verstappen won the Singapore sprint on Saturday, his first win of any kind at Marina Bay. The four-time champion beat Lewis Hamilton by 2.591 seconds, with Charles Leclerc third. One report puts the gap at 2.50. The official timing shows 2.591.
It was the first sprint Singapore has ever held, so he is also its first winner.
Rain, then a late start
A downpour hit about ten minutes before the 5:00 pm start. Standing water sat around Turns 2 and 3, and the start slid back by roughly half an hour. Everyone ran intermediate tyres. After two formation laps the race went to a standing start, cut from 21 laps to 20.
Verstappen started on pole, but George Russell got away better and passed him into Turn 1. It did not last. At the final corner of lap one, Russell’s rear tyre touched the wet kerb and the Mercedes hit the wall. He was unhurt and called it a “silly mistake.”
The safety car came out and Verstappen got the lead back. Racing resumed at the end of lap six, and he held it through the restart.
Nine cars out
Nine cars retired, a record for a sprint race. Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll collided at Turn 16. Isack Hadjar lost power. Franco Colapinto’s Alpine stopped on track. Gabriel Bortoleto, Alex Albon and Valtteri Bottas tangled at the restart. Bortoleto and Bottas retired, and Albon was told to stop later. Oscar Piastri was the ninth, out at the wall on the final lap.
Nine is the count most reports use, and it includes Piastri. The official classification lists eight non-finishers and has Piastri 14th, a lap down.
Hamilton’s start
Hamilton went from sixth to third off the line, then to second once Russell crashed. Near half distance he was little more than a second behind. Verstappen then built the gap to almost five seconds. Hamilton set the fastest lap on the last tour, a 1:45.457. Stewards looked at a possible yellow flag breach and took no action.
Staying out on intermediates
The track dried lap by lap and the leaders stayed on intermediates. Hamilton raised the idea of slicks, but the damp sections and the cost of a pit stop kept everyone out. Drivers left the dry line to find water and cool their tyres.
Verstappen was frank afterward. The start was poor again, and he got lucky with Russell. After that he wanted the race calm and under control, since passing at Marina Bay is hard. He was glad to win the sprint. He also said, “I want to win tomorrow, not today.”
A final lap shuffle
Leclerc’s front tyres were badly worn, and Piastri, Norris and Kimi Antonelli were closing. At Turn 5, Norris went for the inside on Piastri. The McLarens touched and both spun. Antonelli, the championship leader, took fourth, 0.367 seconds behind Leclerc. Liam Lawson was fifth, Oliver Bearman sixth and Nico Hulkenberg seventh. Norris got back to eighth and took the last point. The contact is under post-race review.
Sunday
The sprint does not set the Grand Prix grid. Qualifying does. It was scheduled for 9:00 pm local time on Saturday, though the rain-hit sprint disrupted the timetable, so check the current start time. The Grand Prix is 62 laps and starts at 8:00 pm local time on Sunday, October 11.
