How Ferrari handed Singapore pole to Verstappen
Ferrari's Formula 1 drivers were rightly disappointed to be on the wrong side of a narrow spread in Singapore Grand Prix qualifying as both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton could have denied Max Verstappen pole.
Just over a tenth of a second separated the trio around the Marina Bay circuit in a Q3 session that had the door left open given Verstappen failed to improve on his final lap - but Leclerc's late leap was not enough, and Hamilton went slower than he had before.
Red Bull finally has a car that Verstappen can hustle to the top spot at the only regular circuit from his F1 career he had not scored a pole or won at prior to this weekend.
But, not to detract from Red Bull's obvious progress, and Verstappen's own quality lap, his description of it being "enough for pole" was exactly right. For he did not have the quickest car in this session and Leclerc, and especially Hamilton, will be lamenting how Q3 played out.
"The car had potential for pole today, but we didn't have a smooth enough session in order to do the job," said Leclerc. "And Max just did a better job."
The Ferrari pair's pole bids failed at different points. For Leclerc, Q3 was a huge salvage job after struggling throughout Q1 and Q2, and the only reason he was in the mix at all was "I just committed a little bit more in Q3 on the last lap".
But it was probably the spectre of braking issues in those sessions that haunted him when it counted, as he conceded it was "taking off quite a lot of confidence".
Bleeding time in the Turn 13 hairpin, where he lost almost a tenth compared to Hamilton with slightly weak rotation, and being too conservative braking for the Turn 16-17 chicane were Leclerc's undoing.
For Turn 16, where Leclerc lost the bulk of his 0.161s deficit to Verstappen in sector three, he just did not attack enough under braking so arrived slightly undercooked - as evidenced by hooking his front right wheel over the inside kerb at a corner you ideally wanted to be just gliding past it along the white line to maximum speed into and through the corner.
But Leclerc was also generally not quite as mighty as Hamilton through the middle sector, where the Ferrari's superiority was unchallenged, so he did not quite gain enough on Verstappen here to offset the weaker final sector. There was perhaps further evidence of his uncertainty under braking: holding a higher gear than Hamilton at a few points around the lap, including leaving it in third for Turns 8 and 14, which Hamilton took in second.
Hamilton has looked a lot more comfortable being so aggressive on corner entry, and was electric through Q1 and Q2. He was much more at one with Ferrari and really extracting the most of its impressive poise under braking and sharp front end into the slower, 90-degree corners especially.
But having been quickest in the first two segments he only managed to go 0.033s quicker in Q3.
"The car felt amazing in Q1 and Q2, and when I finished the laps, I was like, ‘she's got more in her'," he said.
"And the only way in order to try and extract that is to try and add wing. I think it just tipped it over the edge.
"It was only like one hole or something like that. After that the car was just snappy, and none of the laps in Q3 are any good."
Combined they were, though. Hamilton's theoretical best Q3 lap, combining his best sectors, would have been good enough for pole position.
Actual qualifying times
1 Verstappen 1m31.373s
2 Leclerc 1m31.427s
3 Hamilton 1m31.496s
Ideal lap - best sectors combined
1 Hamilton 1m31.347s
2 Verstappen 1m31.373s
3 Leclerc 1m31.427s
But he was too loose through the opening corners of the first lap and too scrappy in the final sector of the second.
On his first lap, Hamilton shipped 0.271s to Verstappen in sector one. This was by virtue of being slightly wide of the apex into the first corner and then - a legacy of this - having to gather up a small moment through Turn 2 before a much bigger slide followed as he cranked the lock on chucking it into Turn 3.
His middle sector was magnificent, 0.273s quicker than Verstappen. At this point, Hamilton was on for pole - but being ever so slightly hot into Turn 16 just delayed him getting back on the power as he switched back for the second part of the chicane.
On the second run, a tidier first sector and a good but not great middle sector had him in the mix again going into the final part of the lap but an untidy run through 16 and 17 again, with Hamilton sawing at the wheel, meant the lap ended up even slower than the first.
For both drivers, on another day or against a different rival, their small imperfections may not have cost pole. But Verstappen was so strong that he - as he often does - gladly took advantage of others not doing as good a job.
And the Red Bull looked good, too, especially through corners that required a bit more speed on entry. His lap started very purposefully with the front end nice and sharp through the opening sequence of corners and the rear keeping up well. But it was clearly weaker braking and getting the front in for a lot of the 90-degree slower corners in the middle sector, with Verstappen evidently more cautious braking for Turn 7 and then never quite as convincing through the rest of the middle sector.
It came back to him at the end of the lap - and holding third gear to the Ferraris' second into Turn 16 and 17 was perhaps a hint at how both car and driver were just more hooked up there - before ending the lap slightly stronger through the fast final corner too.
"The margins are very close between us throughout the whole of qualifying," said Verstappen.
"So, of course, very happy to be on pole because this is the one that I wanted.
"The car has been pretty strong all weekend. Of course, there are always things that you look into that can be better, but it was enough for pole, so very happy with that."
