How the Formula 1 Championship Stands After the 2026 Singapore Sprint

The Singapore Grand Prix Sprint in Formula 1 at Marina Bay went to Max Verstappen, in a 20-lap race with a rain-delayed start, nine cars out, and a collision between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri on the final lap that left McLaren with no chance of fighting for third place.

Photo By Red Bull Content Pool

The rain left standing water at turns 2 and 3 of Marina Bay and forced the start of the first Sprint ever held at this circuit to be delayed by about 30 minutes. The drivers completed two formation laps behind the Safety Car and started on intermediate tires on a track that changed from one sector to another, with very wet zones and sectors already beginning to dry. The Sprint is a short race, 20 laps in this case, awarding points from first through eighth place.

A white line took Russell out of the lead

Verstappen started from pole, but George Russell reacted better at the start and moved ahead in the Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton, who started sixth, passed Charles Leclerc and both McLarens and was third at the end of the first lap. Russell could not hold the lead, because on the final corner of that same lap he touched the white line with his right-rear wheel and the Mercedes spun into the wall. The paint loses a lot of grip on wet asphalt, something drivers know well, and Russell himself said he got more battery power than he expected when accelerating and that it was "a very silly mistake," the product of overconfidence. The retirement took away one of his chances to score points before the Grand Prix, in which he already had a penalty related to the power unit.

The Safety Car came out for that crash and stayed on track for five laps before the restart, but it was not the only incident of that lap. At turn 16, Sergio Pérez and Lance Stroll collided, with the Aston Martin stopped on the spot and the Cadillac returning to the pits with damage, unable to continue. Pérez said he tried to pass on the inside, that he braked when Stroll closed the line, and that he locked up without being able to avoid contact, while Stroll preferred to review the footage before commenting. The stewards investigated the collision and closed it without penalties, considering that Stroll followed a reasonable line and was not at fault.

Isack Hadjar reported an issue with the engine braking, and Franco Colapinto retired with a mechanical failure. Later, Alexander Albon, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Valtteri Bottas were knocked out in a three-car collision, and Arvid Lindblad spun during the neutralization but was able to continue. In total, nine drivers failed to finish, a record for a Formula 1 Sprint.

With Russell out, Verstappen returned to the front and on the restart began to pull away as the track dried. The intermediate tires are made for wet asphalt and wear quickly when the water disappears, so tire wear became the main factor, especially for Ferrari and McLaren. Hamilton stayed close in the first part of the race, until Verstappen's advantage grew enough to rule out any attack in the closing laps, and Leclerc ended up defending third place with heavily worn front tires.

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Norris touched Piastri at turn 5 on the final lap

Piastri, fourth, and Norris, fifth, were closing on Leclerc on the final lap with a chance to fight for third place. Norris attacked on the inside of turn 5, certain he was alongside his teammate, but he ran out of space at the apex and his left-front wheel touched the right-rear of Piastri. Both McLarens spun, Piastri hit the wall and retired, and Norris was able to rejoin, though he dropped to eighth place. Norris said over the radio that he obviously did not want it to happen and that he would have to review what happened with the team, and Piastri preferred to wait to see the footage because he had not seen the move clearly.

Antonelli finished fourth, Lawson fifth, Bearman sixth, and Hülkenberg seventh, while Norris salvaged the only remaining point, in eighth place. The stewards called both drivers in, reviewed the incident, and did not apply penalties, so the result stood, but McLaren had to check the damage to both cars before the next session.

Verstappen, Hamilton, and Leclerc question the Sprint in Singapore

Verstappen believes Singapore does not offer what is needed for this format, because the straights give little advantage for passing and it would need a longer straight or a better-placed slow corner. Hamilton feels the circuit performs better in a qualifying lap than in a short race and that, without the rain and the crashes, the Sprint would have been monotonous, with few opportunities to change positions. Leclerc went further and spoke about street circuits in general, with Singapore and Monaco as poor examples, because the format adds little on weekends where overtaking is already difficult. The fight for the win was settled once Verstappen regained the lead, and the neutralizations consumed a significant part of the 20 laps, so the most eventful moments of the race came from mistakes and contact rather than from on-track battles.

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Verstappen ties Norris on championship points

Verstappen, Hamilton, Leclerc, and Antonelli scored eight, seven, six, and five points respectively. Antonelli reached 320 points and holds 84 over Russell, who failed to score. Hamilton has 214, and Leclerc, with 191, moved past Norris and is fourth in the standings. Norris and Verstappen are now level on 188 points, with Norris ahead by virtue of having two wins to one. Piastri, without points in the Sprint, has 128.

Sprint

Pos.	No.	driver	team	best
1	#3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	39:48.162
2	#44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+2.591s
3	#16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+16.871s
4	#12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	+17.238s
5	#30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	+20.632s
6	#87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	+24.321s
7	#27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	+27.525s
8	#1	Lando Norris	McLaren	+28.272s
9	#10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+36.220s
10	#31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	+37.640s
11	#14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+50.464s
12	#55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	+52.467s
13	#41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+55.792s
DNF	#81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	-
DNF	#23	Alexander Albon	Williams	-
DNF	#5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	-
DNF	#77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	-
DNF	#6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing	-
DNF	#43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	-
DNF	#63	George Russell	Mercedes	-
DNF	#11	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	-
DNF	#18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	-