F1 2026: Singapore Grand Prix Sprint Recap
Max Verstappen picks up Sprint win under wet conditions in Singapore
Max Verstappen has won the Singapore Grand Prix 2026 Sprint, standing on the top step of the podium for the final Sprint of the Formula One 2026 season. Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc finished on the podium with Verstappen for the Singapore Sprint while championship leader Kimi Antonelli finished P4 and continued to make gains on his championship lead as his title rival George Russell crashed out in the second lap in wet conditions in Singapore. Verstappen’s Sprint win in Singapore means that he continues his record of winning a Sprint in every season since the introduction of the Sprint events.
After a delay of half an hour due to rains and a wet track, the Sprint was reduced to 20 laps. As the lights went off, Max Verstappen led the grid off the line but it was George Russell’s Mercedes storming past Verstappen going into Turn 1 to take the lead of the Sprint instantly. Russell’s lead was short-lived as on lap 2, Russell lost control on the main straight and spun into the wall in the final corner, ending his race and bringing out the Safety Car. Along with Russell, Lance Stroll was also out of the race, as he stopped in the final sector with damage after Sergio Pérez hit the Aston Martin driver and spun him into the barriers. The rest of the grid dove into the pits as per the rules and under the Safety Car on lap 3 Isack Hadjar became the third retiree of the race as he pulled in Turn 4. Alpine’s Franco Colapinto also retired, on lap 5 making him the fifth retirement of the race with Sergio Pérez also not coming out of the pits after his clash with Stroll.
The Safety Car ended on lap 6 as the remaining 17 cars were going again with Verstappen leading the pack. Behind Verstappen was the Ferrari pair of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc with Oscar Piastri’s McLaren in fourth place and dropping off from the top 3. By lap 14, Verstappen was almost 4 seconds clear in the front as Hamilton was unable to keep up with the Red Bull driver while the rest behind him also weren’t able to get past those in front of them. There was little to no action at the front as Verstappen eased to a comfortable win with Hamilton finishing second. Behind the top two, Leclerc saw off late pressure from the McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. On the final lap Norris ended up hitting his teammate Oscar Piastri at Turn 4 which saw both cars spin around and Piastri’s race was over while Norris dropped to 8th place.
Kimi Antonelli made the most of Norris’ error as he ended up P4 ahead of Liam Lawson, Ollie Bearman, Nico Hülkenberg and Lando Norris who rounded out the points places. Verstappen took the win under the Yellow Flag. Antonelli’s P4 along with Russell not finishing sees him extend his championship lead to 89 points. The Haas duo of Bearman and Hülkenberg made up the most places, with Bearman finishing seven places ahead of where he started while Hülkenberg finished five places ahead of where he started. Lewis Hamilton also had a strong afternoon, finishing four places ahead of where he started from. The grid will be back on track in a couple of hours for the Singapore Grand Prix 2026 Qualifying.
