Liam Lawson finished fifth in a chaotic Singapore Grand Prix Sprint Race, which saw Max Verstappen win and only 13 of the 22 starters reach the chequered flag.
Wet weather delayed the start of the final Sprint Race of the 2026 Formula 1 season by 40 minutes, with drivers eventually getting underway on a mostly wet Marina Bay Circuit, all running intermediate tyres.
George Russell made a strong start from the front row, overtaking polesitter Verstappen into Turn 1 to take the lead. Lewis Hamilton settled into third, followed by Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris and Kimi Antonelli, with Lawson running eighth.
However, Russell’s race ended before he could complete the opening lap, crashing at the final corner and bringing out the Safety Car.
The opening stages saw several incidents, with Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez retiring after a collision, while Isack Hadjar also pulled off the circuit and retired due to a mechanical issue under Safety Car conditions.
Franco Colapinto was another early retirement after his car completely shut down on track and required recovery. Lawson’s Racing Bulls teammate Arvid Lindblad also found trouble, spinning under the Safety Car before getting going again at the back of the field.
Lindblad was noted for driving the wrong way on track while trying to recover from the spin, and the incident is set to be investigated after the race.
The collision between Stroll and Perez was also referred for a post-race investigation, while Hamilton was placed under investigation for a possible yellow-flag infringement. Racing resumed on Lap 7, but it wasn’t long before more drivers got into trouble.
Gabriel Bortoleto, Alex Albon and Valtteri Bottas collided, forcing all three into the pits. Bortoleto and Bottas retired, while Albon managed to rejoin at the back of the field. The incident was also referred for post-race investigation.
With Russell out of contention, Verstappen now led Hamilton and Leclerc, followed by Piastri, Norris, Antonelli and Lawson, who had moved up to seventh. Only 15 of the original 22 starters remained in the race.
With six laps remaining, Verstappen had built a 3.6-second advantage over Hamilton, while Leclerc sat a further 1.7 seconds behind in third. Lawson continued to run comfortably in seventh, holding a 1.4-second gap over Oliver Bearman in eighth.
With five laps to go, Albon was called into the pits to retire his Williams, with damage from the earlier collision bringing his race to an end. The team opted to withdraw the car to salvage it ahead of the Grand Prix.
The final lap brought another major incident, this time involving McLaren teammates Norris and Piastri. While battling for fourth and fifth, the pair made contact, and both spun, ending up facing the wrong direction on track.
Norris managed to recover and continue, dropping to eighth, while Piastri was forced to retire. The incident promoted Antonelli to fourth and Lawson to fifth.
Meanwhile, Verstappen crossed the line to take the Sprint victory ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc, with Antonelli finishing fourth.
Lawson finished fifth after staying out of trouble throughout the 20-lap race, followed by Bearman in sixth, Nico Hulkenberg seventh, Norris eighth, Pierre Gasly ninth, and Esteban Ocon rounding out the Top 10.
Just 13 of the 22 starters finished the race, with several incidents and retirements making for an eventful Sprint at Marina Bay.
For Lawson, fifth place is a strong result heading into the rest of the Singapore Grand Prix weekend, earning four championship points. His teammate Lindblad was the last classified finisher in 13th, with his incident while under safety car conditions still subject to a post-race investigation.
Qualifying is up next, with the Singapore Grand Prix scheduled to get underway at 1:00 am NZT on Monday morning.
Header Image: Andy Hone/LAT Images via Red Bull Content Pool
Awesome Race Liam. Keeping it Tyrese down.