Verstappen wins sprint after Russell crashes out

Red Bull's Max Verstappen won an incident-packed sprint race at the Singapore Grand Prix after Mercedes driver George Russell crashed out of the lead.

Russell was leading in tricky conditions, with half the track dry and half wet, when he got a little too wide at the final corner at the end of the first lap.

He lost control of his Mercedes, which spun across the track into the inside wall, before bouncing back again to the outside, the rest of the field somehow avoiding him.

Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton took second having made a superb start from sixth on the grid with team-mate Charles Leclerc third.

A final-lap collision between the McLarens as Lando Norris tried to pass Oscar Piastri at Turn Five promoted Russell's team-mate Kimi Antonelli to fourth place.

In combination with Russell's retirement, that extends the Italian's championship lead to 89 points.

A chaotic race saw the start delayed by 30 minutes by a tropical downpour, and then Verstappen navigating a safety car period following Russell's accident, a restart, and initial pressure from Hamilton to eventually ease away into a comfortable lead.

It was the Dutchman's second Formula 1 win in seven days, after his maiden victory this season at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, and the first time he has won in Singapore.

The rain before the start hit only parts of the track. The second sector stayed dry while the first sector, particularly Turns Two and Three, were soaking wet with standing water.

Once the rain abated, the field did two laps behind a safety car to check conditions before racing began with a standing start.

Russell gave himself a golden opportunity to breathe some life into his almost-extinguished title hopes when he beat Verstappen off the line and took the lead into the first corner.

But after leading the first lap, he made a mistake at the final corner.

Russell said: "I just misjudged it, got more power than I was expecting from the battery, got a little wider than I expected and touched the white line. Rule number one in the wet is don't touch the white line. Very silly mistake."

That left Verstappen in front, with Hamilton behind. But after the seven-time champion pursued his erstwhile 2021 title rival for a few laps, the Red Bull began to ease away and was clearly in control, leading Hamilton, Leclerc, Piastri, Norris and Antonelli.

With overtaking difficult around Marina Bay, the field was static until the closing stages.

Leclerc was struggling, and he began to be caught by the McLarens and Antonelli.

Norris had been pressuring Piastri for some laps before the Australian also began to close in on Leclerc, and Antonelli, struggling with oversteer in the early laps, picked up the pace.

On the final lap, Norris made a better exit out of Turn Three and saw an opportunity to try to pass Piastri at Turn Five.

He got the car well enough alongside to make a legitimate passing attempt, but Piastri defended his position robustly, the cars touched, and spun in unison.

Piastri, who hit the barriers, was out on the spot, but Norris was able to keep going, although he fell down to eighth, behind Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson, Haas driver Oliver Bearman and Audi's Nico Hulkenberg.

The stewards will investigate the Norris-Piastri incident after the race.

The delayed start to the sprint means grand prix qualifying will begin 30 minutes later than originally scheduled, at 14:30 BST.

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

2. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

4. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

5. LIam Lawson (Racing Bulls)

7. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)

8. Lando Norris (McLaren)

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