Verstappen wins delayed Singapore sprint, Russell crashes from lead

Max Verstappen won an attritional Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix sprint race bookended by initial race leader George Russell crashing out and the two McLarens colliding.

After a delayed start due to heavy rain in the build-up to the sprint, Russell jumped Verstappen into the first corner - but his lead barely lasted a full lap.

The Mercedes driver, for whom a win might have barely kept alive his faint title hopes, spun exiting the final corner and crashed into the pitwall just beyond the timing line.

That freed up Verstappen to take a controlled victory (after a safety car period) in which he steadily built his lead over Lewis Hamilton and managed it easily until the end.

Hamilton’s second place was earned from a lightning start that vaulted him ahead of both McLarens and his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc.

And he was clearly the faster Ferrari in these conditions as Leclerc faded extremely badly late on, putting him under pressure from Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris and a muted championship leader Kimi Antonelli.

Leclerc looked to have done enough to stave off the McLaren threat even before they collided calamitously on the final lap.

Norris launched a silly move on his team-mate into the Turn 5 right-hander. Piastri left some room on the inside but Norris, who went over the kerb, hit his team-mate's car and spun both of them round.

Though Norris rejoined after a short delay and claimed a point in eighth - a point he may lose given the incident is under investigation - Piastri retired in the wall.

This gifted Antonelli fourth and elevated several midfield cars into healthy points positions.

Liam Lawson spearheaded this group with a very accomplished drive to fifth while Ollie Bearman was sixth for Haas - keeping Nico Hulkenberg from his team’s championship rival Audi at bay in the process.

Hulkenberg had robustly passed Pierre Gasly earlier in the race to run behind Bearman but looked set to end the sprint empty-handed before McLaren imploded.

Among the nine retirees were also Isack Hadjar and Franco Colapinto, who suffered stoppages during the early safety car period, first-lap colliders Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez, and Alex Albon, Gabriel Bortoleto and Valtteri Bottas.

Albon and Bortoleto collided ahead of the safety car period ending in an incident that will be investigated after the race.