Verstappen Wins Rain-Delayed Singapore Sprint as Russell Crashes From the Lead and McLarens Collide

Max Verstappen survived a chaotic, rain-hit sprint at the Marina Bay Street Circuit on Saturday to win the final sprint race of the 2026 Formula 1 season.

Torrential rain delayed the start by more than 30 minutes, and when the 20-lap sprint finally got going behind the safety car, polesitter Verstappen made a poor start and lost the lead to Mercedes rival George Russell into the first corner. Lewis Hamilton also made a lightning getaway from sixth to climb to third.

But Russell's time at the front barely lasted a lap: the Briton ran too much kerb at the final corner on the opening tour, his Mercedes broke traction in the damp conditions, and he spun into the barriers to hand the lead back to Verstappen. The same lap also eliminated Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll after the pair made contact, while Isack Hadjar and Franco Colapinto later retired with power unit problems.

Verstappen controlled the race from the restart, calmly pulling clear of Hamilton while third-placed Leclerc faded badly in the closing stages. The drama was not over, though: on the final lap, Norris dived inside Piastri at Turn 5 and the two McLarens spun in tandem, Piastri retiring and Norris limping home eighth. That gifted the two Ferraris an unexpected double podium and promoted championship leader Kimi Antonelli to fourth.

Nine cars failed to finish — a sprint-race record — and Verstappen admitted afterward that he had ridden his luck: "We got a bit lucky with what happened with George," the Dutchman said, warning his slow starts must improve before Sunday's grand prix.