Lando Norris was denied victory in F1's 'unofficial' Sprint championship in 2026 after colliding with team-mate Oscar Piastri in Singapore.
In the closing stages of the final Sprint of the 2026 season at Marina Bay, Norris was running fifth behind team-mate Piastri, with the Australian looking to mount an attack on Kimi Antonelli in third.
However, at Turn 5 on the penultimate lap, Norris dived up the inside of Piastri, and spun his team-mate into the barrier and out of the race. Norris was able to get going again and finished in eighth place, picking up one point - and a loss of three from the four he was set to score had he finished fifth.
This loss of three points proved critical for Norris - with the incident ultimately costing him the unofficial title as the best Sprint racer in 2026.
Had Norris taken fifth place, he would have ended the season on 36 championship points scored from the six Sprints - two clear of George Russell and Charles Leclerc.
However, Norris's drop down the order meant that he finished on 33 points, with Russell and Leclerc tied on 34 points apiece.
Remarkably, Leclerc did not win a single Sprint in 2026, with Russell taking a season-best three victories. This means Russell is the unofficial Sprint champion on countback, with race victories used as the first tie-breaker when championship points are level.
[Article continues below the table].
2026 F1 Sprint championship standings
| Driver | Points | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| George Russell | 34 | 3 |
| Charles Leclerc | 34 | 0 |
| Lando Norris | 33 | 1 |
| Kimi Antonelli | 31 | 1 |
| Lewis Hamilton | 27 | 0 |
| Oscar Piastri | 21 | 0 |
| Max Verstappen | 19 | 1 |
| Liam Lawson | 7 | 0 |
| Oliver Bearman | 4 | 0 |
| Pierre Gasly | 2 | 0 |
| Nico Hulkenberg | 2 | 0 |
| Arvid Lindblad | 1 | 0 |
| Esteban Ocon | 0 | 0 |
| Carlos Sainz | 0 | 0 |
| Gabriel Bortoleto | 0 | 0 |
| Franco Colapinto | 0 | 0 |
| Isack Hadjar | 0 | 0 |
| Alexander Albon | 0 | 0 |
| Fernando Alonso | 0 | 0 |
| Lance Stroll | 0 | 0 |
| Sergio Perez | 0 | 0 |
| Valtteri Bottas | 0 | 0 |
| Yuki Tsunoda | 0 | 0 |
Russell dominates the Sprints
From the six Sprints in 2026, four different drivers took a pole position, and four different drivers won at least one.
Of the races, five of those were won from pole position, with Russell being the only driver to claim more than one of each, taking three poles and wins in China, Canada, and the Netherlands.
Norris took the honours in Miami, with Max Verstappen doing so in Singapore, with the exception being the British Sprint.
Lewis Hamilton roared to pole position at Silverstone - but was overhauled by Kimi Antonelli in the race, going on to finish second and becoming the only Sprint pole-sitter not to win that Sprint in 2026.
2026 Sprint race pole and race winners
| Race | Pole | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| China | George Russell | George Russell |
| Miami | Lando Norris | Lando Norris |
| Canada | George Russell | George Russell |
| Great Britain | Lewis Hamilton | Kimi Antonelli |
| Netherlands | George Russell | George Russell |
| Singapore | Max Verstappen | Max Verstappen |
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Sam Coop and Nick Golding as they look back on last weekend's Singapore Grand Prix! Max Verstappen's Marina Bay masterclass is a lead talking point, as is F1's deadline approaching to make a call on how the 2026 season will end.
Rather watch this podcast? Then Click here!
Most read
In this article
Never miss a thing from the Formula 1 season! Add the 2026 F1 schedule to your calendar at the touch of a button. Subscribe below and put the dates and times of every race directly on your PC or smartphone, so you don't miss a second from the new season.
Download the F1 calendar Download the F1 calendar
A variant with just the race and qualifying is also available.
Click here to download it..
Join the conversation!