Lewis Hamilton charged from sixth to second in the Singapore Sprint, capitalizing on wet conditions and George Russell’s crash to claim a podium finish for Ferrari at the Marina Bay Circuit.
Hamilton made an immediate impact at the start, overtaking both McLarens and Ferrari team mate Charles Leclerc on the opening lap to move into third. When Russell retired after crashing into the pit wall from the lead, Hamilton inherited second place and crossed the line 2.5 seconds behind race winner Max Verstappen.
“I had a mega start which is awesome,” Hamilton said. “I love driving this track in the rain and those conditions, so as soon as the heavens opened I was like, ‘This is a great day’.”
Hamilton acknowledged he considered challenging Verstappen for the win but ultimately managed his tyres through the middle portion of the race. “I was trying to get close to [Verstappen] without killing my tyres, so I wasn’t really pushing that much but I was bringing him in,” he said. “Then I just realised that, at this point, we’ve still got a long way to go, I don’t think we’ll be able to overtake in these conditions, there’s only one line.”
The result lifted Hamilton’s confidence ahead of qualifying, with the Briton targeting a fifth victory at Marina Bay that would equal Sebastian Vettel’s record at the circuit. “I think we showed that we obviously have a good car,” he said. “If we can do slightly better in Qualifying, get both cars up there, I think we’ll be able to reapply pressure tomorrow to both the Mercedes and the Red Bull.”
Charles Leclerc completed a Ferrari one-two on the Sprint podium in third, though the Monegasque driver was less satisfied with his performance. Leclerc struggled with intermediate tyre degradation in the second half of the race and held off Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris only after the McLaren pair collided on the final lap. “I struggled a lot from mid-race onwards,” Leclerc said.
Russell, who faces a grid penalty for Sunday’s Grand Prix, accepted full blame for his retirement. After passing Verstappen for the lead, the Mercedes driver clipped a painted white line at the final corner, triggering a spin that sent his car into the pit wall. “I just misjudged it, to be honest,” Russell said. “I went a little bit wide and then I touched the white line. The number one rule in the rain is don’t touch the white line. It’s a very silly mistake — overly confident.”
Mercedes Deputy Team Principal Bradley Lord said the team would attempt repairs ahead of qualifying and remained hopeful Russell could score points in the Grand Prix. Kimi Antonelli, running an upgraded W17 specification, advanced from seventh to fourth in the Sprint, giving Mercedes additional data on their recently introduced upgrade package.