Verstappen wins the Sprint race

Verstappen, who rediscovered his brilliance by winning for the first time this season at the Malaysian Grand Prix last weekend, clocked a time of 1 minute and 31.156 seconds under the floodlights at the Marina Bay circuit, which was blanketed in fog caused by fires in Indonesia.

The four-time world champion said, "Competition is always close here in Singapore. During the lap, you push the car to its absolute limits and get close to the walls in some places."

He added, "When we put on the soft tires in Q3, I felt the car starting to respond much better, but I didn't expect to achieve this result."

He noted, "Of course, I am very happy to take pole position."

British McLaren driver Lando Norris finished fifth, ahead of his compatriot, Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton.

As for the world championship leader, Italian Kimi Antonelli, who raced with a new aerodynamic package, he had to settle for seventh place in his Mercedes, while New Zealander Liam Lawson (RB), Frenchman Isack Hadjar (Red Bull), and his compatriot Pierre Gasly (Alpine) rounded out the top ten.

Verstappen has never won in Singapore, where high temperatures and extreme humidity make it the most physically demanding race of the season on a circuit known for being difficult to overtake on.

The Dutchman expressed his happiness with the speed of the Red Bull car, which traditionally struggles on slow, twisty street circuits.

Verstappen said, "I think we have been much stronger in the last few races," adding, "But this circuit still exposes some small weaknesses in the car, though we are managing to deal with them in the best possible way."

However, the Dutchman could face a grid penalty as he was under investigation by the stewards following the session over allegations of overtaking Hamilton under yellow flags during the first phase of the sprint qualifying.

Russell said of finishing second, "It's going to be tough; the level of grip here means that the drivers starting on the pole position side have a big advantage."

Antonelli admitted that he struggled throughout the session.

The Italian said, "There is still a lot to understand about this package, the car is completely unpredictable and it is very difficult to piece together a good lap."

He added, "I came here with a lot of optimism. But I think it's going to be a tough weekend. I honestly don't see where we can find seven-tenths of a second."

Singapore is hosting a sprint race for the first time on a circuit renowned for making overtaking extremely difficult.