Max Verstappen claimed his first victory of any kind in Singapore on Saturday, winning a chaotic sprint race that was delayed by more than 30 minutes because of heavy rain and ended with a record nine retirements, Reuters reported.
The Red Bull driver beat the Ferraris of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, but he was quick to play down the significance of the result ahead of Sunday’s main event.
“I want to win tomorrow. I don’t see this as a win in terms of actually winning a Grand Prix,” Verstappen said.
Rain delays the start
The race was supposed to begin in the afternoon, but a heavy downpour left the street circuit soaked and unusable. After a delay of more than half an hour, the sprint finally got under way behind the safety car.
Verstappen kept pole position after escaping a penalty for overtaking under a yellow flag on Friday. However, he made a slow getaway at the start, and Mercedes’ George Russell seized the lead into turn one — Russell had already shown strong pace by topping Singapore GP practice.
Russell’s race lasted barely a lap. On the final corner of the opening circuit, he lost control and spun into the wall, bringing out the safety car.
“I came through the corner, had more battery deployment than I thought… Yeah, silly mistake. Big, big consequences,” Russell said afterwards.
Verstappen Singapore Sprint Win: Carnage After the Restart
The safety car stayed out until lap seven, but the retirements kept coming once racing resumed. Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez collided, ending both their sprints. Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar stopped on track with a technical issue, and Franco Colapinto’s Alpine came to a standstill.
By the closing stages, the field had been cut almost in half. Verstappen managed the restarts calmly and held off the two Ferraris to take the win, while Hamilton and Leclerc completed the podium.
The double podium was a welcome result for Ferrari on a weekend that had punished so many teams. For Hamilton, it continued a strong run of form in Singapore, even if the main prize slipped away from him and his teammate in the reduced distance.
Late McLaren collision decides fourth
The drama was not finished. On the final lap, the two McLarens collided when Lando Norris nudged into Oscar Piastri. Both cars spun out, throwing away valuable points.
The incident handed fourth place to Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli. The result also extended his championship lead over Russell to 89 points, a significant swing on a day when his teammate’s error had already proved costly.
Focus turns to Sunday
Qualifying for Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix was delayed because of the same rain that had disrupted the sprint, adding further uncertainty to the weekend.
Verstappen’s record remains intact in one sense: he has still never won the main Singapore Grand Prix. After Saturday’s result, he made clear that the job he really wants is tomorrow’s race. With nine cars failing to finish the sprint, the reliability picture for Sunday is an open question for several teams.
For Russell, the day was one to forget. He arrived at the weekend in contention for the championship, but his error on the first lap cost him the sprint victory and allowed Antonelli to pull further clear in the standings.
