Max Verstappen (Red Bull) has been given the best chance of his career to win the Singapore Grand Prix for the first time. The four-time world champion will start from pole position at “Marina Bay“ after winning qualifying with a time of 1:31.373 minutes. He will be followed by Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), who was just 0.054 seconds behind.
The front row gives Verstappen (Red Bull) control over the most important early phase of the race. On the street circuit, overtaking is limited and starting position traditionally matters a lot. The Dutchman has already won the sprint in Singapore, but this was his first victory at “Marina Bay“ in the short format. In his nine appearances so far, he has yet to win the main race.
The sprint changed the score for Verstappen
Verstappen (Red Bull) won the 20 laps in 39:48.162 minutes. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) finished second in 2.591 seconds, and Leclerc (Ferrari) completed the podium in 16.871 seconds. Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) took fourth position and added five points to his assets.
The sprint developed in favor of Verstappen (Red Bull) after George Russell (Mercedes) retired on the first lap. The Briton was in the lead at the beginning, but lost control of his car and did not finish. He was thus left without points, while his teammate Antonelli increased his championship lead.
Antonelli maintains lead, Russell starts from the bottom
Antonelli (Mercedes) leads the general classification with 325 points, while Russell (Mercedes) has 236. After the sprint, the difference between the two is 89 points. The Italian will start fourth, behind Verstappen (Red Bull), Leclerc (Ferrari) and Hamilton (Ferrari).
Russell (Mercedes) qualified sixth in qualifying, but will start from the back row due to a penalty related to the replacement of components in the drive system. The penalty applies only to the main race. The narrow streets and close walls of “Marina Bay“ make his recovery to the points zone significantly more difficult compared to a track where overtaking is more frequent.
“Singapore will be an important test of our understanding and our resilience as a team“, said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, commenting on the weekend and the situation surrounding Russell.
Verstappen (Red Bull) faces a race in which starting position, long-distance pace and tyre management will decide whether his first sprint victory will be followed by a first success in the Singapore Grand Prix. Leclerc (Ferrari) will try to use the advantage of starting from the front row, with Hamilton (Ferrari) and Antonelli (Mercedes) immediately behind them.
The Singapore Grand Prix, round 17 of the 2026 Formula 1 season, starts at 15:00 Bulgarian time.
Sources: sportal.bg, formula1.com