{"id":16558,"date":"2026-10-10T11:36:52","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T11:36:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/?p=16558"},"modified":"2026-10-10T11:36:52","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T11:36:52","slug":"singapore-gp-max-verstappen-wins-by-two-and-a-half-seconds-ahead-of-lewis-hamilton-following-a-dramatic-sprint-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/singapore-gp-max-verstappen-wins-by-two-and-a-half-seconds-ahead-of-lewis-hamilton-following-a-dramatic-sprint-race\/","title":{"rendered":"SINGAPORE GP \u2013 Max Verstappen wins by two-and-a-half seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton following a dramatic sprint race"},"content":{"rendered":"

Max Verstappen took a two-and-a-half-second victory in an action-packed rain-delayed sprint race at the Singapore Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver drove a cautious race as the drama unfolded behind him, and he finished ahead of the two Ferraris, with Lewis Hamilton finishing fourteen seconds ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc.<\/p>\n

Verstappen\u2019s first win at Marina Bay came amidst the drama after a delayed start caused by a sudden rain shower; at the start, the Dutchman seized control of the race and overtook George Russell on the way to Sheares (Turn One) before making it stick in the straights through the remainder of the first sector.<\/p>\n

The two Ferraris finished three and a half seconds ahead of Kimi Antonelli, who received another huge boost when teammate and title rival George Russell spun out at the beginning of the second lap. Russell was caught out by running a dry line through the final corners and was spun into the wall when he hit standing water in the kerb.<\/p>\n

Leclerc meanwhile complained that he \u201cdestroyed\u201d and was caught and passed by Hamilton, before holding off Antonelli.<\/p>\n

Verstappen, who won the sprint race at the Singapore Grand Prix: “The start was horrendous again; that is definitely something we need to improve on, because if we have something like that tomorrow, that is your race over if anything crazy happens. Not ideal, and then we got lucky with what happened with George out of the last corner\u201d<\/p>\n

Hamilton speaking after finishing second in the sprint: “I had a mega start which is awesome. I love driving this track in the rain in those conditions so as soon as the heavens opened I was like ‘this is a great day’. I was trying to get close to Max without killing my tyres, I wasn’t really pushing that much but I was bringing him in and then I just realised at this point we’ve got a long way to go, I don’t think we’ll be able to overtake in these conditions; there’s only one line.\u201d<\/p>\n

Antonelli finished fourth, three and a half tenths behind the Ferrari duo, in a race which proved drama-filled from the very start. Shortly after Russell\u2019s retirement, Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez crashed into each other during a fight for position, shortly followed by Isack Hadjar stopping on track with a power unit issue.<\/p>\n

Russell\u2019s fortnight on the Malay Peninsula has turned into what could be the final nail in his championship hopes, with a back-of-the-grid start for the Grand Prix. Laim Lawson and Ollie Bearman are the big winners with two of the top six retiring; the Racing Bull\u2019s three seconds behind Antonelli and had a similar lead over the Haas.<\/p>\n

Bearman made one of the best starts, going wheel-to-wheel through the opening sector with Pierre Gasly before the Frenchman dropped away and was overtaken. Though he did complain about Nico Hulkenberg pushing him wide when he took a place off him, before losing out to Lando Norris.<\/p>\n

Norris hanging on to score the final point after a collision when fighting with teammate Oscar Piastri on the final lap. Norris tried to pass Piastri at Turn Five, having spent several laps closing in on his teammate, when they simultaneously spun and made contact while the Englishman was trying to overtake.<\/p>\n

That highlighted the afternoon’s difficulty after the late downpour, with the track soaking wet in some areas and dry in others. But Norris hung on to score the final point while Piastri, who hit the barriers, was out on the spot; Norris was able to keep going.<\/p>\n

Gasly dropped down the field and eventually saw him land in ninth, missing out on the points as he finished nearly eight seconds behind the McLaren, ahead of his former teammate Esteban Ocon.<\/p>\n

Fernando Alonso was two seconds ahead of his fellow Spaniard Carlos Sainz, with Arvid Lindblad three seconds further behind. Piastri finished fourteenth but a lap down.<\/p>\n

The twenty-lap sprint proved a race of attrition, with the most retirements in both a sprint race since the format was created and this season, with eight cars classified as not finishing. But that should be little surprise as Marina Bay is one of the most demanding races of the season.<\/p>\n

Alex Albon, Gabriel Bortoletto and Valtteri Bottas collided on lap seven as the race restarted. That safety car was caused by Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar and Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, who stopped with reliability issues on the same lap. On the first lap of racing, former teammates Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll crashed into each other.<\/p>\n

Related<\/h4>\n