It was a full-on weekend of F1, with a Sprint race added to the street circuit schedule. Coming at the end of a demanding run of six Grands Prix in seven weeks, it was a significant challenge for everyone involved, not just the teams and drivers.

I’ve always enjoyed the Singapore Grand Prix, right from the first race, despite the relentless heat and humidity that can leave you feeling like you need a shower barely five minutes into the day. The city is buzzing, the event has a fantastic atmosphere and the F1 cars are relentlessly pounding around the circuit. With just one practice session followed by two qualifying sessions and two races, it makes for an action-packed weekend.

However, what took the shine off things a little this year was the unusually poor air quality caused by crop burning in neighbouring countries.

Singapore has long held the mantle as F1’s ‘business’ Grand Prix, combining world-class motorsport with a top-tier music festival. A record combined crowd of more than 300,000 underlined its appeal, making it an event well worth adding to your bucket list if you haven’t already been.

Russell’s Sprint crash sums up his season

It was very much Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s weekend, with the Dutchman winning both the Sprint and the Grand Prix from pole position. Combined with his victory at Sepang in Malaysia a few days earlier, that made it three wins in a row.

Verstappen is still too far behind to mount another ‘Chucky’ championship comeback like last season, but he has climbed to fourth in the standings, just eight points behind Lewis Hamilton and 17 behind second-placed George Russell. However, he remains 119 points adrift of championship leader Kimi Antonelli, with 150 points still available, assuming all the remaining races go ahead amid ongoing global conflicts.

After a surprise storm delay and a couple of laps behind the Safety Car, the Sprint finally got under way. George made an impressive start to take the lead from second on the grid, but carried too much speed and throttle into the pit straight at the end of the opening lap, spinning into the concrete barriers. With major power unit penalties already looming for the Grand Prix, this was his best opportunity to make an impact. The images of him sliding across the white line and wet kerbs felt like a fitting summary of his season so far.

This left Max out in front, with Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari keeping him honest, while Charles Leclerc began to drop back in the second Ferrari as he struggled more than most with his worn intermediate tyres.

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris kept a close watch in their McLarens, which had shown strong pace throughout the weekend. Both were closing in on Leclerc, with Antonelli’s Mercedes also being drawn into the battle. However, with the track still damp and the kerbs slippery, there was little incentive to take unnecessary risks with the main qualifying session and Grand Prix still to come. The priority was to bring the cars home safely and collect whatever Sprint points were on offer, before attention turned to the bigger prizes ahead.

Norris’ overtake attempt on Piastri a lunge too far

Lando had other ideas. He had looked a little quicker than Oscar throughout, although not quite enough to overtake easily. Heading into Turn 5 on the final lap, having seemingly been sizing up the move for several laps, Norris sliced down Oscar’s right-hand side to claim the corner and position. The pair touched and spun in a synchronised pirouette, with Piastri’s car hitting the wall.

McLaren are in a battle now with Red Bull for third in the championship when not so long ago they were catching Ferrari in a battle for second. These positions mean huge amounts prize money for 2027, along with the kudos and season long pitlane position, and likely partner/sponsor bonuses. Money and resource spent on 2026 parts can also impact on the 2027 car now.

The team didn’t care which driver was in front, they just wanted them home undamaged in fourth and fifth. The only consolation was Lando recovered for a point in eighth.

Drivers are hard wired to simply race, and think of their own goals, that’s why they do what they do, but whilst there was a gap against his team-mate, who could perhaps have given more space assuming he even saw it coming, it was a risky move and a lunge too far from Lando. We understand McLaren team bosses were extremely unhappy with that one.

Through all the chaos Antonelli steered nicely around everything to claim a fortunate third from seventh on the Sprint grid yet again extending his championship lead. His patience continues to pay off.

Verstappen had all bases covered

Having never taken pole position in Singapore before, Max Verstappen followed up his Sprint success by securing pole for the main race. The data suggested that either Ferrari could have claimed pole had they extracted the full potential from their laps. Regardless, Charles Leclerc came close to beating Verstappen to the first corner, but the Red Bull driver had the advantage of a fresh set of soft tyres and used them to squeeze Leclerc into submission.

The field settled into race order relatively quickly. Starting from the back, George Russell could only climb to 17th in the opening stages, such was the intensity and competitiveness of the midfield. Isack Hadjar, starting from the pitlane in the similarly displaced Red Bull, faced an even tougher challenge.

This is a good opportunity to give Liam Lawson a deserved shout-out. Driving for Racing Bulls, he finished seventh in the challenging conditions at Sepang the previous week, followed that up with fifth in the Singapore Sprint and then secured another seventh-place finish in Sunday’s Grand Prix. As the highest-placed driver outside the top four teams, Lawson put together an excellent run across a demanding series of races.

Out front, Verstappen had the Grand Prix firmly under control. Although Leclerc kept him honest in the opening stages, the Dutchman was eventually able to build a comfortable gap, giving Red Bull greater flexibility with its strategy and the freedom to react calmly to the tactics of its rivals or the potential intervention of a Safety Car.

