George Russell will start the Singapore Grand Prix from the back of the grid, Kimi Antonelli leads the championship by 84 points and Oscar Piastri is chasing a response from McLaren at Marina Bay. The 2026 race hosts F1’s final Sprint weekend of the season, with action from Friday 9 October to Sunday 11 October.
Singapore is Round 17 of the 2026 season and the last leg of a triple-header, according to Formula1.com. It is also the first time the Marina Bay Street Circuit has hosted the Sprint format, McLaren noted in its Singapore preview.
Singapore Grand Prix 2026 start times (Sydney time)
- Practice 1: Friday 9 October, 8.30pm AEDT (5.30pm local)
- Sprint Qualifying: Friday 9 October, 11.30pm AEDT (8.30pm local)
- Sprint: Saturday 10 October, 8pm AEDT (5pm local)
- Qualifying: Sunday 11 October, 12am AEDT (9pm local Saturday)
- Grand Prix: Sunday 11 October, 11pm AEDT (8pm local), 62 laps
The Sprint will start before sunset while the Grand Prix runs completely under floodlights, which Formula1.com’s Chris Medland said could produce different track conditions across Saturday and Sunday. With only one practice session, teams have little time to find a setup.
Piastri and McLaren searching for pace
Piastri arrives seventh in the drivers’ standings on 128 points, 60 behind Max Verstappen in sixth, after finishing sixth at Sepang last Sunday. Teammate Lando Norris is fifth on 188 points, and McLaren sit third in the constructors’ standings on 316, 89 points off second.
Piastri was blunt about McLaren’s pace after the Malaysian race. “We just weren’t quick enough,” he said, Grandprix.com reported, adding that Ferrari and McLaren were in roughly the same territory behind Red Bull and Mercedes. “That ballpark is not fighting for race wins, so we need to improve.”
McLaren technical director of applied engineering Neil Houldey admitted Marina Bay may not suit the team’s car.
“Our car may not be as well suited to the slow, 90-degree corners we see at Marina Bay, but we have also seen the competitive order vary from track to track this year,” Houldey said in the team’s preview.
“We want to win both races and know we have a quick car, but we need to extract all of its performance.”
Russell starts at the back as Antonelli closes in
Antonelli leads Mercedes teammate Russell 320 points to 236 with seven races left and 183 points still on offer, according to Formula1.com. Russell’s title hopes took a major hit when his power unit failed while he was running third at Sepang, with five laps to go, Reuters reported via The Straits Times.
Mercedes has confirmed Russell has no engines left from his season allocation of four, so he will start Sunday’s Grand Prix from the back of the grid. He had hoped to take the penalty at the US Grand Prix in Austin, where overtaking is easier.
“George has the added challenge of a power-unit penalty, which will mean starting from the back of the grid on Sunday, following the engine failure in Malaysia,” Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said.
“That is particularly frustrating, given the way he drove last weekend and the result he deserved to be fighting for.”
It is a cruel blow at a circuit where Russell won from pole position in 2025, and where 11 of the 16 races have been won from pole.
Can Verstappen finally win in Singapore?
Verstappen’s win at Sepang was his first of 2026 and the first for Red Bull Ford Powertrains as a power unit manufacturer, but Singapore is one of the few tracks where the four-time world champion has never won.
“I think the win was quite track-specific, so we will need to see how we go heading into this week,” Verstappen said, before adding: “Singapore is a race that I haven’t won before, so it does feel like unfinished business at this track.”
Singapore Grand Prix by the numbers
- Track length: 4.927km, 19 corners
- Most wins: Sebastian Vettel (5)
- Last five winners: George Russell (2025), Lando Norris (2024), Carlos Sainz (2023), Sergio Perez (2022), Sebastian Vettel (2019)
- Safety Car probability: 67%, based on the last six races in Singapore
More News
- F1: Verstappen Wins at Sepang as Piastri Finishes Sixth
- F1: Piastri Climbs to Sixth in Sepang FP2 as McLaren Close Gap
- F1: Oscar Piastri Eyes Sepang Bounce-Back as F1 Returns to Malaysia
- Formula 1: Oscar Piastri News: Can the Australian Really Keep His McLaren Seat
- For Verstappen, the Only Choices Were Red Bull or Leaving F1 Entirely
