Verstappen wins Singapore sprint as McLaren drivers collide on final lap

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen won the sprint race at the Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday, the 17th round of the Formula 1 (F1) world championship. The shorter sprint format awards points toward the standings, while the main race is due on Sunday. On the final lap, McLaren teammates Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris collided.

How the race unfolded

Rain delayed the start of the sprint by half an hour. The race was run on a track that was both wet and dry. Mercedes driver George Russell briefly took the lead but soon crashed. Verstappen regained first place and held it to the finish.

Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc took second and third. Piastri and Norris collided while fighting for fourth on the last lap. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) finished fourth, followed by Liam Lawson (RB), Oliver Bearman (Haas) and Nico Hulkenberg (Audi). Norris took the final points position, while Piastri retired.

Standings

After the sprint, Antonelli leads the drivers' standings with 325 points. Russell has 236, Hamilton 221, Leclerc 197, Verstappen 196, Norris 189 and Piastri 128. In the constructors' championship, Mercedes has 561 points, Ferrari 418, McLaren 317 and Red Bull 306.

Qualifying for Sunday's main race is scheduled for later on Saturday. Russell will start that race from the back because of an engine change exceeding the permitted limit, but the penalty did not apply to the sprint.

Season context

The season was planned to have 24 rounds, but the races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were cancelled because of the ongoing hostilities in the Middle East. The season ends in Abu Dhabi in early December. Last season Norris became world champion for the first time, and McLaren won the constructors' title for a second consecutive year.