Impossible to run a modern F1 car and team from behind the wheel

Hamilton started on a fresh set of medium tyres but began to struggle as the race progressed. Appearing to be on a clear two-stop strategy, he pitted as early as lap 18 for soft tyres. Bizarrely, he would not stop again, despite the opportunity to make a relatively cheap pit stop under a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) when Lance Stroll’s stricken Aston Martin had to be cleared from the circuit. Hamilton then endured a relentless slide down the order, eventually losing fifth place to Oscar Piastri’s McLaren in the closing stages, despite the Australian having made an unscheduled stop for a slow puncture.

After the race, it emerged that switching to a one-stop strategy, which required him to complete 44 laps on the same tyres, had been Hamilton’s own decision. He apologised to the team for the call. It is difficult to run a modern F1 car and manage the team’s strategy from behind the wheel, and the incident was telling. Ferrari had seemingly expected Hamilton to pit under the VSC.

Lando Norris had been pressuring the struggling Hamilton before making a late move down the inside into Turn 1. Both drivers ran wide, Hamilton more so, and as they scrambled back onto the circuit with dirty tyres, championship leader Kimi Antonelli seized his opportunity to sweep past them both. The move secured him third place, ahead of his two closest title rivals, and extended his championship lead once again. It was an impressive display of maturity, particularly given that Mercedes no longer appears to have the fastest car on the grid.

Norris and Piastri secured a solid fourth and fifth for McLaren, while a tenacious drive from Nico Hulkenberg in his Audi limited George Russell to just two points in ninth.

Isack Hadjar claimed the final point in 10th after starting from the pitlane in his Red Bull, capping an impressive recovery drive.

It was hardly a classic Grand Prix, in Singapore or anywhere else, but there was no shortage of stories and drama amid the stifling humidity. Next stop: Austin, Texas.

MB

Former England striker Andy Carroll has thanked the public for their support after speaking publicly about being sexually assaulted by a man.

Carroll, 36, feared he would never fully recover from the trauma of the incident, which happened at his home in 2021 during a second spell at Newcastle United.

The perpetrator, a friend of Carroll’s former partner who was away at the time, was jailed for 20 months in 2023 after being convicted of sexual offences.

Carroll identified the man as television dance coach Kevin Adams in an interview with the Sun. Adams appeared on the BBC series Fame Academy in 2002.

Speaking to the Football Uncensored podcast, Carroll said the response to going public with his experience had been overwhelming.

“I’ve been beating myself up about it, and as soon as I’ve said it the support that I’ve received has been massive,” he said.

“And I think that’s the main thing really for me, that if I said that five years ago when it happened, maybe I would have felt a lot better now and then got over it.

“I’m happy with who I am, I’m happy with how I’ve dealt with it, and I’ve got the support around me with my partner, my family and friends, and now the public.”

Carroll, who played for Liverpool and West Ham and is now a player and co-owner of National League South side Dagenham, described the assault in his autobiography ‘Owning It’.

He said the incident happened while he was asleep.

He subsequently threw the man out of his home before knocking him unconscious when he tried to get back inside.

Carroll described giving evidence in court as “humiliating and embarrassing and absolutely horrendous”.

“It was eating me alive inside for so long,” Carroll said. “There’s certain things you can’t get over, and I’ll never, ever get over that.

“But now I know that people can see who I was then, in that time, and what I’ve been through and they help me and support me.”

Adams has not commented publicly since Carroll named him as the man who attacked him.

Details of help and support with sexual abuse or violence is available. BBC Action Line.

Former All-Ireland winner John McEntee has been appointed Monaghan manager, replacing Gabriel Bannigan.

McEntee, who helped Armagh win the Sam Maguire in 2002, takes his first inter-county job after spending the past four seasons in charge of Monaghan club Inniskeen.

The 49-year-old’s appointment was ratified at a county board meeting on Monday night.

He replaces Bannigan, who said “the goalposts have moved” when announcing his departure after two years at the helm in August.

After succeeding former Armagh team-mate Oisin McConville, McEntee led Inniskeen to Monaghan finals in 2023 and 2025, losing both to Scotstown.

He also oversaw Clontibret’s 2019 Monaghan SFC triumph while he guided his club Crossmaglen Rangers to the Ulster title alongside McConville in 2015.

McEntee’s twin brother Tony – with whom he won the All-Ireland title – spent the 2026 season in the Down backroom team following a spell as Sligo boss.

Under Bannigan, Monaghan won the Division Two title in 2025 and reached successive All-Ireland quarter-finals, where they were knocked out by Donegal and Louth.

The Farney men were relegated from Division One this year after a tough league campaign in which they failed to pick up a point.

They bounced back well in the Ulster SFC with wins over Cavan and Derry but suffered an extra-time defeat against Armagh in the decider.

In the Sam Maguire series, Monaghan lost to eventual champions Mayo in round one but secured round 2B and three victories over Roscommon and Westmeath.

However, after losing influential goalkeeper Rory Beggan to injury, they fell to 0-27 to 2-18 loss to Louth in the quarter-final at Croke Park.