Verstappen beats Ferraris to Singapore GP pole
Max Verstappen’s perfect Singapore weekend continued as he claimed pole position for the grand prix, beating the Ferraris in Formula 1 qualifying.
Verstappen’s first Q3 flying lap - a 1m31.373s - ended up being good enough to top qualifying, following on from his sprint race pole and victory.
Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari was his closest challenger, setting a lap 0.054s slower than Verstappen’s. Lewis Hamilton made it two Ferraris in the top three, just 0.069s adrift of Leclerc.
Kimi Antonelli will line up on the second row alongside Hamilton, having been fourth-quickest in the upgraded Mercedes.
The McLaren drivers, who collided in the sprint race, will share the third row.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were fifth and seventh in qualifying with George Russell between them in the older-spec Mercedes, but Russell will move to the back of the grid with an engine penalty.
Pierre Gasly won F1’s midfield fight in qualifying, qualifying eighth (which is set to become seventh on the grid) and beating the Racing Bulls duo of Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad.
Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg was the quickest driver knocked out in Q2, 0.182s away from a place in Q3.
Haas drivers Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon were 12th and 13th ahead of Carlos Sainz’s Williams, Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, over a second slower than team-mate Gasly.
More trouble for Hadjar
Both Aston Martins fell in the first stage of qualifying after Fernando Alonso reported a turbo issue, which he thinks means his team should change his power unit for the race.
He qualified 17th, just ahead of Alex Albon’s Williams and still seven tenths clear of team-mate Lance Stroll, just as he was in sprint qualifying.
Sergio Perez led Cadillac team-mate Valtteri Bottas, the pair the two slowest drivers to set a lap in qualifying.
Isack Hadjar’s nightmare Saturday in Singapore continued as he ground to a halt before he could even set a timed lap in Q1.
Hadjar managed to return his Red Bull to the garage, then came out again and encountered an issue again. He will start among the penalised drivers at the back of the field on Sunday.
Results
1 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 1m31.373s
2 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.054s
3 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +0.123s
4 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.189s
5 Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.339s
6 George Russell (Mercedes) +0.374s
7 Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.487s
8 Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +0.852s
9 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) +0.996s
10 Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) +1.408s
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11 Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) +0.182s to Q3
12 Oliver Bearman (Haas) +0.306s
13 Esteban Ocon (Haas) +0.721s
14 Carlos Sainz (Williams) +0.924s
15 Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) +1.056s
16 Franco Colapinto (Alpine) +1.185s
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17 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +0.223s to Q2
18 Alexander Albon (Williams) +0.289s
19 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +0.946s
20 Sergio Perez (Cadillac) +1.123s
21 Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) +1.984s
22 Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) no time
