SINGAPORE — Max Verstappen won a wet and wild Singapore sprint race for Red Bull on Saturday after George Russell crashed his Mercedes when leading at the end of the opening lap.
Verstappen held off Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton to win by 2.591sec with Charles Leclerc third as the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri touched and spun on the final lap when fourth and fifth.
A heavy shower 10 minutes before the scheduled start meant a delay of 30 minutes.
All cars began on intermediate tyres with some sectors of the Marina Bay Street Circuit much dryer than others as the field embarked on two formation laps behind the safety car.
The eventual standing start saw Russell on the front row alongside pole-sitter Verstappen, and it was the Englishman who got away far better.
“The start was horrendous again, so that’s definitely something that we need to improve on because if you have something like that tomorrow, that’s your race over,” said Verstappen according to AFP.
“Not ideal, but we got a bit lucky with what happened with George out of the last corner.”
Russell’s lead was short-lived as he lost control after touching a treacherous white line on the final bend of the opening lap.
He slid sideways into the pit lane wall, bringing out a safety car.
It was another setback in a season of bad luck for Russell, who will start from the back of the grid in Sunday’s grand prix because of engine penalties.
“It was a miscalculation,” Russell admitted to Sky Sports.
“Came through the corner, had more battery deployment than I thought, pushed me a little bit wider than I hoped and went on to the white line. Silly mistake. Big consequences.”
It left Hamilton, who had a brilliant start from sixth on the grid, in second place having leapfrogged Ferrari teammate Leclerc and the two McLarens.
“I had a mega start, which was awesome,” said Hamilton.
“I love driving this track in the rain in those conditions so as soon as the heavens opened, I was like ‘this is a great day’.
