Verstappen wins Singapore Sprint and takes pole as McLaren pair collide

Max Verstappen won the Singapore Sprint on 10 October and later that day took pole for the Grand Prix. The Sprint’s final lap ended in a collision between McLaren teammates Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri: Piastri retired, while Norris finished eighth.

George Russell had taken the lead from Verstappen at the wet start, then lost the rear at the final corner on the opening lap after running wide onto the slippery kerbs and hit the wall. Verstappen regained the lead after Russell’s crash and was not seriously challenged. Russell said he had misjudged it and pushed too hard too soon.

Verstappen’s pole time was 1:31.373. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc qualified second in 1:31.427, 0.054 seconds behind, while Lewis Hamilton was third in 1:31.496, 0.069 seconds behind his teammate. Verstappen said the car had been in a good window from the weekend’s start and that a clean start was the main task ahead of the Grand Prix.

McLaren repaired both cars in time for qualifying, where Norris finished fifth and Piastri seventh. Team principal Andrea Stella called the collision unacceptable; Norris said he had apologised to the team.

Mercedes had contrasting outcomes: Kimi Antonelli qualified fourth, while Russell was sixth after his car was rebuilt. Russell already knew a grid penalty was coming and said he expected to start from the back.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly qualified eighth, and Racing Bulls placed both cars in Q3, with Liam Lawson ninth and Arvid Lindblad tenth. Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar retired early from the Sprint after an apparent power-unit issue, then failed to record a time in Q1. Hadjar said he could not shift through the gears; team principal Laurent Mekies said the gearbox problem was still under investigation.