F1 Singapore GP 2026: Verstappen Takes Pole and Sprint Win Before Sunday's Race

Max Verstappen (Red Bull) set the pace across the Singapore Grand Prix weekend, taking pole position on Saturday and converting it into victory in the sprint race held the same day. The 2026 Singapore Grand Prix is the 17th round of the Formula 1 season and the first time Marina Bay has hosted a sprint-format weekend, according to Crash.net.

Qualifying: Verstappen edges Leclerc for a landmark pole

Verstappen set a lap of 1:31.373 to take pole, 0.054 seconds ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc (1:31.427) and 0.123 seconds clear of Leclerc's teammate Lewis Hamilton, according to Formula1.com and Sky Sports. Sky Sports reported it was Verstappen's 50th career pole position and his first at Marina Bay after ten previous visits to the circuit.

Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli qualified fourth and McLaren's Lando Norris fifth. George Russell set the sixth-fastest time but was handed a grid penalty for an engine change, Sky Sports reported. Oscar Piastri qualified seventh, with Alpine's Pierre Gasly, Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad completing the top ten. Sky Sports reported that Red Bull's Isack Hadjar failed to set a time in Q1 because of a gearbox problem, while Formula1.com described the cause as his engine switching off.

Sprint race: Russell crashes from the lead, McLarens collide

The sprint was delayed about 30 minutes by heavy rain and run on a track that dried as the laps went on, Formula1.com reported. Russell passed polesitter Verstappen at the start but crashed into the wall at the final corner of lap one, handing the lead back to Verstappen, who held it to the finish.

Verstappen won the sprint ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc, who completed the podium, according to Formula1.com and RaceFans. Antonelli finished fourth and Lawson fifth. Late in the race, McLaren teammates Norris and Piastri made contact at Turn 5 on worn tyres and both spun; Norris recovered to finish eighth while Piastri dropped to 14th and last, Formula1.com reported.

Championship picture after the sprint

RaceFans reported that Antonelli's lead over teammate Russell grew to 89 points after Russell's sprint crash cost him the chance to score, with 17 of 23 races in the season completed.

Strategy outlook for the Grand Prix

Pirelli nominated the C5 compound as soft, C4 as medium and C3 as hard for the Singapore weekend, a step softer than the tyres used at the previous round, according to Mercedes' official tyre preview. Teams were allocated six sets of soft, four of medium and two of hard tyres, with drivers required to use at least two compounds during the dry race.

Mercedes' preview said Pirelli expected a one-stop strategy to remain the preferred option for the race, given the time lost in the pit lane and the frequent likelihood of safety-car neutralisations on the Marina Bay street circuit. Formula1.com's strategy guide for the round noted that "undercuts and tyre deltas play a huge part in determining the outcome" and that "the final third of the race is usually eventful," while cautioning that strategic errors, rather than good strategy alone, are often what decide the result at this track.

What's known and what's still to come

• Friday, 9 October: one practice session, then sprint qualifying
• Saturday, 10 October: sprint race, then qualifying for the Grand Prix
• Sunday, 11 October: Grand Prix start at 13:00 BST / 20:00 local time

The weekend schedule, confirmed by Crash.net, compressed track time because of the sprint format, leaving teams only one hour of practice before competitive sessions began. Formula1.com's official results page for the Grand Prix showed no finishing order at the time of writing, meaning the outcome of the main race itself was not yet confirmed by official sources.