F1 LIVE | Red flag in SQ1 after Perez hits the wall

The Singapore Grand Prix hosts the final Sprint of the 2026 season. Earlier this year, the Chinese, Miami, Canadian, British and Dutch Grands Prix were also held in the Sprint format. Next year, the number of Sprints will increase to 10, but Singapore will not return to the Sprint calendar.

During the first and only free practice session of the day, George Russell set the pace. On soft tyres, his best lap time was 1:32.2. He finished ahead of Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris. Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli, meanwhile, completed their final laps on the medium tyres in FP1, which will be mandatory for SQ1 and SQ2 today.

In terms of the championship standings, Antonelli is now 84 points ahead of Russell after the Briton's DNF at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. Moreover, Russell is set to start Sunday's Grand Prix from the back of the grid after his power unit components have been changed for this weekend.

In nine appearances at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, the four-time F1 world champion is yet to take pole position or win the Grand Prix. On Sundays, he has finished second three times already.

Speaking to GPblog, among others, Verstappen explained: "Yeah, I mean, I think in the last few years, we have always been bad at low-speed [corners]. Low-speed and just kerbing, the bumps. This year's car is probably more competitive in low-speed, but we still struggle on bumps and kerbs. We know that."

Verstappen hopes to have a better shot at winning this weekend than compared to the past years. He continued: "So, of course, you have unfinished business when you have not won the race. Actually, every year I come back and I'm trying to win it, but it also needs to be realistic.