Singapore's First Sprint Is a Rain-Soaked Record-Breaker: Nine Retirements as Verstappen Wins and Takes Pole Again
SINGAPORE — Formula One's first-ever sprint race at the Singapore Grand Prix, held on Saturday, October 10, was thrown into chaos by heavy rain: the start was delayed by more than 30 minutes, with large amounts of standing water around Turns 2 and 3. Nine cars retired — a record for a sprint race. Red Bull's Max Verstappen won the sprint and went on to claim pole position for the grand prix itself.
The sprint's storyline twisted repeatedly. Polesitter Verstappen was overtaken on lap one by Mercedes' George Russell, but Russell crashed out at the final turn, handing the lead back. Verstappen took the chequered flag ahead of Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, while championship leader Kimi Antonelli was gifted fourth after the two McLarens collided on the final lap. Earlier, the FIA had announced the delayed start after the medical car assessed track conditions; Verstappen had already taken sprint pole ahead of Russell and Leclerc in sprint qualifying.
Afterwards, both Verstappen and Hamilton said Singapore is not ideal for sprints: overtaking is nearly impossible at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, and the 20-lap race offered little drama beyond collisions and retirements. 'I think we shouldn't host a sprint where you can't pass,' Verstappen told reporters after notching his first victory at the circuit. The overtake mode 'barely does anything here', he said, suggesting the track needs a longer straight or a proper hairpin.
In grand prix qualifying under the lights, Verstappen claimed pole again, with Leclerc alongside him on the front row, Hamilton third and Antonelli only fourth for Mercedes. Singapore is F1's only night street race, and the FIA had already declared a heat hazard for the weekend, with temperatures forecast to exceed 31°C. The grand prix follows on Sunday night, October 11.
Sources: Compiled from Reuters' October 10, 2026 reports on the Singapore sprint, the rain delay and grand prix qualifying.
Source: 路透社关于新加坡冲刺赛、延迟发车及正赛排位的多篇
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 新加坡大奖赛周末的滨海湾金沙夜景（资料图），Benjamin Goetzinger 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0（Wikimedia Commons）
