Sprint in monsoon rain

The sprint on Saturday was run in heavy monsoon rain that delayed the start and caused a series of retirements. Verstappen won the 20-lap race ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, with Kimi Antonelli fourth. George Russell passed Verstappen at the start and was leading when he slid his Mercedes into the wall on the second lap, touching barriers on both sides of the Marina Bay street circuit. Nine cars did not finish, a record number of retirements for a Formula One sprint, and the session was stopped twice by incidents and the safety car.

Verstappen said the start had been a problem again and that winning the sprint was only part of the job.

The start was once again disastrous; it is something we have to work on, because if it happened tomorrow, our race would be compromised.

Norris and Piastri collide on the final lap

Lando Norris, running fifth behind teammate Oscar Piastri, attempted to overtake him on the final lap and clipped Piastri's rear tyre with his front wheel. Both McLarens spun, which handed Kimi Antonelli fourth place. Norris limped home eighth, taking the last point on offer, while Piastri was forced to retire. Norris apologised to the team over the radio.

Sorry about that. Obviously I didn't want that to happen but I thought I was fully alongside. I just ran out of space at the apex but I was there.

Piastri said he had not seen the incident properly and played down its significance, describing the battle as one for fourth and fifth in a sprint. Both drivers were summoned to the stewards after the collision.

From where I sit, it's for fourth and fifth for a sprint race, so I'm not that bothered either way.

Verstappen takes pole for Sunday

Verstappen qualified first for Sunday's race, his 50th career pole and his second in a row, and it was his 250th Grand Prix start. Charles Leclerc will start second, ahead of Lewis Hamilton in third, with Antonelli fourth, Norris fifth and Piastri seventh. Leclerc edged Hamilton by 69 thousandths of a second on his final lap. George Russell qualified sixth but will start from the back after an engine penalty, Reuters reported.

Leclerc described a difficult session before a better final run.

In Q1 and Q2 it was not working. Then in Q3 I switched off my brain and went.

Title race and the race ahead

Antonelli qualified fourth and leads the championship by 89 points over Russell, a gap that El Pais noted leaves 175 points still to be awarded. Antonelli said after qualifying that he hoped to finish on the podium.

I hope to be able to go on the podium tomorrow: it is difficult, but the potential is there.

Verstappen has never won at Singapore, which Il Messaggero noted is the only circuit where he has not won, and he starts from pole with lights out at night local time. The race covers 62 laps on the street circuit, according to ANSA. Russell's start from the back could let Antonelli extend his lead, which Il Giornale said could move into triple figures.