Max Verstappen won the Sprint race in Singapore but remained critical of Formula 1, insisting Sprint events should not be held on circuits where overtaking is difficult. The Marina Bay Circuit is traditionally a challenging venue for overtaking, and heavy rain made conditions even more treacherous on Saturday.
A downpour soaked the track minutes before the scheduled start, causing a 30-minute delay. Even when the race got underway, finding grip remained difficult. Verstappen started on pole but was quickly passed by George Russell, who had a better launch off the line. Verstappen regained the lead at the end of lap two when the Mercedes driver touched a wet painted line and lost grip.
Russell's Crash and Attritional Race
Russell's car spun and crashed, prompting a safety car. Several other drivers also failed to finish an unusually attritional Sprint race. Despite pressure from Lewis Hamilton behind, Verstappen stayed out of trouble to take victory. It was his first win in any form on track in Singapore, a venue that had previously been a "bogey" for the Dutchman.
Verstappen did not seem impressed by the result and made it clear he would much prefer to win the full Grand Prix. He also voiced his dislike for the Sprint format in general, arguing that circuits where overtaking is difficult are not suitable venues for it.
Verstappen's Criticism and Call for Changes
"We shouldn't host a sprint where you cannot pass," the Dutchman said. "You have tracks where you can race and can overtake, but of course, in some places you cannot pass and we are going to have sprints there also next year. I'm fine, I just do my thing, but it's not what I like. Also, the problem we have at the moment is with the Overtake Mode, it barely does anything here. You don't really gain a lot on the straights. So also that with how all the rules are at the moment with our lovely batteries, it just doesn't do much. You can't even get super close or have a massive overspeed at the moment."
Despite calling the track "great", Verstappen called for changes to be made to the Marina Bay Circuit to provide more overtaking opportunities. He added: "We need to have a longer straight or more of a proper hairpin to overtake. Even with that also, we need a bigger delta [between speeds] on the straight."
Russell's Frustration and Penalty
Meanwhile, Russell was frustrated with himself after throwing away his only real opportunity to get a strong result this weekend. He will serve a back-of-grid penalty for the main Grand Prix for new engine parts, required after his power unit failure last time out in Malaysia.
Reflecting on his error, which he called "a miscalculation", Russell said: "I came through the corner, had more battery deployment than I thought and that pushed me a little bit wider than I hoped. And then I just went onto the white line and, yeah, a silly mistake with big consequences."
